Reviews

How to Argue with a Racist: History, Science, Race and Reality by Adam Rutherford

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mitskacir's review against another edition

4.0

Rounding up because I learned a lot from this book - it really did change the way I think about inheritance and relationships on a genetic level. I was fascinated by the math laid out in the second chapter. It also did help me better understand the tensions between inherited traits (intelligence, athletic prowess) and how society at large tends to interpret how traits are inherited, in the context of socially constructed definitions of race. I wasn’t really looking for a book that debunked ignorant misconceptions of science, although in some ways that can help you understand the topics; more so I was interested in the biological foundations (or lack thereof) of race. Therefore, while I certainly didn’t disagree with the author, I did grow weary of the “debunking” sections and the firm denouncements of and derision toward racists who contort science to support their own claims.

nightangeldk's review

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4.0

I found the book interesting, but the title feels a bit like a clickbait title, to get people to read it, which is fine, it is an important topic, and more people should read it.
Sometimes it felt a bit jumbled, but it might be that long chapters, I never felt there was i good point for ending reading inside each chapter, which made it a bit hard to just read for half an hour or so, and take it up again a few days later.
I must admit I didn't expect finding a prejudice against people choosing to be members of Mensa, in a book which basically have the signal not to have prejudices. Though it is only a few sentences it kind of stuck out to me, because of the books general signal.

gordonstanheight's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

llanirev's review against another edition

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2.0

Interesting book, full of data about the differences between races. But it really doesn't give an answer to its title 'How to argue with a racist' other than 'read them this book. If they don't fall asleep before the end, it might convince them... maybe somehow'. It really states fact after fact after fact about why people are different and in which ways they aren't. And I kept wondering the whole book how all those datapoints are usable in a discussion. They hardly are. So do I judge this book by its title, because that is why I started reading it? Or do I judge it by the amount of data it provides which I didn't know yet, i.e. do I give it 2 or 3 to 4 stars? I chose the first, because I feel annoyed that I still don't have an answer to the book's title and after reading it, I now have even more questions.