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  • Superior

  • The Return of Race Science
  • Written by: Angela Saini
  • Narrated by: Hannah Melbourn
  • Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (25 ratings)

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Superior

Written by: Angela Saini
Narrated by: Hannah Melbourn
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Publisher's Summary

2019 Best-Of Lists: 10 Best Science Books of the Year (Smithsonian Magazine) · Best Science Books of the Year (NPR's Science Friday) · Best Science and Technology Books from 2019 (Library Journal)

An astute and timely examination of the re-emergence of scientific research into racial differences.

Superior tells the disturbing story of the persistent thread of belief in biological racial differences in the world of science.

After the horrors of the Nazi regime in World War II, the mainstream scientific world turned its back on eugenics and the study of racial difference. But a worldwide network of intellectual racists and segregationists quietly founded journals and funded research, providing the kind of shoddy studies that were ultimately cited in Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray’s 1994 title The Bell Curve, which purported to show differences in intelligence among races.

If the vast majority of scientists and scholars disavowed these ideas and considered race a social construct, it was an idea that still managed to somehow survive in the way scientists thought about human variation and genetics. Dissecting the statements and work of contemporary scientists studying human biodiversity, most of whom claim to be just following the data, Angela Saini shows us how, again and again, even mainstream scientists cling to the idea that race is biologically real. As our understanding of complex traits like intelligence, and the effects of environmental and cultural influences on human beings, from the molecular level on up, grows, the hope of finding simple genetic differences between "races" - to explain differing rates of disease, to explain poverty or test scores, or to justify cultural assumptions - stubbornly persists.

At a time when racialized nationalisms are a resurgent threat throughout the world, Superior is a rigorous, much-needed examination of the insidious and destructive nature of race science - and a powerful reminder that, biologically, we are all far more alike than different. 

©2019 Angela Saini (P)2019 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“An important and timely reminder that race is ‘a social construct’ with ‘no basis in biology.’” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) 

“A well-argued, timely, sobering wake-up call for those who believe science is always objective and apolitical. Highly recommended for academic researchers, journalists, and general science readers alike.” (Library Journal, starred review)

“In Superior, Saini expertly chronicles the broader social forces that have reinvigorated race science.... For such a weighty topic, Superior is a surprisingly easy-to-read blend of science reporting, cultural criticism, and personal reflection.” (Slate)

"In this essential book, Angela Saini deftly shows how science and racism have long been intertwined, why that pernicious history continues to this day, and why ‘race science’ is so deeply flawed. Deeply researched, masterfully written, and sorely needed, Superior is an exceptional work by one of the world’s best science writers.” (Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

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A decent observation

The auhor did a decent job of looking at race and science through history however she did not present enough facts..she made this complex issue ironically very black and white painting all right wingers and supporters of the president as the bad guys. She would have been better off being more objective because the issue is not just political, it is scientific. She did a decent job overall showing that we all have far more similarities than differences. I dont know if the author has much of a sense of humor though..sadly.

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