Controlling Human Heredity: 1865 to the Present

by Diane B. Paul

Overview

In the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, it was widely assumed that society ought to foster the breeding of those who possessed favorable traits and discourage the breeding of those who did not. Controlled human breeding, or "eugenics" as it was called, was a movement with broad support that lasted into the 1930s. In this concise historical account, the author answers the questions of why eugenics, the search for means to propagate only "good genes," was so attractive earlier in the twentieth century, why it then fell into disrepute, and whether it has returned today in the new guise of genetic counseling.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573923439
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/1995
Series:	Control of Nature Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	6.05(w) x 9.11(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Diane B. Paul is the author of Controlling Human Heredity, The Politics of Heredity: Essays on Eugenics, Biomedicine, and the Nature-Nurture Debate, and The PKU Paradox: A Short History of a Genetic Disease. She has been a visiting scholar in the ethics and health program at Harvard University, an associate in zoology at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, and professor emerita of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Editorial Reviews

"This is an excellent book and deserves a wide readership.”-Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences

From the Publisher

Looks at origins and attitudes of the eugenics movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examining the interests it served, why it fell into disrepute, and whether it has survived in other guises. Demonstrates that support for eugenics was diverse and tenacious through at least the 1930s, and emphasizes eugenics' broad and persistent appeal and its close association with genetics. The author is a professor of political science. First published in 1995 by Humanities Press International, Inc. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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