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rachel_752 's review for:
Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas
by Jennifer Raff
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Editing my earlier comments:
I did end up coming back and finishing this book. Fortunately, the sidebars that I had found interesting but disruptive in Part 1 were used more sparingly in the rest of the book. I still struggled with the author’s writing style, but I came away with a broad understanding of the subject and a desire to continue reading about the early peopling of the Americas.
Original Comments
I read through the end of Part 1 before deciding this book wasn't for me. Based on other reviews, I had expected that the writing would be more accessible to a lay audience, but it seems a reader would benefit from some basic familiarity with the field. It was a little over my head at times and I found myself having trouble retaining the information.
Also, each chapter contains multiple side bars, which were interesting, but the placement was often disruptive to the overall reading experience. I wish the author or editor could have found a way to incorporate those details into the main narrative.
I did end up coming back and finishing this book. Fortunately, the sidebars that I had found interesting but disruptive in Part 1 were used more sparingly in the rest of the book. I still struggled with the author’s writing style, but I came away with a broad understanding of the subject and a desire to continue reading about the early peopling of the Americas.
Original Comments
I read through the end of Part 1 before deciding this book wasn't for me. Based on other reviews, I had expected that the writing would be more accessible to a lay audience, but it seems a reader would benefit from some basic familiarity with the field. It was a little over my head at times and I found myself having trouble retaining the information.
Also, each chapter contains multiple side bars, which were interesting, but the placement was often disruptive to the overall reading experience. I wish the author or editor could have found a way to incorporate those details into the main narrative.