Blood of the Isles

The science is explained with an infectious zest. His book is so revealing that the new… as well as the old should read it – Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Syke’s scientific presentation is chatty and readable * The Sunday Times *Professor Sykes has an admirably free and easy style for an academic * Daily Mail *A fascinating overview of genealogical patterns and tribal heritage… [with] a stong narrative drive, pushed on by Sykes’s energetic search for answers * Telegraph Review *Fascinating reading. This book has all the tension of a good detective story but is actually science at its most accessible * Sunday Express *

Bryan Sykes is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, and has had a remarkable scientific career in genetics. After undertaking medical research into the causes of inherited bone disease, he set out to discover if DNA, the genetic material, could possibly survive in ancient bones. It did and he was the first to report on the recovery of ancient DNA from archaeological bone in 1989. Since then Professor Sykes has been called in as the leading international authority to examine several high profile cases, such as the Ice Man, Cheddar Man and the many individuals claiming to be surviving members of the Russian Royal Family. He is the author of The Seven Daughters of Eve and Adam’s Curse.