Genetic Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond

The information is clear and has good suggestions. I have not finished reading but am satisfied with the book. Wish I had had it at the beginning of my searching. Enjoy.Mary

i don't usually write negative reviews, and this one isn't entirely negative. That said, this is a very flawed book and I would hesitate to recommend it, but having read it, I did come away with a number of useful ideas. The problem is in the presentation of technical material, specifically the entire world of DNA testing. First, there are numerous times that the book uses a term that hasn't been defined yet, and then defines it later in the chapter or in a subsequent chapter. Second, if the purpose of the book is to help genealogists understand how to use DNA testing for genealogical purposes, then really, most of the technical discussion is not needed at all! Third, this book needed a lot more editing, because concepts, statements, and examples are repeated throughout. It's as if the chapters were written months apart as the author thought of topics, and no one went back and read it from beginning to end, excising material already covered.I believe that if the author revisited the concept, she could condense the entire book into the equivalent of a couple chapters and make it more useful, with an appendix for definitions and links to websites. The appendix material was there, with useful links spread throughout the chapters, but really the core of the book should have been about the main tests that are available, some sort of simple matrix about the three main companies that offer these tests along with comparative pricing at the time of writing, and specific examples of how each test was useful in solving a particular genealogical problem. There is an appendix with success stories in the genealogist's own words, but I found them not very compelling. In fact, it made me question whether I wanted to pursue DNA testing at all, other than to get a world map of where my DNA comes from. That's a simple test, and the least expensive, but it's also not very useful in solving any specific genealogy problems because the timeline is considerably longer than "genealogical time".I do think the author managed to sprinkle in a lot of useful information in between unnecessary (in my opinion) technical discussion. For example, she has had to find other people to test to help her own research, and she discusses techniques for overcoming resistance to testing. She also points out where the genetic scientific community has problems with certain genealogical DNA companies, which is a red flag about the results. So all those practical pieces of information make the book worthwhile, but the bulk of the book obscures this usefulness.One last thing about the presentation of the technical information on DNA. I have discussed these topics in the past with research scientists who work in DNA labs, and I've always found the same problem. The field is complex enough, that without a better background in biology, most people cannot make sense of, say, the four nucleotides that comprise DNA. In fact, ATCG are also called bases. This is probably one of the most simple concepts, but the average reader is going to have trouble following whether these are bases or these are nucleotides, or what the heck the difference is between the two terms. And what's the point of knowing that C stands for cytosine? There's absolutely no point except to "show off" or to try to be complete. It does not help the average genealogist in the least to know that. What the genealogist needs to know is what the Y-DNA tests for in actual terms, in other words the fact that you're going to learn something about your haplogroups, the world distribution of DNA that matches your own. That's kind of interesting, but probably not useful except in confirming or refuting, say, that rumor that you have Native American ancestors or Swedish ancestors, when your current genealogical research doesn't show any such thing yet. I don't really want to know a lot about "snips" (SNPs), except how some tests are going to be more thorough and may give me better matches, and exactly how those kinds of matches can be used to locate other people who may be related, and therefore able to help you extend your research.I'm not entirely comfortable suggesting that readers would be better off with less information, i.e., that a certain amount of ignorance won't hurt. That's not my usual approach and certainly not a personality trait. If anything, I can see myself doing exactly what the author did, providing too much information for little gain.The bottom line is that this is a useful book with quite a bit of useful information, but it is entirely too long. I suggest reading it quickly (I read it slowly and regretted it), skipping over a lot of the technical information, and just accepting that the author knows what she's talking about when she tells you what information you might be able to gain from each test, and how you might be able to solve certain genealogical problems using DNA testing.

