Explore the history and science of heredity and the eugenics movement.
This book surveys how ideas about blood, breeding, and the transmission of traits shaped science and social policy in the early 20th century. It explains the debate between germinal versus somatic changes and looks at the practical experiments and their mixed results.
- See how early researchers linked environment, genetics, and evolution.
- Learn about key figures, laboratories, and institutions that influenced eugenics.
- Understand the debates over germ plasm, hybridization, and the limits of somatic transmission.
- Discover how these ideas influenced public policy and society at the time.
Ideal for readers curious about the roots of modern genetics, its societal context, and the debates that helped shape how we think about human improvement.