Everyone Is African: How Science Explodes the Myth of Race

Most people know, I think, that humans originated in Africa, so the title of this book and its fundamental message won't be news. However, that knowledge is a long way from connecting the dots of migration and natural selection to get where we are today, some 200,000 years later, and that's what's so wonderful about this book. At its heart, the book is making the point that there is biological basis for race–that people of all skin colors are basically cousins–and that race is largely a story of historical immigration. Along the way, it debunks the case (again) made by some that there is a difference in intelligence among the races (which was argued in The Bell Curve, a book that I tried and failed to read when it came out years ago).

One thing I wish the book did better is to present the reason for the occurrence of genetic variants (mutations) that are then either winners or losers in the natural selection lottery. I get why some variants succeed and others don't, but why do they arise in the first place?

Overall, though, it's a fascinating read.