Overview

Race is not a biological reality. Racism thrives on our not knowing this. In fact, racist pseudoscience has become so commonplace that it can be hard to spot. But its toxic effects on society are plain to see: rising nationalism, simmering hatred, lost lives, and divisive discourse. Since cutting-edge genetics are difficult to grasp--and all too easy to distort--even well-intentioned people repeat stereotypes based on ""science."" But the real science tells a different story: The more researchers learn about who we are and where we come from, the clearer it becomes that our racial divides have nothing to do with observable genetic differences. The bestselling author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived explains in this explosive, essential guide to the DNA we all share.

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9781615198306

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Reviews

An International Bestseller Goodreads Choice Award Best of 2020, Science & Technology, Runner Up A BBC Science Focus Magazine Best Book of 2020 A Big Think 10 Best Science and Technology Book of 2020 A fascinating debunking of racial pseudoscience. . . . Engaging and enlightening. --The Guardian Nobody deals with challenging subjects more interestingly and compellingly than Adam Rutherford, and this may be his best book yet. This is a seriously important work. --Bill Bryson Rutherford equips readers with the tools to discredit the prejudices of both racists and well-intentioned people. Despite its fraught history, scientists' understanding of genes has long since converged on one truth: race, while very real as a social construct, has no foundation in science. --Scientific American Bringing together compelling stories, irreverent humor, and informed science reporting, Rutherford debunks some of the most pernicious myths and fallacies about race. . . Recommended. All readers. --Choice Remarkable. . . . The reader is provided the fascinating scientific weaponry to confidently take on questions about race, genes, ancestry. Ultimately, Rutherford's book is a challenge against the manipulation, misrepresentation, and abuse of science to justify hatred and prejudice. --Big Think Urgently relevant . . . Many nations have seen an efflorescence of anti-racist reading lists. Rutherford's book is rightfully on them. --Alondra Nelson, Nature Rutherford offers a general audience a compelling scientific refutation of racist claims that still enjoy wide circulation. --Literary Review of Canada An earnest review proving that the concept of race has no basis in science. . . . An excellent overview of human genetics. --Kirkus Reviews A timely discussion on how to counter racist arguments from a scientific point of view. . . . Rutherford systematically deconstructs where and how [racist] biases arose . . . and why the science actually does not support these claims. --Shelf Awareness Smashes race myths that plague society. --New Scientist Rutherford debunks [racism] brilliantly. What he shows, carefully and in detail, is that genetics, properly understood, doesn't support any of this disgusting nonsense. --UnHerd [Rutherford] is an excellent science communicator. His toolkit arrives at an opportune time, when open expression of bigotry is increasingly pushing its way into popular discourse. . . . Highly recommend. --Greg Laden, American Scientist A fascinating and timely refutation of the casual racism on the rise around the world. The ultimate anti-racism guide. --Caroline Criado-Perez, author of Invisible Women Short but impactful . . . Rutherford's work provides ample ammunition to anyone wishing to use science to combat racial stereotypes. --Publishers Weekly As timely as it is invigorating and important. --Peter Frankopan, Oxford professor of global history Don't get frenetic when racists cite genetics: just use hard science to prove them wrong. --Evening Standard A counter-blast to those who would use science to justify prejudice. --Tom Gatti, New Statesman Timely and accessible. --The Bookseller, Editor's Choice Poignant . . . A 21st-century manifesto for understanding human evolution and variation related to race. It is also a timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify bigotry and casual racism. --Cosmopolitan This fascinating, illuminating, and original book on human evolution and development is essential reading in an age of false science, resurgent racism, and conspiracy theory--and the perfect antidote to racial bigotry. --Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author of The Romanovs Lucid, enlightening, witty, and delightful. --Kate Fox, codirector of the Social Issues Research Centre Adam Rutherford is the perfect writer to arm you with evidence. --Claudia Hammond, author of Time Warped

Author Information

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, science writer, and broadcaster. He studied genetics at University College London, and during his PhD on the developing eye, he was part of a team that identified the first known genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. As well as writing for the science pages of The Guardian, he has written and presented many award-winning series and programs for the BBC, including the flagship weekly Radio 4 program Inside Science, The Cell for BBC Four, and Playing God (on the rise of synthetic biology) for the leading science series Horizon. He is also the author of How to Argue With a Racist, an incisive guide to what modern genetics can and can't tell us about human difference; The Book of Humans, a new evolutionary history that explores the profound paradox of the ""human animal""; A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction; and Creation, on the origin of life and synthetic biology, which was short-listed for the Wellcome Book Prize.

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