Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza was among the first to ask whether the genes of modern populations contain a historical record of the human species. Cavalli-Sforza and others have answered this question--anticipated by Darwin--with a decisive yes. Genes, Peoples, and Languages comprises five lectures that serve as a summation of the author's work over several decades, the goal of which has been nothing less than tracking the past hundred thousand years of human evolution. Cavalli-Sforza raises questions that have serious political, social, and scientific import: When and where did we evolve? How have human societies spread across the continents? How have cultural innovations affected the growth and spread of populations? What is the connection between genes and languages? Always provocative and often astonishing, Cavalli-Sforza explains why there is no genetic basis for racial classification.

What can we learn from the genomes of our closest evolutionary relatives?
Neanderthal Man tells the story of geneticist Svante Pääbo's mission to answer this question, and recounts his ultimately successful efforts to genetically define what makes us different from our Neanderthal cousins. Beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2010, Neanderthal Man describes the events, intrigues, failures, and triumphs of these scientifically rich years through the lens of the pioneer and inventor of the field of ancient DNA.
We learn that Neanderthal genes offer a unique window into the lives of our hominin relatives and may hold the key to unlocking the mystery of why humans survived while Neanderthals went extinct. Drawing on genetic and fossil clues, Pääbo explores what is known about the origin of modern humans and their relationship to the Neanderthals and describes the fierce debate surrounding the nature of the two species' interactions. His findings have not only redrawn our family tree, but recast the fundamentals of human history—the biological beginnings of fully modern Homo sapiens, the direct ancestors of all people alive today.
A riveting story about a visionary researcher and the nature of scientific inquiry, Neanderthal Man offers rich insight into the fundamental question of who we are.

只有細胞核基因組，能夠告訴我們人類演化的完整故事
是什麼，讓我們成為真正的人類？
尼安德塔人的基因是一扇獨特的窗口，
讓我們能藉此一窺我們人族親戚的生活，
同時也可能解開一個謎團：
為何尼安德塔人滅絕，而人類活了下來？
2010年，瑞典遺傳生物學家帕波宣布完成尼安德塔人基因組定序，從此人類演化研究邁入新紀元。在《尼安德塔人》這本書中，帕波描述自己在25年漫長的研究中所進行的工作，並敘述為了找出人類和近親尼安德塔人之間遺傳差異，最終獲致的成功，以及期間所付出的極大努力。
帕波從1980年代研究埃及木乃伊開始，不斷試驗萃取絕種物種DNA的技術，排除古代DNA污染問題，建立可靠重建DNA準則，最終使用在重建人類演化史的聖杯上，定出共有三十億個核苷酸序列的尼安德塔人基因組。
由於演化人類學及古生物學家對於現代人類起源以及與尼安德塔人的關係，一向頗多爭議，帕波的研究透過基因組的分析，打破許多人對遺傳學真能對人類學有所貢獻的疑慮，解開人類演化之謎。更驚人的是，他發現尼安德塔人並沒有滅絕，所有現代人類體內都帶有尼安德塔人的基因，也就是說，我們都是尼安德塔人的後代。這個發現讓人不得不重新描繪人類演化的歷程。
這是一個關於深具遠見的科學家與科學研究本質的故事，對於「我們是誰」這個基本問題，提供了豐富的見解。這也是一本好看的實驗室文學，科學家在探索科學真相時理論上的思辨，不斷檢驗實驗成果並尋求出路時的波折連連，實驗室成員的互動以及與科學競爭團隊的競合，將科學工作的第一手資料極為生動地記錄下來。

Y染色体由于其单倍体特性和群体特异性分布，成为分子人类学研究最有力的工具。利用Y染色体可以很好地解析种族的起源、民族的分化、家族的传承。本书共分7章，系统介绍了Y染色体在东亚族群演化过程的分子人类学研究中取得的进展。从Y染色体总单倍群C、D、F、K在东亚的多样性分布，可知东亚人群由不同时期到达的澳大利亚、尼格利陀、蒙古利亚、高加索4个不同种族混合而成。由单倍群0的多样性分布可知东亚的9个民族类群（汉藏、侗傣、苗瑶、南岛、孟高棉、阿尔泰、乌拉尔、叶尼塞、古亚）的分化过程和系属关系。利用高分辨率的Y染色体标记，以曹操家族作为示范，展示了Y染色体在厘清和辨析家族谱系中的强大功能，开创了历史人类学的新领域。
李辉、金力编著的《Y染色体与东亚族群演化》是运用遗传学手段解析东亚族群历史的第一部专著，具有开创性价值。可供人类学、人类遗传学、医学等领域的研究人员及相关领域的研究生和高年级本科生参考。