It’s All Relative: Adventures up and down the World’s Family Tree

Esquire contributing editor Jacobs (The Year of Living Biblically) muses on the nature of family and the interconnectedness of humanity in this entertaining introduction to the world of genealogy. The book follows along as Jacobs, inspired by the World Family Tree project—an effort by a group of historians, genealogists, and scientists to create a family tree of all humankind—attempts to orchestrate the largest family reunion ever, the Global Family Reunion. Along the way, he charts his efforts to contact celebrities, politicians, criminals, and his other distant relatives. He looks at unconventional notions of family, attending a polyamory family support group and “nonpaternity events” for people who learn from DNA testing that they are not directly related to their fathers. With short, lively chapters and an easygoing voice, Jacobs keeps the story flowing as the Global Family Reunion approaches. While Jacobs’s event, which was held in New York City on June 6, 2015, didn’t set the record for the largest family reunion ever, a total of 3,800 people showed up to the simultaneous reunions held in 44 locations around the world. He infuses humor throughout the book but relies too heavily on the same gimmick of his unexpected relations (he’s 14 steps removed from Joseph Stalin, and George H.W. Bush is his second cousin’s husband’s eighth cousin three times removed). The result is a somewhat amusing and educational account of the science and culture of families. [em](Nov.) [/em]