June 1, 1998
In spite of fascinating material and an engaging writing style, Wright (Sins of the Father) is largely unsuccessful in his attempt to portray the current state of the nature-vs.-nurture debate as it pertains to the underlying causes of human behavior. On the positive side, Wright does a fine job of explaining the controversy between those who believe that human behavior is significantly controlled by genetic influences and those opting for the primacy of environmental factors. Similarly, his descriptions of the results, both anecdotal and scientific, of the Minnesota Twin Study of identical twins raised apart and brought back together later in life are compelling, clearly demonstrating the importance of heredity. What detracts greatly from these successes is Wright's relentless attack on those who disagree with his pro-genes position (e.g., "Richard Lewontin, one of the Not in Your Genes authors, who has repeatedly proved he needs no collaborators in his campaign of distortion"). Wright's calling his opponents "gene police," "radical environmentalists" and "genophobes" does nothing to elevate the level of the debate. And while Wright interviews and fully develops the personalities of many of the scientists on the "nature" end of the continuum, he presents caricatures of those on the "nurture" side. Nonetheless, many important public policy questions are touched on in this otherwise useful book.
May 15, 1998
Following closely on the heels of Dean Hamer and Peter Copeland's Living with Our Genes (LJ 4/15/98) is another persuasive account of the extent to which genes influence human behavior. Like Hamer and Copeland, Wright summarizes recent research suggesting that genes play a far greater role in our emotional and psychological development than previously imagined. Yet he focuses on the extraordinary obstacles that geneticists and psychologists have faced in conducting, publishing, and defending their research. The author presents an especially detailed account of Bouchard's Minnesota Twin Study, which, because it demonstrates a high degree of similarity between identical twins reared apart, has been extremely controversial with "environmental determinists." Not trained as a scientist, Wright has a background in art and literature and is the author of 12 books. A gifted writer and an astute observer, he has carefully researched the issues and forcefully presented his arguments. While occasionally belaboring the recalcitrance of diehard environmentalists, Wright offers an informative and engrossing account of the fundamental shift in thinking on the nature/nurture issue. This book will nicely complement Hamer and Copeland's work in both public and academic libraries.--Laurie Bartolini, Illinois State Lib., Springfield