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Exploding the Gene Myth: How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers

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Exploding the Gene Myth: How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers

Paperback(New Edition)

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Paperback(New Edition)
$21.00

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How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers

Product Details

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807004319
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	05/01/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

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Editorial Reviews

'With their rich array of citations and examples . . . [Hubbard and Wald] show how the marriage of science and business . . . has created that most treacherous of American progeny: commerce masquerading as human liberation.'

—Daniel Callahan, The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

Harvard biologist Hubbard and freelance writer Wald are leading critics of ``the myth of the all-powerful gene.'' In a hard-hitting critique of genetic determinism and biotechnology, they attack scientists who cite DNA sequences as the presumed basis for a genetic tendency to cancer, high blood pressure, alcoholism and criminal behavior. Such researchers are guilty of leaps of faith and logic, charge the authors. Arguing that genetic screening tests may increase discrimination against people with perceived shortcomings, Hubbard and Wald criticize the Human Genome Project, whose goal is to map the entire sequence of the three billion DNA and RNA subunits that make up our genes. Claims that this project will lead to cures for a wide range of diseases are unfounded, contend the authors. They demonstrate that DNA matching or ``fingerprinting,'' touted by criminal prosecutors as a foolproof forensic tool, is actually fallible. Their expose of the fallacies and pitfalls of genetic testing in schools, the workplace, and by doctors and insurance companies makes this an important handbook. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Hubbard (biology, Harvard U.) rakes the biotechnology and genetic engineering industries over the coals, showing how vast promises and sums of money are generated from little knowledge and essentially no practical potential; how the hype is used to buttress established cultural biases; how researchers and regulators use public money to further their commercial ventures; how the Nazi eugenics program has been papered over with polite language; and so on. Includes a glossary with no pronunciation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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