A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our GenesA Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes
Score Modern
What it's about
This is a story about you, and about all of us. Geneticist Adam Rutherford explains what our genomes reveal about human history, births, deaths, disease, war, migration and sex, and cuts through the myths that have grown up since the human genome was first read in 2001.
Why it's worth reading
It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. It's witty, clear and eye-opening.
You'll love it if you liked
She Has Her Mother's Laugh
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
The Gene: An Intimate HistoryGood to know
It debunks many popular claims about ancestry tests.
By the numbers
- Readers48 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics24 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller13 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz5 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #104 of the 119 science and ideas books we rank
- #179 of the 198 history books we rank
- #1107 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #2039 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking
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The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
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Quick answers
Is A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes worth reading?
Yes. It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. It ranks #2,039 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 63.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes about?
This is a story about you, and about all of us. Geneticist Adam Rutherford explains what our genomes reveal about human history, births, deaths, disease, war, migration and sex, and cuts through the myths that have grown up since the human genome was first read in 2001.
How long does it take to read A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes?
About 8 hours (320 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes?
If you liked it, try She Has Her Mother's Laugh by Carl Zimmer, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari or The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee.