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Control
- The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics
- Narrated by: Adam Rutherford
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
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Summary
How did an obscure academic idea pave the way to the Holocaust within just fifty years?
Why does eugenics still loom large in the 21st century, despite its genocidal past?
Did eugenics work? Could it work? Or was it always a pseudoscientific fantasy?
Throughout history, people have sought to reduce suffering, eliminate disease and enhance desirable qualities in their children. In the Victorian era eugenics, a full-blooded attempt to impose control over unruly biology, began to grow among the powerful and quickly spread to dozens of countries around the world. But these ideas are not merely historical: today, with new gene editing techniques, conversations are happening about tinkering with the DNA of our unborn children to make them smarter, fitter, stronger. Deeply steeped in contemporary genetics, CONTROL offers a vital account of one of the defining—and most destructive—ideas of the twentieth century.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- P Fenwick
- 11-07-22
Fascinating
I had no idea that Eugenics was so widespread. An excellent listen, but also quite depressing when you realise just how awful humans can be too each other.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bunty
- 04-05-23
Enlightening debunking of eugenics
Very accessible approach to explaining history and basis of eugenics. Really learned a lot from this book. Very enjoyable if rather scary! Brilliantly read by author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- L. Roberts
- 19-03-22
Excellent as always
Dr Rutherford communicates complex science into entertaining informative prose. A joy to listen and learn the history and perfect debunking of the nonsense that is political eugenics based on ideology fantasy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-01-23
Brilliant
Adam Rutherford is so good at dealing with this difficult subject. I have been able to get a good grip on the basics of both the biological and moral implications of eugenics. I definitely recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Matteo
- 13-03-22
Another superb work by Adam
An entertaining and interesting read on how screwed up our society was and, to some extent, still is. As always with Adam Rutherford books this is informative, very well written, thought-provoking, witty and, ultimately, hopeful and inspiring.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- M. Bellamy
- 17-02-22
Another good book by the reliable Adam Rutherford
Yet another good book by Adam Rutherford.
Like his previous books he narrates it himself and has a very clear and interesting voice.
This book contains a lot of material that I have read in his other books hence the 4bstar overall rating.
Rutherford is the best antidote to the Mad ideas put out by Eugenicists past and present. The conclusion is very telling when he states that the Wars, financial disasters, genocides and other horrible scars on our presence on the planet has been caused by the rich and powerful not the so-called less-than-average people who many of the Eugenecist would have controlled or eradicated in order to make their perfect world.
I suspect that if we were ever to get to the nightmare of their dreams they would be disappointed at the outcomes as they give birth to less-than-perfect progeny!
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- veyza
- 26-02-23
Essential reading
A fascinating journey through the history and present state of eugenics. Should be essential reading for all students of biology and any interested laypeople .
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- Andrew
- 08-12-22
Another fantastic book by Adam Rutherford
Another fantastic book by Adam Rutherford. Good performance, clear voice. Quick and easy to follow but also learned loads (despite having a medical degree with modules in genetics).
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- Ben in Herefordshire
- 20-12-22
Outstanding!
Engaging and thought-provoking.
Such an easy listen for a very difficult subject, helped by the narration by the author.
Easy five-star audiobook.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bufster
- 11-10-22
Thought provoking, enlightening, & horrifying
Saw D Adam Rutherford at the New Scientist Live expo giving a talk based on this book and bought it subsequently. Very glad I did.
From the unbelievable statistics of eugenics practised today, to the ethics of deselecting foetuses with Downs Syndrome, to Kelloggs and his ‘anti-wanking’ cereal, this book had me from start to finish.
I also learned a lot about what I thought I know about genetics and our ability (or not) to effectively manipulate them.
I’ve always believed that to solve the big problems facing the world (climate change, disease, poverty, nuclear decommissioning, food security, water) we have to start thinking like One World. The homogeneity of our genes is a great place to start from!
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3 people found this helpful