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A Troublesome Inheritance
- Genes, Race, and Human History
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's summary
Drawing on startling new evidence from the mapping of the genome, an explosive new account of the genetic basis of race and its role in the human story.
Fewer ideas have been more toxic or harmful than the idea of the biological reality of race, and with it the idea that humans of different races are biologically different from one another. For this understandable reason, the idea has been banished from polite academic conversation. Arguing that race is more than just a social construct can get a scholar run out of town, or at least off campus, on a rail. Human evolution, the consensus view insists, ended in prehistory.
Inconveniently, as Nicholas Wade argues in A Troublesome Inheritance, the consensus view cannot be right. And in fact, we know that populations have changed in the past few thousand years - to be lactose tolerant, for example, and to survive at high altitudes. Race is not a bright-line distinction; by definition it means that the more human populations are kept apart, the more they evolve their own distinct traits under the selective pressure known as Darwinian evolution. For many thousands of years, most human populations stayed where they were and grew distinct, not just in outward appearance but in deeper senses as well.
Wade, the longtime journalist covering genetic advances for The New York Times, draws widely on the work of scientists who have made crucial breakthroughs in establishing the reality of recent human evolution. The most provocative claims in this audiobook involve the genetic basis of human social habits. What we might call middle-class social traits - thrift, docility, nonviolence - have been slowly but surely inculcated genetically within agrarian societies, Wade argues. These “values” obviously had a strong cultural component, but Wade points to evidence that agrarian societies evolved away from hunter-gatherer societies in some crucial respects. Also controversial are his findings regarding the genetic basis of traits we associate with intelligence, such as literacy and numeracy, in certain ethnic populations, including the Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.
Wade believes deeply in the fundamental equality of all human peoples. He also believes that science is best served by pursuing the truth without fear, and if his mission to arrive at a coherent summa of what the new genetic science does and does not tell us about race and human history leads straight into a minefield, then so be it. This will not be the last word on the subject, but it will begin a powerful and overdue conversation.
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Critic reviews
"It is hard to convey how rich this book is.... The book is a delight to read - conversational and lucid. And it will trigger an intellectual explosion the likes of which we haven't seen for a few decades.... At the heart of the book, stated quietly but with command of the technical literature, is a bombshell.... So one way or another, A Troublesome Inheritance will be historic. Its proper reception would mean enduring fame." (The Wall Street Journal)
"Extremely well-researched, thoughtfully written and objectively argued.... The real lesson of the book should not be lost on us: A scientific topic cannot be declared off limits or whitewashed because its findings can be socially or politically incendiary.... Ultimately Wade’s argument is about the transparency of knowledge." (Ashutosh Jogalekar, Scientific American)
"Wade ventures into territory eschewed by most writers: the evolutionary basis for racial differences across human populations. He argues persuasively that such differences exist.... His conclusion is both straightforward and provocative.... He makes the case that human evolution is ongoing and that genes can influence, but do not fully control, a variety of behaviors that underpin differing forms of social institutions. Wade’s work is certain to generate a great deal of attention." (Publishers Weekly)
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Evolutionary Psychology is a uniquely accessible yet comprehensive guide to the study of the effects of evolutionary theory on human behaviour. Written specifically for the general listener and for entry-level students, it covers all the most important elements of this interdisciplinary subject, from the role of evolution in our selection of partner, to the influence of genetics on parenting. This audiobook draws widely on examples, case studies and background facts to convey a substantial amount of information.
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Themeltingpotblogpost
- By Anonymous User on 10-14-17
By: Robin Dunbar, and others
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The Human Swarm
- How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall
- By: Mark W. Moffett
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology, and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity - and what it will take to sustain them.
