Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men

by Bryan Sykes Narrated by Christopher Kay

Overview

By the nationally best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve, Adam's Curse investigates the ultimate evolutionary crisis: a man-free future. How is it possible that the Y chromosome, which separated the sexes and allowed humans to rise to the apex of the animal kingdom, also threatens to destroy sexual reproduction altogether? Bryan Sykes confronts recent advances in evolutionary theory to find the answers to the questions that inexorably follow: Is there a genetic cause for men's greed, aggression, and promiscuity? Could a male homosexual gene possibly exist? A must read for anyone interested in popular science, family genealogy, and today's infertility crisis, Adam's Curse provokes a shocking debate on the nature of sexual reproduction

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Well-known Oxford geneticist Sykes (The Seven Daughters of Eve), in this lively and thought-provoking book, gives a genetic twist to the battle between the sexes. All human existence, he says, stems from the battle between the X and Y chromosomes to further their own reproduction at the expense of the other. The Y chromosome is passed on only by fathers, while mitochondrial DNA is passed on only by mothers. Sykes shows that many members of several Scottish clans (most notably the Macdonalds) can be traced via their Y chromosomes back to a common ancestor. Researchers have also been able to trace the extent of Viking settlement and intermarriage in the British Isles and northern Europe through Y chromosome distribution. Sykes's argument for a genetic role in homosexuality will undoubtedly be controversial. Using Dean Hamer's pedigrees, he claims that evidence points less to a "gay gene" than to mitochondrial DNA playing the leading role in a Machiavellian plot to further its own reproduction. Sykes concludes by noting that, as evidenced by declining sperm counts and high percentages of abnormal sperm, among other variables, the Y chromosome is a genetic mess and is deteriorating so quickly that men could become extinct. Those who find that a happy thought will want to snap up this book, as well as readers interested in learning what our chromosomes tell us about where we came from and where we may be headed. 6 illus. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

OCT/NOV 04 - AudioFile

The author, a geneticist, made notice with his theory that all Europeans are descended from four ancient mothers. Here he posits that human males may be on their way to extinction. Then he takes a good deal of time to explain. He writes with a great deal of charm (and repetitiveness), and Christopher Kay reads accordingly. However, the cassettes have practically no high frequencies. Even with considerable adjustment of one's player, they still sound as if they were recorded at low volume in a coffin. Y.R. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171223953
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	07/13/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

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