LM051 "A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived," by Adam Rutherford

 "A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived," by Adam Rutherford, is an ambitious and highly readable exploration of human history told through the lens of modern genetics. Drawing on advances in DNA analysis, Rutherford shows how scientists can trace ancient migrations, identify long-lost populations, and reveal just how closely related all humans are—often in ways that upend familiar ideas about race, ancestry, and identity.

Moving fluidly between deep prehistory and the present, the book introduces key discoveries and personalities in genetics while explaining complex concepts with clarity, humor, and restraint. Rutherford is careful to acknowledge both the power and the limits of genetic knowledge, confronting how such science has been misunderstood or misused, even as it reshapes our understanding of who we are.

Neither a dry scientific treatise nor a simplistic popularization, A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived blends science, history, and storytelling to illuminate humanity’s shared past. The result is a thoughtful, often surprising account of how a few strands of DNA connect each of us to an immense, intertwined human story—one far older, stranger, and more collective than we might imagine.