Jacob's Legacy: A Genetic View of Jewish History

by David B. Goldstein

A geneticist explains the science behind genetic history and what it has revealed about Jewish origins

Who are the Jews? Where did they come from? What is the connection between an ancient Jewish priest in Jerusalem and today’s Israeli sunbather on the beaches of Tel Aviv? These questions stand at the heart of this engaging book. Geneticist David Goldstein analyzes modern DNA studies of Jewish populations and examines the intersections of these scientific findings with the history (both biblical and modern) and oral tradition of the Jews. With a special gift for translating complex scientific concepts into language understandable to all, Goldstein delivers an accessible, personal, and fascinating book that tells the history of a group of people through the lens of genetics.

In a series of detective-style stories, Goldstein explores the priestly lineage of Jewish males as manifested by Y chromosomes; the Jewish lineage claims of the Lemba, an obscure black South African tribe; the differences in maternal and paternal genetic heritage among Jewish populations; and much more. The author also grapples with the medical and ethical implications of our rapidly growing command of the human genomic landscape. The study of genetics has not only changed the study of Jewish history, Goldstein shows, it has altered notions of Jewish identity and even our understanding of what makes a people a people.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Jewish, Biology, Judaism, Genetics

176 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2008

About the author

David B. Goldstein is John E. Borne Professor of Genetics and Development and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the author Jacob’s Legacy: A Genetic View of Jewish History.

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Jacob's Legacy" was my first foray into genetic history, and since the last time I studied genetics was in Biology 100 my first semester of college, I felt a bit challenged to understand everything. Goldstein certainly tries to make his subject comprehensible to the educated public, but I'll admit I didn't grasp the complexities of Y chromosome microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA variation. Still, I learned a lot, and was impressed by the historical conclusions he drew from his scientific data. He is quick to point out avenues of further study; this book could be a jumping-off point for a plethora of PhD dissertations. But not mine! Overall, I found "Jacob's Legacy" to be a valuable model for the interdisciplinary approach to studying history, one that I'm glad I made the effort to read.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not explain well how DNA is used in search of population history. Its explanations were shallow and no clearer than you will see in other places.

[Michael Estey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob's Legacy

JACOB'S LEGACY
A GENETIC VIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY
Author: David B. Goldstein
Book Review



What makes a Jew a Jew...

DNA, chromosomes, the male Y factor, the female X factor, genes, disease, history, all come together in this thought provoking study on the Jew.

David Goldstein a geneticist, a scientist examines the Jewish population from biblical times, to modern days.

This book might surprise a few people.

Fascinating.

Will help you understand the dynamics of Judism, and traces their origins through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham.

A little hard to read at first. A lot of scientific jargon. But, if you stick with it promises to be very enlightening.


I give it two thumbs up.

Dog Brindle

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Goldstein gives us an interesting peek at his pet project - a genetic analysis of the Jewish people. Dr Goldstein shares the stories told by the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA; stories about the background of an African tribe claiming Jewish heritage, potential origins of Ashkenazi Jews, inheritance of a priestly caste, and more.

Dr Goldstein doesn't overwhelm the reader with technical jargon; rather, explains his approach and how the story can be read in the genetic code in understandable language. At a little under 200 pages, Jacob's Legacy is a relatively quick, enjoyable read.

[Perlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little late to the game with this one, so the information here is not news. But it's still an interesting read, and is written to be accessible to the lay person. There is much to still ponder about genes and I think Goldstein does a good job of showing the wonder and fascination this area of study holds.

[Steve Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more but I didn't think the author did a good job of explaining the genetics

[Jason Furman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about what has been learned from genealogical studies of Jews using genetic data. The author appears to be one of the main researchers in the field and it is published by Yale University Press -- although it is geared towards layman.

The most astounding findings are the ones that have already gotten the most attention -- the fact the "Kohen's" or Jewish priests are disproportionately descended from one man about 3,000 years ago and that the African Lemda really are related to Jews. But they get more attention in this book along with more detail of how exactly the research was performed -- some of which led me to think that a lot of this research is still in a relatively primitive stage with more room for judgment than I would have expected.

The book also covers some other topics, including the link between genetic diseases like Tay Sachs and intelligence, bringing considerable skepticism to evolutionary explanations of Jewish intelligence by Cochran and his co-authors.

Ultimately, however, much of what one would want to know is simply not accessible to the genetic analysis we can do today -- and may not every be accessible. So while I look forward to the sequel with new discoveries and insights ten or twenty years from now, genes will still leave a maddening number of mysteries.

[Banbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both the explanations of genetics and of Jewish history were quite interesting; however, the book assumes a bit more knowledge than most lay readers would have. A few schematic drawings to illustrate such concepts as "microsatellites" (are these some sort of hovering molecules surrounding the DNA strand, or is this just a term denoting variations of an expected DNA sequence?) and "repeating sequences" (does this mean some of the repeating sequences are redundant and the the expression of the gene would be the same without the repetition?). The author conjectures that perhaps the relatively few versions of mitochondrial DNA in Ashkenazi populations being the result of a few Jewish men traveling far from home, marrying non-Jewish local women, then once a community was established, putting up social barriers to intermarriage with other non-Jewish women. I find this conjecture unlikely. It is generally the woman who would establish the culture (ritual) within the home and pass it on to children, and it is unlikely that a lone, or even a few, Jewish men would be able to establish a Jewish culture within a community that is not Jewish.

[Benbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account of a fascinating body of population genetic studies focused on the genetic history of the Jews. I found the descriptions of historical events particularly interesting. Goldstein does an exemplary job at explaining the limits of historical inference from these studies, and his frankness about his feelings regarding the social impacts of the conclusions (real or distorted) drawn from his studies by others is refreshing and thought provoking. I am an evolutionary geneticist, and for me, the science in the book was understandable. But this is a book targeted to a general audience, and I think that despite Goldstein's efforts to incorporate analogies, some of the descriptions of methodological and analytical details are still too esoteric. Nevertheless, I think any reader will enjoy the book and come away with a better understanding and capacity to think critically about Jewish history, genetics, and the scientific process.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is already six years old, not old by book standards but when you're talking about genetics it might be a lifetime. Just this past week, for example, a reputable journal published a study suggesting that all ashkenazi jews might be descendants of 350 jews who lived in the middle ages. The science is moving very quickly.

Nevertheless, it would seem that Jacob's Legacy is an impotant addition to the body of knowledge and worth reading if Jewish history and Jewish genetics interest you. In particular, I found the chapters on Kohens and Levites to be particularly instructive, the latter holding personal interest for me.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why this didn't show up on my "currently reading" list, but I just finished it. This is a really interesting account of the study of ethnic group origins through genetics. The author uses language that makes his scientific journey and resulting hypotheses understandable to lay people. The resulting history of the Jewish people is pretty fascinating.

[Brett C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book centers on the genetic-identity of being Jewish. The author focuses on the efforts of science to present the ethnic-Jewish-DNA evidence that Jews are one of the oldest identity groups on the planet. An interesting read on the genetic view of Jewish history.

[Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just arrived from the library...we'll see.

Pretty dry, and too much jargon. Even though it's a short book, I didn't finish it...got bored.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, brief introduction to genetic history. Some of the findings described here were pretty cool.

[Jane]

wish it had some charts and tables

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. It didn't offer me any new info.

[Janne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. It is well written and easy to follow even for the non-scientist (I think).

[Corin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. A little slow starting, but keep going because it's worth it!