ORIGIN is, in many ways, an excellent summary of current archeological and genetic progress in determining how and when the American continents came to be occupied by our species. Though many controversial points remain, the explosive growth of the ability to extract and analyse ancient DNA samples has fostered a huge leap in our knowledge of ancient peoples. The author, a geneticist herself, takes us through the process of such an extraction, and gives excellent insight into the meticulousness of the research. The story of ancient expansion and migration is frankly exciting.Several aspects of the book are less than ideal. I bought the Kindle version. Apparently, no editor has ever looked at it. The number of mistakes is appalling. Parts of the text are very difficult to wade through without repeated tries.The author is doing excellent work trying to repair the damage caused by previous scientists in ignoring the concerns of indigenous peoples. But she rather beats it to death in every chapter. The general reader can applaud her concern without wishing to read about it on every other page.The last point relates again to editing, this time in the text itself. The diagrams she uses are almost invisible in Kindle. Her subject is complex, and the repeated use of similar names and nomenclature in rapid succession makes it hard to follow (see the Chapter on Arctic Peoples). A solid, professional editor should be able to clarify many of these problems and enhance readibility.Overall, however, this is an important work and I highly recommend it.