After the success of my Big Y-700 Video Learning Module Series, Genealogical Publishing Company honored me with an opportunity to review Roberta Estes’ new book titled, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA: Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA.
As a fellow genetic genealogist, I was eager to review Roberta Estes’ book. While I’m an “Ancestry first” person when it comes documentary research and autosomal DNA, my wallet does not discriminate between Ancestry and FamilyTreeDNA. Indeed, my first ever purchased DNA kit was FamilyTreeDNA’s Y-37 test in 2006, and my most recent purchase for a cousin was also from FamilyTreeDNA.
In full disclosure, I received a complimentary copy of Estes’ book, but I had no obligation to review it nor write a favorable assessment. I have never met Roberta Estes, but I am an admirer of her work. I intend to honor the integrity of my blog with an honest assessment of her book.
I’ve given considerable thought how I would review the book especially given its highly technical but practical orientation. There are 11 chapters spanning 264 pages, so I decided to approach it by concentrating my review on three areas:
- An area I know well (Y-DNA);
- An Area I know relatively less about (X-DNA); and
- An area with the broadest reader appeal (Autosomal DNA).
Despite the review of only three chapters, I believe it to be sufficient for the reader to make their own decision about adding the book to their digital or physical collection.
Y-DNA (Chapter 3)
I came into this chapter knowing a lot about Y-DNA. Therefore, my assessment of this chapter comes from it being consistent or inconsistent with my past experiences and current knowledge. This chapter did not disappoint. Estes goes into sufficient detail about the nuances between the different Y-DNA tests without bogging down the reader with too much science.
While Estes does a great job in walking the reader through the Y-DNA dashboard at FamilyTreeDNA and how to interpret its various reports and tools, the highlight for me was her use of examples drawn from her own research. Sprinkled throughout the chapter to support her scientific explanations and FamilyTreeDNA reports are tables and images from her own Y-DNA research providing context and informative diversions to what otherwise could be dense text. However, perhaps the highlight for me were the four case studies offered at the chapter’s conclusion.
X-DNA (Chapter 6)
For me, X-DNA was the elephant in the genealogy room that everyone knew was there but were afraid to talk about. Its unique inheritance path and its differences from autosomal DNA made me put it in the back seat of the car while autosomal DNA and Y-DNA took turns driving my research.
I’m pleased to have selected X-DNA as one of the reviewed chapters. Estes explains it well; so much so that I’m not sure why I chose to ignore it for so long. Indeed, Estes made the following simple statement solidifying one aspect of the unique inheritance pattern of X-DNA,
“When you’re tracking your X-DNA back in your tree, whenever you hit a male, you get an automatic “bump” back a generation to his mother. It’s like the free bingo X-DNA square!”
While this is not all one needs to know about X-DNA inheritance, it was enough to take the edge off my hesitance in using this DNA tool.
Feeling inspired, I went into my father’s autosomal DNA matches at FamilyTreeDNA to review his X-DNA matches. Sadly, he had only two. One was his first cousin (67 cM) for whom I could easily trace back to my father’s grandparents. The other match was only 16 cM, still large enough to be genealogically relevant, but small enough to be difficult to find the common ancestor given that X-DNA can be “older” than some autosomal segments of the same size. I am not yet able to find the most recent common ancestor for the smaller match, but my curiosity has been piqued.
My disappointment for the X-DNA chapter is that Estes did not provide case studies for X-DNA as she had for Y-DNA. However, she did provide a few examples of X-DNA from her own research.
Autosomal DNA (Chapter 5)
As someone who is a self-proclaimed “Ancestry first” user for autosomal DNA in part because of its large database of matches and its easy-to-use search filter, I was eager to review this chapter hoping to learn something that will help me better utilize the matches I have at FamilyTreeDNA. Also, most of us are more likely to use autosomal DNA than the other types of DNA and so this chapter carries additional weight.
While Estes provided good descriptions of autosomal DNA and how to use FamilyTreeDNA filters and tools (see image above), it was her explanation and use of downloadable reports that solidifies her book as a resource on your genealogical bookshelf (see image below). It also reminded me that FamilyTreeDNA offers more downloadable file types than Ancestry including those from a Chromosome Browser.
If you’re a beginner, you may not want or feel comfortable using the downloaded spreadsheets offered by FamilyTreeDNA. However, if you’re like me and you’ve hit dead ends in your genetic research, then becoming a bit more analytical may be what you need. It can also help you track your genetic research and analysis akin to a modified research log. While Estes does well to provide screen captures of her analysis and spreadsheet organization, a value-add here would have been companion videos. Perhaps she has them on her blog, but more direct links from the book – especially the eBook – would elevate her astute instruction.
Overall Assessment
Generally, the book is an impressive undertaking of not only masterfully articulating all the DNA testing types but also navigating FamilyTreeDNA’s dashboards, tools, and reports. The book is helpful, organized, and easy to read. While Estes’ work is tailored toward FamilyTreeDNA’s user interfaces, there are enough definitions, scientific explanations, and case studies for the book to be kept as a genealogical resource.
Throughout the book, Estes also highlights “Tips” in grayed callouts that help elevate important research strategies and instructions from being buried within the text. And while she offers a lot of these tips, they are neither trivial or overused.
Although FamilyTreeDNA has great FAQs, excellent customer service, and a regular blog, sometimes it’s good to have a reference at your ready in one place. I believe Roberta Estes’ book, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA; Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA, is worth the investment if you’ve ever tested with FamilyTreeDNA or expect to do so in the future.
Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.com and on the publisher’s website, Genealogical.com, which includes an eBook version.