“How to Argue With a Racist: What Out Genes Do (and Don’t Say About Human Difference)” by Adam Rutherford

I actually found this book through the genetics course that I’m teaching, the instructor recommended it for further reading. I have to say, this book is excellently written. It gets into a lot of complex genetics concepts, but explains it so clearly that I imagine even people who aren’t getting a PhD in the subject can follow along. (A lot of his explanations mirror what I tell my parents about what I do, so seems great to me.) The author is also very thorough, if there’s a concept with one exception he usually addresses it in the footnotes which I think is a clear indication that he did his research and knows what he’s talking about.

The book starts off by talking about skin color, both in society and the genetics behind it. This gets into the concept of race, and how bigots have talked about race over the years. Here’s the thing, skin color is a trait impacted by hundreds of genes, there is no one gene that segregates out with different races. The similarities we have between us far outnumber our differences. He then talks about our ancestors, and the fact that we inevitably have to share a number of our ancestors at this point in history. And he gets into those ancestry tests and how those are kind of bullshit. They don’t know where you come from, they are just comparing your data with others in their databases to make a guess. (I hate these companies, always glad to see someone else take them down a peg.) From there, he talks about genetics and how those impact physical capabilities, like the idea that Black men are better runners or basketball players. The fact is that those genes do much more than impact sports, what is really at play are the industries around sports in different countries, and who has access to those. He then similarly talks about the brain and IQ tests, how those have been used to “prove” the superiority of white people when it’s, again, access to resources.

Again, this is an extremely well-written book. I really enjoyed going through it. I want to re-read it just to make sure that I absorbed and understand all of his arguments, and that I can whip those out when talking to a racist. Would recommend for everyone, genetic ideas are everywhere and are so rarely understood that it’s good to educate yourself on even basic ideas.