Legacy: a genetic history of the Jewish people

Who are the Jews? In this book, Harry Ostrer, an internationally renowned medical geneticist, joins this century-old debate by exploring previous efforts to define a biological basis for Jewishness and the recent discoveries of his own Jewish HapMap Project team of investigators.

Dr. Ostrer goes on to explore the even more challenging issues of whether certain traits alleged to be more prevalent among Jews such as intelligence and mental illness have a genetic basis.

Then, recognizing the rising popularity of genetic genealogy, he discusses whether knowledge of the genetic legacy is providing a new basis for shared Jewish identity.