The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History Through DNA

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 288 pages
• Published by: Simon & Schuster November 6, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0743266587
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743266581
• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Some locks of hair found in the secret compartment of a family heirloom was the catalyst for Ball, a National Book Award winner for Slaves in the Family, to embark on a genetic family history. He became animated with the thought that through DNA analysis of the hair he could discover some truths about his Ball ancestry, such as whether his father's maternal grandmother, Kate Fuller, was part African-American. As he relates his experiences with various DNA labs, Ball also describes the hard science behind DNA forensics, informed by conversations with experts in the field. But the account's drama comes from a finding that suggests a Native American ancestor in his family tree. Another lab contradicts this evidence, and the error affects Ball profoundly, leading him to rail about the fallibility of science, the dangers of making science the new religion and scientists, specifically molecular biologists, the new priests. Forensic DNA testing has become hot (exemplified by Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s televised testing results), and as Ball's own emotions show, is also playing into Americans' sense of identity. Ball's tale will intrigue America's many amateur genealogists and also serve as a cautionary tale. (Nov. 6)
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Product Review
"PowerfulBall contributes to at least partly reclaiming the humanity Slavery worked to obliterate. He reminds us that Slavery was not just about economics or politics or even abstract questions of morality but most essentially about the millions of human beings imprisoned within its chains." -- Drew Gilpin Faust, The New York Times Book Review

"Ball is a first-rate scholar-journalist. Outside Faulkner, it will be hard to find a more poignant, powerful account of a white man struggling with his and his nation's past." -- Shane Harrison, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Reader Reviews
Edward Ball comes from a large Southern family with a long history in Charleston, South Carolina. Using packets of hair his ancestors collected from their children and other relatives and then cached in an old desk, he attempted to learn more about his genetic background by having the DNA extracted and analyzed. He used a variety of labs in both North America and Europe, and finished with some answers and a few new puzzles. One of the deep, dark, secrets of American genealogy is the amount of admixture to be found in most people. There is no such thing as a "pure" Indo-European, Sub-Saharan African, or Native American, though many still maintain that they are racially homogeneous. On the other hand, many who have done a little reading and a little experimenting with DNA research themselves tend to make the assumption that the science is so crystal clear that all the answers are right there, ready to be cheek swabbed and analyzed. Ball does a good job of demonstrating that both assumptions are false. His research indicated possible Native American and Sub-Saharan African ancestry mixed in with his "Nordic" Ball genes, then later indicated that such ancestry might not exist after all. The hair samples sometimes yielded much information, but often remained frustratingly silent. In chronicling his research into his family's past history Ball also gives a good overview of the science behind DNA research, making sense of highly technical terms and jargon so that general readers can get a better sense of what actually takes place in DNA analysis. As a genealogist with a Southern family background very similar to Ball's, I enjoyed reading his stories about his ancestors and his quest to learn more about their racial makeup. One of my great-grandmothers made a collection of hair from herself and her husband and oldest son which I now possess, so I was interested in reading Ball's history of this nineteenth century custom and how he made use of it. I have also had my own DNA analyzed and learned some intriguing things about my own ancestry. In my case, a family legend that a great-great-great-grandmother had been a full-blooded Cherokee Indian was disproved when my mitochondrial DNA, which I inherited from her, proved to be of European origin. Ball has done a good job of making a highly technical science understandable and, more importantly, of demonstrating that that science is still in its infancy and capable of error and uncertainties. His book should be read by anyone considering having DNA research done or by anyone interested in this new and fascinating area.