This book has not made me any wiser about the earliest human history, compared to works I previously read by Douglas Palmer and Adam Rutherford. Steve Olson (° 1956) provides an introduction to what genetic research has yielded, at least up to the date of the publication of this book, 2002, and unfortunately that is far too long ago in this rapidly evolving sector. For example, he maintains that Neandertal and Sapiens never produced progeny together, because no Neandertal genetic material has been found in our species; that was later clearly refuted.

Plus, Olson is a science journalist, not a scientist. This has the advantage that this book is very readable, but at the same time regularly contains factual errors. For example, he clearly misrepresents Jewish history by referring to the mythical kingdoms of David and Solomon. And according to him, the megalith builders were hunter-gatherers who responded to the advent of agriculture, a very curious and speculative theory. Also his long chapter on the origin of languages is a very strange element in this book.

In other words, for a thorough overview of the genetic evolution of our species, you should not depend on Olson. Rather, the book's merit lies in its focus on refuting racial theory! Olson comes back to this time and again: making a racial distinction between people has no biological basis, and certainly no genetic: “Human groups are too closely related to differ in any but the most superficial ways. The genetic study of our past is revealing that the cultural differences between groups could not have biological origins. Those differences must result instead from the experiences individuals have had”.

As mentioned, Olson comes back to this at random, but he also puts forward solid arguments. I only have the impression that he does this just a little too diligently, and doing so also wipes out all the cultural differences of people. And that of course is a bridge too far.