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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

‘The ultimate anti-racism guide’ Caroline Criado Perez
‘Seriously important’ Bill Bryson
‘A fascinating debunking of racial pseudoscience’ Guardian

Racist pseudoscience may be on the rise, but science is no ally to racists. Instead science and history can be powerful allies against bigotry, granting us the clearest view of how people actually are, rather than how we judge them to be. HOW TO ARGUE WITH A RACIST dismantles outdated notions of race by illuminating what modern genetics can and can’t tell us about human difference. It is a vital manifesto for a twenty-first century understanding of human evolution and variation, and a timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify racism.

Updated edition includes a new Preface from the author

Publisher Review

A remarkable telling of the shared ancestry of the human race. The book is a treasure trove filled with gems of knowledge from the field of genetics and what it knows about skin colour, intelligence, ancestry, athletic ability and racial superiority. The reader is provided the fascinating scientific weaponry to confidently take on questions about race, genes, ancestry. Ultimately, Rutherford's book is a challenge against the manipulation, misrepresentation, and abuse of science to justify hatred and prejudice * Big Think * Given the renewed examination of race relations sparked by the tragic death of George Floyd, How to Argue with a Racist is doubtlessly one of the most important reads of the year. But it's arguably the most interesting too... Engaging and thought-provoking throughout. -- Thomas Ling * BBC SCIENCE FOCUS, Best Books of the Year * Some family gatherings may well find Adam Rutherford's How to Argue with a Racist (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) a great asset. It not only shows what science really says about race, ancestry and genetics, but also helps us argue against the idea that certain people are biologically inferior and encourages informed conversations about race... This book's gift is to use science to talk about a pseudoscience. -- Layal Liverpool * NEW SCIENTIST, Best Books of 2020 * Timely and accessible * THE BOOKSELLER, Editor's Choice * Admirable . . . The reader will be similarly enriched by the quick blood of this book * THE GLASGOW HERALD * Dr Adam Rutherford has a gift for making complicated concepts simple -- Hannah Shaddock * RADIO TIMES * If teaching is what makes humans special, then Adam Rutherford is superhuman - a truly gifted transmitter of knowledge: lucid, enlightening, witty and delightful Vital -- Ben East * OBSERVER * Enlightening and entertaining -- David Crawford * RADIO TIMES * Adam Rutherford is a master storyteller Brilliant, succinct genetics for the uninitiated Poignant . . . A timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify bigotry and casual racism * COSMOPOLITAN * HOW TO ARGUE WITH A RACIST smashes race myths that plague society -- Layal Liverpool * NEW SCIENTIST * Elucidating, enabling, and powerful in its simplicity, everyone should have a copy of this book * SUNDAY POST * One of the most pleasing observations offered by Adam Rutherford, a great communicator who knows how to simplify difficult concepts, is that the racist you are arguing with will themself be far from racially pure -- Julian Cole * I NEWSPAPER * This fascinating, illuminating and original book on human evolution and development is essential reading in an age of false science, resurgent racism and conspiracy theory - and the perfect antidote to racial bigotry Adam Rutherford is the perfect writer to arm you with evidence A counter-blast to those who would use science to justify prejudice * NEW STATESMAN * [An] enthralling, illuminating book -- Francis Wheen * MAIL ON SUNDAY * For centuries science has been used and abused by racists. This book wrests it from their grubby hands by showing that race is biologically meaningless and that modern genetic science is a racist's worst enemy. Along the way Adam Rutherford reveals that you are related to royalty, that every Nazi had Jewish ancestors and that you share no DNA with half your ancestors. A critical book on a critical issue -- DAVID OLUSOGA Stylish and punchy -- Steven Poole * DAILY TELEGRAPH, Books of the Year * Characteristically far-reaching, insightful and brilliant, Adam Rutherford casts his net wide in a book that is as timely as it is invigorating and important -- PETER FRANKOPAN A fascinating debunking of racial pseudoscience . . . engaging and enlightening . . . equip[s] the reader with the scientific tools necessary to tackle questions concerning race, genes and ancestry * GUARDIAN * A book that could save lives * SPECTATOR * Nobody deals with challenging subjects more interestingly and compellingly than Adam Rutherford, and this may be his best book yet. This is a seriously important work -- BILL BRYSON A fascinating and timely refutation of the casual racism on the rise around the world. The ultimate anti-racism guide for data-lovers everywhere -- CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