Adam's Curse: a Future Without Men.

ADAM'S CURSE: A FUTURE WITHOUT MEN. Bryan Sykes. 2004. Read by Christopher Kay. 9 tapes. 12.5 hrs. Recorded Books. 1-4025-8993-x. $85.00. Vinyl; content, reader notes. SA

British geneticist Sykes leads listeners on a tour of how genetics works in the real world, especially as it relates to the Y chromosome carried only by men. He traces the movements of Vikings, Mongols, and European soldiers, whose Y chromosome spread through peaceful or coerced means that can now be traced. He casts an eye on the role of wealth, status, and power as variants of sexual attraction, on the reasons why more boys than girls are born in every culture, and on the universal predisposition to prefer boys to girls. So why is the subtitle of the book "A Future Without Men"? For listeners in need of something else to worry about, he posits the belief that, in 100,000 years or so, the Y chromosomes of the world will become so degraded that men (and probably women, too) may disappear.

Kay, in his superb reading, pays special attention to pacing, and that helps in the technical passages. But teaching technical material is not Sykes's main purpose in writing the book. Using intriguing anecdotes, some of them personal, and some astonishing interpretations of why the human race is the way it is, he makes the world of genetics come alive for the educated reader. Great popular science. Edna Boardman, Bismarck, ND

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.