Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People
Could our sense of who we are really turn on a sliver of DNA? In our multiethnic world, questions of individual identity are becoming increasingly unclear. Now in ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN bestselling author Jon Entine vividly brings to life the profound human implications of the Age of Genetics while illuminating one of today's most controversial topics: the connection between genetics and who we are, and specifically the question "Who is a Jew?"\ Entine weaves a fascinating narrative, using...
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Could our sense of who we are really turn on a sliver of DNA? In our multiethnic world, questions of individual identity are becoming increasingly unclear. Now in ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN bestselling author Jon Entine vividly brings to life the profound human implications of the Age of Genetics while illuminating one of today's most controversial topics: the connection between genetics and who we are, and specifically the question "Who is a Jew?"Entine weaves a fascinating narrative, using breakthroughs in genetic genealogy to reconstruct the Jewish biblical tradition of the chosen people and the hereditary Israelite priestly caste of Cohanim. Synagogues in the mountains of India and China and Catholic churches with a Jewish identity in New Mexico and Colorado provide different patterns of connection within the tangled history of the Jewish diaspora. Legendary accounts of the Hebrew lineage of Ethiopian tribesmen, the building of Africa's Great Zimbabwe fortress, and even the so-called Lost Tribes are reexamined in light of advanced DNA technology. Entine also reveals the shared ancestry of Israelites and Christians. As people from across the world discover their Israelite roots, their riveting stories unveil exciting new approaches to defining one's identity. Not least, Entine addresses possible connections between DNA and Jewish intelligence and the controversial notion that Jews are a "race apart." ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN is a compelling reinterpretation of biblical history and a challenging and exciting illustration of the promise and power of genetic research. Marcia Welsh - Library Journal Do blacks have superior athleticism programmed into their genes? Do Jews' common DNA patterns give them not only superior intelligence but also a susceptibility to diseases like Tay-Sachs, breast cancer, ulcerative colitis, and Parkinson's? Reporter and Emmy Award-winning producer Entine (adjunct fellow, American Enterprise Inst. for Public Policy Research) explored the first question in 2000 with Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We Are Afraid To Talk About It. He now addresses similarly controversial ground in this study of the genetic makeup of Jews. His explorations take him from his own Jewish family members' cancer diagnoses to genetic labs-both academic and commercial-across the world, with lengthy forays into Jewish history, the history of Israel and Zionism, and the split between social anthropology and biological anthropology. While such books as Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman's DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrewshave covered the topic, this one is slated for a national media campaign. Though its arguments are provocative, it lacks the empirical evidence to back them up. Recommended for larger public libraries.
Acknowledgments and Author's Note ixIdentityThe Dead Sea Scrolls of DNA 3Identity Complex 14Blood Ties 31Eve and Adam 50Finding Aaron 64HistoryThe Crystallization of Jewishness 99Wandering Tribes 129Sephardim: The Vanishing Jews of Spain 170Ashkenazim: Converts or Abraham's Children? 195RaceJews and Race 225The End of "Race"? 250Disease and Identity 270Smart Jews: Jewish Mothers or Jewish Genes? 290Abraham's Contested Covenant 329Migration Maps 353Haplogroup Descriptions 355Tracing Your Ancestry and Family History Using DNA 363Case Study: The DNA of Father William Sanchez 373"Jewish Diseases" 379Notes 383Index 411
\ Library JournalDo blacks have superior athleticism programmed into their genes? Do Jews' common DNA patterns give them not only superior intelligence but also a susceptibility to diseases like Tay-Sachs, breast cancer, ulcerative colitis, and Parkinson's? Reporter and Emmy Award-winning producer Entine (adjunct fellow, American Enterprise Inst. for Public Policy Research) explored the first question in 2000 with Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We Are Afraid To Talk About It. He now addresses similarly controversial ground in this study of the genetic makeup of Jews. His explorations take him from his own Jewish family members' cancer diagnoses to genetic labs-both academic and commercial-across the world, with lengthy forays into Jewish history, the history of Israel and Zionism, and the split between social anthropology and biological anthropology. While such books as Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman's DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrewshave covered the topic, this one is slated for a national media campaign. Though its arguments are provocative, it lacks the empirical evidence to back them up. Recommended for larger public libraries.\ —Marcia Welsh\ \ \
