The most recommended books on eugenics

Mary Furner’s book presents what is the common view of progressives as liberal reformers, but there is another side to progressive social science that is less liberal. 

The progressive era social science literature is replete with racism and with arguments about racial and other forms of inferiority derived from eugenics.

The vast amount of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe gave rise to concerns about the undermining of American standards, both biological and economic, including theories of “race suicide.” 

Leonard’s book has generated a great deal of discussion, and while there is no doubt that many progressives displayed eugenic and racist ideas, it needs to be stressed that such views were not limited to progressives, but included many of those with conservative and even free-market views in other areas.     

Few writers dig as deeply or as diligently into the underbelly of the American empire more than Edwin Black. One of his earliest books, IBM and the Holocaust, documents how the pioneering computing company sold Hollerith tabulation machines and the required punch cards to Germany’s Nazi government throughout World War Two, allowing the regime to identify and exterminate Jews. 

Two years later, Black published something of a prequel, War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race. It’s an extensive and exhaustively documented account of American white supremacists and their bogus but widely accepted theories of “eugenics,” or “race science,” that maintained a surprising legitimacy in the US during the first half of the twentieth century.

Eugenic policies led to the marginalization and forced sterilization of human “defectives” in the United States. Not long thereafter, employing lessons learned in America, the Nazi Third Reich… show more.

There is surprisingly little research literature dealing specifically with dehumanization outside of academic papers by social psychologists. But this state of affairs is changing, as more and more scholars recognize that understanding this harrowing phenomenon is crucial for the future of humanity. This unique volume, with contributions from thirty scholars from a whole range of academic disciplines, provides an excellent snapshot of the vibrant state of dehumanization studies today.

This tale of two African demigods bound together in a centuries-long exploitative relationship was a revelation to me. Wild Seed is an arresting allegory for slavery, eugenics, and dehumanization, but it’s also a large-hearted and sometimes tender work of fantasy. (Or is it science fiction?)

Several of Butler’s works—for example, Kindred and Parable of the Sower—deal directly with class and inequality. But nowhere does Butler handle those themes with greater artistry than in this book.

This book deservedly won the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. It is simultaneously a history of autism, and a history of the concept of neurodiversity. It reaches back to the origins of the internet and the dark history of eugenics in the Holocaust. And it reaches forward into contemporary ideas about respecting, accepting, and celebrating differences in the mind, particularly of autistic people.

This is the most important book to read if you want to understand (a) eugenics generally and (b) how it played out in Alberta, the part of Canada where these ideas got the most traction. Dyck is a great historian, but even better, she does not forget that history is about real people. Her history is detailed and thorough, but it is not dry. She uses all kinds of interesting sources including courtroom evidence and personal records to bring the issues to life. She also moves the story forward by writing about abortion in the 1970s and 1980s and shows us in a very thought-provoking way the connections between eugenic “fitness” and our notions of “disability” today.

I read these as a young teenager and loved them, they’re star-spanning, rip-roaring tales of civilisations pitted against each other across the universe. Triplanetary is the first book of the Lensman series but we have to wait until book two; First Lensman, for the arrival of the titular characters.

The good guys (Hooray! Including Earth, of course) have an advantage in that certain of them have been selected by the Arisians to wear a device called the Lens - which allows them to harness their mental powers against the Boskonians (the bad guys - boo!), who are assisted by the evil Eddorians.

It’s all good fun, and I admit to the stories having influenced me slightly.

What does DNA have to do with education, social justice, income inequality, and other weighty topics? I’ve never read anything that makes such a compelling case that the modern revolution in genetics should impact how we structure society as much as it impacts how we treat disease. First, Harden presents wonderful, accessible descriptions of the current state of genetics, including how we know what we know. Genes have a huge impact on life outcomes.

Harden firmly believes that it would be a mistake to sweep genetic research under the rug for misguided but well-meaning reasons; this seems obvious, but it is radical in current social science. Harden explains that taking genetics seriously has surprising consequences for what we consider a fair society; we shouldn’t mistake being genetically lucky for being good.

The book is controversial, and I certainly found myself disagreeing with some of Harden’s conclusions while at the same… show more.

This is a book about how eugenic ideas were popularized in early movies. It focuses on one particular movie called The Black Stork which tells the true – and shocking – story of Harry Haiselden, a Chicago physician who was accused of allowing the deaths of so-called “defective” babies in the late 1910s. The book also includes fascinating background about the movie industry at the time, as well as about Pernick’s hunt for a copy of this old film. While it is not about Canada, it nevertheless really helps us understand the way eugenic ideas came before the public and their important relationship to pop culture. It is also a very engaging read which introduced me to the fun of learning about old movies.

It can be incredibly frustrating to try to talk about how broken the mental healthcare system is (especially in the United States). Most people have no frame of reference for it.

Similarly the impact mental illness can have on family and loved ones is, for many, uncharted territory. Enter No One Care About Crazy People.

Powers expertly weaves the history of mental healthcare in America together with the story of his family’s battles with schizophrenia. The result is a heartbreaking and beautiful and horrifying and eye-opening book that leaves you better equipped to have those frustrating conversations. 

I’m not going to lie to you, this is a hard one to read. It hurts. That said, it is one of my all-time favorite books.