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Worthless
- By Richard on 11-24-19
By: Mark W. Moffett
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Big Gods
- How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict
- By: Ara Norenzayan
- Narrated by: Paul Nixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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How did human societies scale up from small, tight-knit groups of hunter-gatherers to the large, anonymous, cooperative societies of today - even though anonymity is the enemy of cooperation? How did organized religions with "Big Gods" - the great monotheistic and polytheistic faiths - spread to colonize most minds in the world? In Big Gods, Ara Norenzayan makes the surprising and provocative argument that these fundamental puzzles about the origins of civilization are one and the same, and answer each other.
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Great read
- By paro on 02-27-24
By: Ara Norenzayan
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The WEIRDest People in the World
- How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
- By: Joseph Henrich
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church.
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Lots of mispronounced words
- By Phillip Falk on 10-24-20
By: Joseph Henrich
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Pandora's Seed
- The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization
- By: Spencer Wells
- Narrated by: Spencer Wells
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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This new book by Spencer Wells, the internationally known geneticist, anthropologist, author, and director of the Genographic Project, focuses on the seminal event in human history: mankind's decision to become farmers rather than hunter-gatherers.
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Short and unfocused, but often quite interesting.
- By Alan on 06-23-10
By: Spencer Wells
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Population Wars
- A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence
- By: Greg Graffin
- Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
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From the very beginning, life on Earth has been defined by war. Today, those first wars continue to be fought around and literally inside us, influencing our individual behavior and that of civilization as a whole. War between populations - whether between different species or between rival groups of humans - is seen as an inevitable part of the evolutionary process. The popular concept of "the survival of the fittest" explains and often excuses these actions.
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Life Changing Book. No other like it.
- By Abraham R. Herrick-Rough on 05-16-16
By: Greg Graffin
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The Science of Good and Evil
- Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule
- By: Michael Shermer
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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In The Science of Good and Evil, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores how humans evolved from social primates into moral primates, how and why morality motivates the human animal, and how the foundation of moral principles can be built upon empirical evidence. Along the way he explains the implications of scientific findings for fate and free will, the existence of pure good and pure evil, and the development of early moral sentiments among the first humans.
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Read by author
- By Gregory A. Townsend on 04-16-23
By: Michael Shermer
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Genesis
- The Deep Origin of Societies
- By: Edward O. Wilson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Asserting that religious creeds and philosophical questions can be reduced to purely genetic and evolutionary components, and that the human body and mind have a physical base obedient to the laws of physics and chemistry, Genesis demonstrates that the only way for us to fully understand human behavior is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. Of these, Wilson demonstrates that at least 17 - among them the African naked mole rat and the sponge-dwelling shrimp - have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism and cooperation.
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Simply awful
- By Mike A Klotz on 02-07-20
By: Edward O. Wilson
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The Journey of Humanity
- The Origins of Wealth and Inequality
- By: Oded Galor
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
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Why are humans the only species to have escaped—only very recently—the subsistence trap, allowing us to enjoy a standard of living that vastly exceeds all others? And why have we progressed so unequally around the world, resulting in the great disparities between nations that exist today? Galor’s gripping narrative explains how technology, population size, and adaptation led to a stunning “phase change” in the human story a mere two hundred years ago.
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promoting innovation and industrial disease
- By Anonymous User on 01-18-24
By: Oded Galor
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
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Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
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Few forests, but lots of trees
- By Steve Pagano on 10-05-15
By: Francis Fukuyama
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Prehistory
- Making of the Human Mind
- By: Colin Renfrew
- Narrated by: Robert Ian MacKenzie
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
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A giant of archaeology, Colin Renfrew has immeasurably improved our understanding of human history. In this passionately argued work, he offers a concise summary of prehistory - human existence that predates the development of written records - while challenging the very definition of prehistory itself.
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not for the intellectually challenged
- By Anthony on 07-14-10
By: Colin Renfrew
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For at least the last fifty thousand years, and probably much longer, people have practiced religion. Yet little attention has been given, either by believers or atheists, to the question of whether this universal human behavior might have an evolutionary basis. Did religion evolve, in other words, because it helped people in early societies survive?
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What listeners say about A Troublesome Inheritance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stacy
- 05-28-17
Great book
Great book discussing genetic and human society. The narrator's voice is too deep. Not very pleasing to hear. Just my personal opinion.
