“Genetic analyses can inform about both our recent and our ancient past: forensic DNA illuminates the recent past while molecular anthropology tells us about the ancient past. Henry Erlich, who was instrumental in the development of a method that revolutionized both fields, takes the reader on a tour-de-force description as to how DNA analyses can incriminate the guilty and exonerate the innocent, and how we can learn about our evolutionary history by studying the DNA of modern populations and ancient fossils. Erlich provides a lively and engaging account, replete with examples and insights from his own considerable involvement in the field of DNA analysis.”

—Mark Stoneking, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Lyon, Lyon, France