This book would be fascinating for its scientific content alone, establishing the surprisingly high probability of all human beings alive having common ancestral parents akin to the biblical Adam and Eve. But it also offers biblical, theological, and philosophical subtlety and precision, all saturated with hermeneutical charity on questions too often marked by polemics and hostility. It takes the reader on an intellectual adventure and reanimates our pursuit of one of the most profound human questions: Can sacred and natural history combine to tell us something essential about who we are and why we are here? I believe we are at an inflection point where the scientific plausibility of the core convictions of biblical faith is increasing after centuries of skepticism. This book may well be remembered as one of the turning points in that story.
"As a secular scientist, I was seriously skeptical of this book. Nevertheless, Swamidass has ably shown that the current evidence in genetics and ancestry is compatible with a recently de novo-created couple as among our universal common ancestors who then interbred with the rest of humanity that descended through the established evolutionary processes. In doing so, Swamidass aims to bridge a centuries-old divide between faith and science. In a world at war with itself, the need for such common ground is most urgent."
Nathan H. Lents, professor of biology, John Jay College, CUNY, and author of Human Errors
