Overview

Recent studies of twins have shaken the field of psychology to its foundation, revolutionizing our understanding of our own personalities. Because identical twins separated at birth share all the same genes, yet live separate lives, they offer a unique opportunity to test theories about the roles played by nature and nurture in shaping who we are. Twins directly challenges many long-held beliefs. For instance, a series of groundbreaking studies of twins has shown that our genes play a much stronger role in shaping our identities than previously thought. Today, scientists can actually estimate what proportion of our intelligence, our personality, and our behavior is determined by inherited tendencies. Even our political orientation and our religious commitment, it turns out, are largely governed by our genes. Twins is filled with astounding stories of identical twins who have lived entirely separate lives but have an incredible amount in common: their hobbies, their mannerisms, their taste in music, food, and clothes, their experiences in marriage and divorce, their careers, their sexuality, even the names they've given their children.

Full Product Details

9780471252207

Table of Contents

Reviews

A totally convincing introduction to behavioral genetics, based chiefly on studies of identical twins raised separately. &mdash;The New York Times<p> This is a book about far more than twins: it is about what twins can tell us about ourselves. &mdash; The New York Times <p> With plenty of amazing stories about the similarities and differences of twins, Wright respectfully shows, too, how their special circumstance in life challenges our notions of individuality. A truly fascinating but sometimes spooky (Mengele's experiments with twins at Auschwitz figure among Wright's examples) study. &mdash; American Library Association <p> Like so much of Wright's work, this book is a pleasure to read. Because he writes so well, without pushing a particular point of view, he soon has you pondering questions you have tended to comfortably ignore. &mdash; Austin American-Statesman <p> Informative and entertaining . . . A provocative subject well considered by a talented journalist. &mdash; Kirkus Re

From National Magazine Award - winning journalist Wright (Remembering Satan, 1994, etc.), a survey of twin research that is adding fresh fuel to the old argument over nature versus nurture. In this expanded version of a New Yorker piece, Wright describes the history of twin research as one of the most appalling chapters in science. From 19th-century twin studies used to rationalize the British class system, to the monstrous experiments of the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele on twins in Auschwitz, to studies seized on by American scientists to justify racial discrimination, genetic research utilizing twins has been used both to challenge and to support strongly held beliefs about the relative contribution of genes and environment to intelligence, to personality, to our very identity as human beings. Because studies of genetically identical twins and raised in different adoptive homes are crucial to separating the influence of heredity and environment, research in these areas has often been marked by controversy. Now Wright reveals how behavioral genetics, largely through twin studies, is making a persuasive case for the power of genes, asserting that after a certain age, the environment itself is a reflection of one's genetic disposition. Wright's account is both informative and entertaining, providing scientific data about the still little understood phenomenon of twinning itself and full of intriguing stories about the remarkable similarities in history between identical twins reared separately. Perhaps even more astonishing are accounts of their differences (would you believe identical twins of the opposite sex?). As the author points out, it may be that the differences in identical twins will turn out to be more informative than the similarities. A provocative subject well considered by a talented journalist. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

LAWRENCE WRIGHT is a staff writer for the New Yorker. His work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine, and Texas Monthly. He is the author of three previous books, including In the New World: Growing Up with America from the Sixties to the Eighties; Saints and Sinners; and the critically acclaimed Remembering Satan. Mr. Wright received the National Magazine Award for reporting in 1993.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available