Backdoor to Eugenics [Paperback]

Troy Duster (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415946743 | ISBN-13: 978-0415946742 | Publication Date: August 21, 2003 | Edition: 2

Considered a classic in the field, Troy Duster's Backdoor to Eugenics was a groundbreaking book that grappled with the social and political implications of the new genetic technologies. Completely updated and revised, this work will be welcomed back into print as we struggle to understand the pros and cons of prenatal detection of birth defects; gene therapies; growth hormones; and substitute genetic answers to problems linked with such groups as Jews, Scandanavians, Native American, Arabs and African Americans. Duster's book has never been more timely.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[A] lucid landmark..
–The Nation

The timely appearance of Duster's updated classic provides us with the background to deal with the recent reemergence of race as an issue in genetics and medicine. It is essential reading for those who analyze the social and ethical implications of genetics as well as for the practitioners of genetics themselves.
–Jon Beckwith, author of Making Genes, Making Waves: A Social Activist in Science

[A]n arresting commentary on social and ethical issues in modern human genetics....Now updated with reflections on the employment of human molecular genetics in such sensitive areas as crime and behavior, Duster's book speaks all the more pertinently and provocatively to the hazards arising from the misuse of genetic theory and information.
–Daniel J. Kevles, author of In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity

Backdoor to Eugenics remains essential reading. Eugenic thinking continues to influence welfare reform, criminal justice, and public health policies, perpetuating the dual myths that race is a genetic trait and that problems stemming from racial inequality can be fixed biologically. Duster reveals how this dangerous ideology permeates contemporary policies and definitively refutes it.
–Dorothy Roberts, author of Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty

Critical reading for all varieties of biologists as well as the rest of us in the age of post-genomics. Duster eloquently and disturbingly demonstrates the need for us all to be citizens in the shaping of our technofutures, which may otherwise become our past.
–Joan H. Fujimura, author of Crafting Science: A Sociohistory of the Quest for the Genetics of Cancer

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (August 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415946743
• ISBN-13: 978-0415946742
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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