Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People

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Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People (eBook) Pub. Date: 10/24/2007 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People Pub. Date: 10/24/2007 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

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Overview

"The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like droplets on grass," reads the biblical prophecy in Micah 5:6, which was indeed prophetic. Jews make up a tiny one-quarter percent of the global population, but pockets of adherents are found in almost every culture. And the genetic seeds of the Israelites can be found in many ethnic groups and religions. The explosion of interest in genetics has revived one of Western society's longest running debates: who is a Jew? Identity may turn on the mysteries encoded in a lock of hair or a single drop of blood.

Editorial Reviews

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.
—Marcia Welsh

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780446580632
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: 10/24/2007
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 195,849
Product dimensions: 6.37 (w) x 9.25 (h) x 1.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Jon Entine, author of the bestseller TABOO: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk about It, is an international columnist, adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and consultant on business and media ethics. He spent twenty years as a producer and executive with NBC News and ABC News and has taught at numerous universities, including Miami University (Ohio) and New York University. He has been awarded many fellowships and prizes for his journalism, including a National Press Club award and two Emmys.

Acknowledgments and Author's Note     ix
Identity
The Dead Sea Scrolls of DNA     3
Identity Complex     14
Blood Ties     31
Eve and Adam     50
Finding Aaron     64
History
The Crystallization of Jewishness     99
Wandering Tribes     129
Sephardim: The Vanishing Jews of Spain     170
Ashkenazim: Converts or Abraham's Children?     195
Race
Jews and Race     225
The End of "Race"?     250
Disease and Identity     270
Smart Jews: Jewish Mothers or Jewish Genes?     290
Abraham's Contested Covenant     329
Migration Maps     353
Haplogroup Descriptions     355
Tracing Your Ancestry and Family History Using DNA     363
Case Study: The DNA of Father William Sanchez     373
"Jewish Diseases"     379
Notes     383
Index     411

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Anonymous

Posted February 17, 2008

A reviewer

I wasn't sure I was going to read this book because of the controversy over IQ that it's stirred. That would have been a big mistake. That's such a minor portion of the book, and after reading it, the author could not have avoided the subject. After all, throughout history, except for the modern period, Jews have been considered a 'race' and have considered themselves a 'race.' This book discusses race and the history of 'race' very thoughtfully and not polemically. The real strength of the book, and why I heartily recommend it, is its fascinating narrative on the origins of Judaism and Christianity, and the story of the Israelites. Bible lovers like me 'and I'm not a strong believer, I just love history', won't be able to put this book down. It weaves history, archaeology, and genetic anthropology. In some cases, such as in the story of Aaron and his descendants, the Jewish priests, it provides genetic witness to Biblical claims. But it's not afraid to follow the facts when science challenges the literal text. It reviews everything from Christ's genealogy to the story of the Lost Tribes to the real origins and ancestral make-up of today's Jews -- a hot potato to those challenging the so-called 'right of return' by Jews to what they say is their ancient homeland. It's not pro-Jewish. In fact it's neutral on political issues. It seems all about challenging the reader to think outside their comfort zone. This book reminds me of Jared Diamond's 'Guns, Germs and Steal.' I loved it.

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