I thought the book covered the subject very well. It is particularly suited for the genealogist, or family historian, who is considering genetic genealogy as a tool in their hobby, or profession. Explanations about the various DNA tests (autosomal, Y, mtDNA), and their appropriate uses, were very helpful. I spent a lot of time with Google U this past year trying to understand genetic genealogy- this book really was the most help of all, and I definitely recommend it.The author augmented the book with links to various blogs for further explanation. There's good and bad about that since web links are often not that permanent and may be outdated in just a few years. I think genealogists are still trying to wrap their minds around the use of DNA and what the test results mean for locating DNA relatives. Trying to explain the highly scientific field to lay people is a challenge, but this book does it well.

This is a great intermediate book for the non-scientific genealogist to begin to understand the many complexities of DNA. It is NOT a complete scientific explanation of the things that are looked at in determining genetic relationships but instead a way to start to be able to understand DNA results, who they 'match' and why. As a new field-and completely unknown language to the average family tree searcher - understanding DNA results is necessary. Some background in interpreting those results is a given if the casual fan wants to make sense of it all. This book attempts to bring some clarity to that process without being overly academic.It's a good 'second-step' . . although probably too advanced for a first introduction, it isnt so advanced that the layman simply cannot comprehend it. The book is best used as a reference to clarify questions that come up when looking at DNA matches. Read it through once, then keep it handy to refer to as you will invariably forget many of the principles involved in DNA genetics. You'll find you return to it repeatedly for a refresher.

This is a must read book if you want to learn more about the very complex topic of genetic genealogy. The book isn't always easy reading - I found myself rereading many sections to be sure I understood - but Ms. Aulicino has provided an invaluable reference guide for anyone interested in DNA testing with its many possibilities. The information is presented in a well organized and logical manner. In addition, it contains a wealth of links for further study or broader detail about a topic of interest.If you are just beginning to learn about genetic genealogy, this book may seem too difficult to understand. I have one suggestion - keep reading. Then read the book again. and click all the links and read that information. It will start to make sense, honest.Genetic genealogy is a very new science, changing almost as we speak. Many consider it to be the future of genealogy. Those of us who are testing and learning and trying to make sense of all the data are the pioneers. Emily Aulicino has given us a much needed road map to point us in the right direction.

After getting the results of my genetic genealogy DNA tests, I waded through videos (YouTube and elsewhere), blogs and articles to find out how to interpret the test results. Although I have a science background (though not life sciences) I found the information very difficult to put together - a real jigsaw.Then I bought this book. It really has managed to set the field out clearly. After reading it through I have found that I can now follow all that information out there again and, this time, make some sense of it.Yes, there is a lot of jargon in genetic genealogy, just like any other specialisation, but complaining about it won't make it go away. Trying to make head or tail of anyone else's writing on the subject without understanding the jargon becomes simply impossible. One of the things I really appreciated about this book is that it explains the jargon simply and clearly, before it is used.I found it helpful to make my own notes as I read the book just to help fix things in my memory, but it is a tribute to the author's ability to write clearly that I have not needed to refer back to them since. Oh, just to mention, I'm eighty next year so if I find it that helpful, I'm sure anyone will.Things are changing rapidly in the field of genetic genealogy but this book gives a really good foundation for following these changes as they arise.

An excellent book for those delving into the realms of DNA testing to uncover family history truths. It is as described in the title - an introduction to the basics of genetics and how testing can show up similarities and differences between different individuals. It then goes on to the different types of tests and how to go about access these appropriately for what you want to discover. It is a book for reference so perhaps better purchased in paper form rather than for a Kindle?

Hi I bought this after having a DNA test. it is really a book for deciding which test to choose before you have one, and them some help in what to do with the results. Information about how the various packages work is out of date since the book was written in 2012. It is informative up to a point and the author knows her subject.

Having been involved in traditional genealogy for some time, I was given this book by a good friend. I've been so impressed by its explanation of genetic testing and its value for genealogy that this purchase was me buying another copy for yet another friend. And so it goes on ....

Good introduction to genetic genealogy concepts - well written and set at a level anyone can understand. I recommend this book to anyone starting out on a genetic journey to aid their genealogical research.