Unlock the Secrets of Your Family History with DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

Amazon Customer: Nicely laid out book regarding many aspects of DNA testing. It will also serve as a useful resource book for those wanting to review or who are looking to research specific subjects.

United States on Jul 05, 2023

Vickie Stevenson: great book

United States on May 08, 2023

RichardRichard: The media could not be loaded.  I've heard good things about this book and am looking forward to learning more with it.

However, this particular copy has had a problem with the printing and/or binding process. Pages 32 to 48 have been misaligned and not cleaved at the top.

I can separate them with a sharp knife, but I fear that they'll be damaged or the binding may have an issue.

I could submit a refund request but that seems excessive at present.

Hopefully there's no other defects in the book, because I really do want to be able to use this to further my DNA genealogy research.

United Kingdom on Apr 14, 2023

Amazon Customer: Course book for MSc. Easy to read. Simple explanations of a complex subject

United Kingdom on Mar 17, 2023

Thomas: This book help on our research on DNA.

United States on Mar 05, 2023

Bourré Jocelyne: Intéressant pour mieux comprendre les tests ADN, mais un peu compliqué pour une personne qui ne connait rien en biologie. Mais demeure tout de même une bonne source de compréhension.

Canada on Feb 17, 2023

Eleonora Haas: Dr. Blaine Bettinger is one of the earliest pioneers in the field of genetic genealogy and this book offers a great overview of its many aspects. It's also available in Spanish. Absolutely recommended!

Germany on Jan 19, 2022

Paper or Kindle: There is one glaring omission from this otherwise excellent book: nowhere does it explain centiMorgans, which are a hot topic in every genealogy group I belong to. Apart from that, however, this is a relatively short (270 pages), well-written, nicely illustrated introduction to the confusing science of DNA testing as it relates to genealogy. I held off on testing for years, but finally took the plunge, along with my mother and sister (it was my mother's idea). Before I get swept up in a sea of endless matches, I'm reading this book as if I were back in college and cramming for finals. It's presented in a structured way, with information in bite-sized chunks, clearly delineated, with charts, color blocks, examples galore, and great references to other books, organizations, and resources of all kinds. You don't have to read all of it, though. The Y-DNA section can be skipped if there are no males being tested in your family; there's a chapter on adoption which may not apply to you, and so on. There are comparisons between the major companies (Ancestry, 23 and Me, Family Tree, My Heritage), which can help you decide which is best for your purposes. Are you looking for your ethnicity,...

United States on Dec 23, 2019

Anit Piquère: This is probably the best book on this topic currently available. Although written by an American, British readers should not be deterred from buying it for that reason.

The book describes both the theory of DNA testing, in relatively non-technical language, the types of test available, and the type of information they can reveal. This is a complex topic, even for people who understand the underlying science, so this is not a book for light bedtime reading, but requires serious study. This is partly because some topics are not explained as clearly as they could be. On several occasions I had to refer to various websites to fully understand what the author was trying to say. For example, the fact that autosomes come in pairs is very relevant to genetic genealogy, but in many sections the author talks about them as if there were only one of each. Although this may have been for the sake of simplicity, I found this approach to be confusing rather than helpful.

There are also a few errors that should have been spotted at the editing stage. There are two instances on page 90 where the author refers to Richard III when he means Edward III, and in the accompanying family...

United Kingdom on Dec 31, 2017

Richard H. Martin: Despite what the marketing departments of some DNA testing companies try to make you believe, genetic genealogy is complex. And arcane. And rapidly changing. And not easily amenable to do-it-yourself learning. Until this book was published, that is.

I struggled on my own up the long and at times steep learning curve of genetic genealogy for about two years. Despite having a doctoral degree, this octogenarian was nearly overwhelmed by lions and tigers and bears (and cMs and SNPs and STRs) oh, my. I lost my way and the will to press on several times, and on occasion I suspected that the anointed gurus near the edge of this DNA-based genealogical frontier were simply jargon-spouting wizards hiding behind a curtain of pseudo-science.

How I wish this book had been published before I started down that yellow brick road. I suspect it would have cut at least a year off of my journey. Well written, attractive, nicely illustrated, and well organized, the book was “intended to be a resource for genealogists of all experience levels, from beginner to expert and everyone in between.” And, by golly, I think the author nailed that lofty goal. Blaine Bettinger knows his stuff,...

United States on Mar 12, 2017