MixedThe GuardianPlomin writes with authority about the ongoing genomic revolution that will unquestionably transform our lives and society ... To think that our society can handle the new world of personal genomics without negative consequences, one would have to be an incurable or an incorrigible optimist. Plomin describes himself as both. I have a bleaker view of the world ... I am happy to bow to Plomin as a psychologist and a geneticist, but I found his sociology rather lacking, in fact quite baffling ... I applaud Plomin for his own scientific achievements, for making this new science accessible, and for discussing its potential implications for society. I think how polygenically lucky he is to be such an optimist: my genes are telling me something quite different about the brave new world of personal genomics.
David Reich
PositiveThe London Review of BooksSurprise follows surprise in the new science, as it does in the pages of Reich’s book. Sometimes the surprise is in discovering just how much we don’t know ... Reich’s book isn’t just a collection of stories about the histories of human populations. It is a fascinating case study of scientific revolution: the role of colleagues, of conferences, chance meetings, discoveries, technological innovations; what we do not yet sufficiently understand (notably, the rate of mutation); what new methods are required, and so on. Reich also has interesting things to say about the way his discipline has over the years been caught up in politics ... The big message of Reich’s book is that through our evolution and, even more important, our history, populations have continually mixed with each other. Tiny pockets of persistent endogamy apart, we are blends of past populations, which were themselves blends of those who went before.
