Y: The Descent of Men [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

With its deliberate echo of the title of Charles Darwin's book The Descent of Man (in which "man" means humanity), Y: the Descent of Men is a study of the biology of men (as opposed to women) and maleness. Y is the Y chromosome, which contains the very small proportion of genetic information that men have and women do not. There is much interesting information, but the lack of structure -- a long series of facts stated one after another with very little to link them together -- makes it difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. Likewise the nudging and doubles entendres rapidly become tedious: for example, when we are told that "man's most basic attribute also has a strong tendency to wilt" we are clearly expected to think of erectile dysfunction, though the context tells us that the sentence refers to the tendency of the Y chromosome to lose genes progressively in the course of evolutionary time.

In the Preface Steve Jones tells that he does not plan to compete with other people with the same name -- the lead guitarist of the Sex Pistols, for example, or the champion golfer, etc. -- but will stick to what he knows, the biology and evolution of males. In genetics his expertise cannot be questioned, but there is more to biology than genetics, and the biochemistry in the book is journalistic in style, with starry-eyed references to "special enzymes" that make oestrogen, nitric oxide, and so on, or "special sequences" of DNA that with affinity for particular proteins. The objection here is to the word "special", which adds nothing because the great majority of enzymes are highly specific (the exceptions are mostly involved in digestion and detoxification, and even these are much more specific than the sort of catalysts used by chemists), and many sequences of DNA are likewise specific: in a world where everyone is exceptional, no one is exceptional.

The editing is often careless, as for example in the passage where we are told (apparently) that Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, forbade athletes' wives from watching the events, with violations punished by being thrown over a cliff. This is clearly not what Jones meant to say, but only because we know that it is absurd can we deduce what he did mean to say. Or what are we to make of the following pair of sentences: "The lowest [sperm] counts were in Copenhagen, followed in turn by Paris, Edinburgh and Turku (which came a clear top). The citizens of Edinburgh should be proud of their cells' ability to swim, which takes the European gold medal"? Does the author think that Turku is not in Europe? (No, as he told us at the beginning of the paragraph that it was a European city). Is he making a distinction between sperm count and swimming ability? (Hard to believe, as this is the first mention of swimming ability in this context). Why would it be a matter of pride, anyway?

More seriously, the whole book encourages a confusion between maleness and possession of a Y chromosome, even though the author is perfectly well aware (and explains in the first chapter) that the system for sex determination used by most mammals is only one of several that exist in nature. The Y chromosome is slowly losing genes, and may conceivably retain none at all after some more millions of years of evolution, but so what? There is no necessary implication that the male sex will disappear and that humans will adopt parthenogenesis.

An episode in Star Trek - The Next Generation portrays the Enterprise crew encountering a planet populated entirely by androgynes. The cast representing these creatures is clearly composed of only women. As clones, their appearance and outlook is nearly uniform and gender becomes a social ill. If Steve Jones is correct, this condition is the future of the human species. In this book Jones gives a full account of the rise and descent of masculinity, from the formation of the Y [male] chromosome to the current decline in sperm count in human society. As Jones makes clear, we all start in the womb as neuters, but various processes dictated by the father's chromosomes, turn some of us into males.

Jones opens his account with a touch of irony - it was a woman, Nettie Stevens, who identified the male chromosome in 1905. It took nearly a century to perceive the gene controlling sex determination - the SRY [sex recognition gene]. From there Jones explains the role of that short, 20 gene DNA string and its impact. Embryo development relies on sperm-borne chemicals. This input is part of the reason maleness drives the pace of evolution. Sperm is an invader, and the body resists invaders. The chemical changes reflect that fundamental dichotomy and there's nothing universal about male sperm. Its variety reflects the rapid evolutionary pathways taken by various organisms. And few species have evolved as rapidly as humans, Jones reminds us.

That haste, however, has led to vulnerability. Male lines, particularly in our own species, die out quicker. Jones' example is expressed in the recognition that all the family lineages since William the Conquerer had died out. Nor are his examples confined to humans. Hermaphroditic slugs in the French Pyranees are exhibiting an increase in female-only lines. Given his evidence for this happening in modern men, one can only wonder at the cause of this unisex phenomenon.

For it's modern men that are the target of this book. Whatever forces in evolution have reduced the size and impact of the Y chromosome, modern civilization has exacerbated its decline. Clinics in various nations record reduced sperm counts, notably in Italian taxi drivers, American businessmen, Scots shopkeepers. Jones isn't applauding these trends as some proto-feminist. He wants, through this book, for males to become aware of the fate their descendents will confront. Maleness is likely to disappear, and offers pointers to prevent that extinction. More focus, he stresses, needs to be made on the impact of various foodstuffs and industrial chemicals.

Depressing as much of this sounds, there is much to be learned from this book. Jones' ability to impart good science in a readable style makes this book an ideal acquisition. While facts galore are presented here, pedantic stumbling blocks are not. He has no more axe to grind than the desire to increase our awareness of ourselves, both male and female. As he notes, understanding of the operations of sexual mechanisms is still in its infancy. This book will stand for some time until more of our body's hidden secrets are revealed. For we men, let us hope it's not too late. The recent announcement of the mapping of the Y chromosome renders Jones' forecast obsolete, but most of his data remains valid. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This is a fascinating look at male genetics and biology and makes for enlightening reading. I think it may be of more interest to males due to the very gender specific content, but saying that women may well find it an interesting read for an insight into the male condition. I agree with an earlier review where it says this is a touch long winded and I have to say that after the superb 'Language of the Genes' by the same author, I've felt disappointed by every thing I've read of his since. This has plenty to say, but it could have been said so much better (hence the four stars). Overall, a good read about those of us with that 'y' chromosome and worth sticking with for some interesting facts.

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