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- Napalm113
- 03-22-15
So close to being a good book...
The premiss that a type of society creates evolutionary forces that alter the genome is interesting but is totally unsupported by the data presented.
This whole book reeks of "I'm not a racist but..." Trying to use evolution to explain racial stereotypes gives evolutionary psychology a bad name.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Mapache
- 10-07-16
Finally, an honest book on the topic
Genes and culture have co-evolved. Humans have adapted not just too local climates but to prevailing political and economic structures. This is an easy thesis to support, but the work of marshaling the evidence is long overdue because of the unscientific culture of taboo in academia. The book is a fascinating read.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Cassandra
- 12-10-14
Fascinating page-turner
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I already have. Ok, so I didn't actually turn any pages, but I did listen to the last two-thirds of the book in one Saturday sitting. This is a subject matter that I'm passionately interested in, but lack any science background to appreciate previous books that I've read. I would recommend it as a good broad introduction to evolution and natural selection.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The author's theories. He covers many questions that I have pondered on myself, offers some fascinating theories, and compels the reader to continue questioning. There are some interesting rebuttals to Jared Diamonds books. I also appreciated the citing of Fukuyama's books on political order. Wade suggests (I think) that our propensity for different forms of government may be inherited in our genes. This would explain why tribal cultures have difficulty in maintaining democracies.
What about Alan Sklar’s performance did you like?
I found the narrator's voice to be pleasant and commanding. I never want the narrator to be the star. If I'm rarely aware of the voice and delivery, then s/he has done a good job. That was the case here.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I wouldn't say that I was "moved", but what I read is still with me a week after I listened to it, and it has piqued my interest enough to read more about the subject.
Having read some of the book reviews on Amazon, I applaud Wade's courage to write such a controversial book.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Kevin
- 06-10-23
Excellent discussion
Liked the discussion. While he skirts around religious discussion he fails to acknowledge the west has a religious difference from the rest of the world.
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- Eric
- 06-05-14
An interesting hypothesis sure....
What did you like best about A Troublesome Inheritance? What did you like least?
An interesting hypothesis that warrants a discussion - perhaps not a full book? The least part was I liked was the first few chapters - almost returned it, but stuck it out. Enjoyed parts of the second half. A recall on Belayev's foxes experiment in this context is interesting
If you’ve listened to books by Nicholas Wade before, how does this one compare?
I haven't
Which scene was your favorite?
I learned that they burned dozens of cats alive at the public square in Medieval times - in front of the King. (Spoiler alert) . Perhaps we have developed a larger sense of empathy since then -- ok perhaps.
Could you see A Troublesome Inheritance being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
Uh, No
Any additional comments?
A professor might say "An interesting hypothesis....let me know if anyone finds any evidence to support it." A long way to go to get to that conclusion.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Joel&Dani Reeves
- 09-22-17
great boom
While it's a bit "sciencey" it's puts things in plain terms that everyday people can understand. This book should be a required read for any senior in high school.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bonnie B. Matheson
- 01-18-15
Brave Book!
Good book on a very sensitive subject. Enjoyed the narrator's serious delivery.
Why do they want 8 more words? Huh?
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- Alan
- 04-15-17
Great Intellectual Introduction to Alternative Critical Race Theory
Nicholas Wade did a marvelously brave job in tackling an emotionally charged topic with intelligence, information, and originality. Not compromising on his own individual writing style, Wade details in breadth and depth the information that is available regarding the biological reality of race and its implications. Avoiding overtly offensive tones, Wade clearly and elegantly explains the reality that is. I would love to hear a refutation of this book; I have none. Well done. Definitely recommend.
The audiobook was also nicely produced and narrated.
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- Nicholas
- 04-11-18
very interesting listen
I don't know why we can't talk about these things more openly. Instead we tiptoe around them when we all know that the majority of what is in this book is blatantly obvious.
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5 people found this helpful