BLOOD OF THE CELTS: THE NEW ANCESTRAL STORY.

London: Thames & Hudson, 2015. 240 pp, 9 1/2" H. B&w photographs, maps, charts, reproductions. "New discoveries in genetics have overturned the dogma of decades about the Celts. Today Celtic languages cling to precarious life on the northwestern fringes of Europe. Delve into the pre-Roman past and we find Celtic spoken across the contintent. The heritage of the Celts turns up from Portugal to Romania, from Scotland to Spain. Yet debate continues about who exactly were the Celts, where ultimately they came from, and whether the modern Celtic-speakers of the British Isles and Brittany are related to the Continental Celts we know from ancient history. (This book pulls) together evidence from genetics, archaeology, history and linguistics in an accessible and illuminating way. (The author has) written a vivid and compelling account that takes the reader on a voyage of discovery from the origins of the ancient Celts to the modern Celtic revival. What emerges may seem startling. Earlier attempts to trace historical and prehistoric movements using only modern DNA from living people have been proved dramatically wrong by the findings from ancient DNA. Lovers of war, wine and song, the historical Celts strike us as a people with a great gusto for life. Yet they did not fear death, for they believed in an afterlife. Fate has granted them more kinds of immortality than they had in mind. As long as any Celtic language is still spoken, the linguistic chain from the ancient Celts remains unbroken. As long as the earliest Celts have living heirs, there is also an unbroken chain of DNA. (This book) will be essential reading for anyone interested in their Celtic ancestry and also for everyone fascinated by the Celts and their world." Minor small bump at the top corner of the front board. Dust jacket has fading to the spine colour - very legible.. Not Signed. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good-.