A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race, and Human History

A new account of the genetic basis of race and the role of evolution in human history.

Human evolution, conventional wisdom holds, ended long before prehistory began. Convenient as this view may be, new research into the human genome shows it cannot be right. Nicholas Wade, a science reporter for many years with The New York Times, cites mounting evidence that humans have continued to evolve up until the present day, giving rise to the various races of humankind and to the variations in social behavior that may help make human societies distinctive. While rejecting unequivocally the notion that there is any superior race, Wade argues that the study of recent evolution holds information critical to the understanding of human societies and history, and that the public interest is best served by pursuing the scientific truth without fear.