Dorothy Roberts' Fatal Invention is praised for its thorough examination of race, science, and biotechnology, with critics noting its compelling argument and robust research. However, some feel the book can be dense and challenging for general readers. Overall, it is highly regarded for its thought-provoking insights and critical analysis on the implications of racial science.

A reader captivated by sociological and bioethical discussions, particularly those intrigued by the intersections of race, science, and technology, will enjoy Dorothy Roberts’ Fatal Invention. Fans of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow or Harriet A. Washington's Medical Apartheid will find it especially compelling.

In Fatal Invention, Dorothy Roberts examines how the belief in a biological basis for race is inaccurate and instead argues that race is a political construct used to uphold systemic racism. She traces the co-construction of race by imperialism and science, exposes how modern genetic research perpetuates these racial biases, and critiques the consequential impact on medicine and surveillance technologies. This book discusses systemic racism, slavery, eugenics, police surveillance, and mass incarceration.

Informative / Challenging / Unnerving / Mysterious / Emotional

- Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-first Century is a critical examination of how contemporary science and politics intersect to shape and sometimes reinforce racial concepts, questioning the genetic basis of race.
- Dorothy Roberts, the author, is a prominent scholar with a background in law and sociology, known for her work exploring racial and gender disparities in the context of health, law, and society.
- The book challenges readers to rethink common perceptions of race and examines how technological advancements and genetic research often mirror historical racial misconceptions, urging a reevaluation of social and scientific approaches to race.

**Dorothy Roberts**  
A legal scholar and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Roberts examines the intersection of race, science, and policies, focusing on systemic abuses against African Americans in both law and medicine.

**Ashley Montagu**  
A British American anthropologist who argued against the biological category of race, emphasizing that there is more genetic diversity within political racial groups than between them.

**European Naturalists and Taxonomists**  
Figures like Carl Linnaeus and Georges Cuvier, who contributed to early racial classification systems that positioned European humans as superior, influencing subsequent scientific racism.

**Bob Cohn**  
A cardiologist known for his role in the racialized marketing of BiDil, a heart disease drug initially approved by the FDA specifically for African Americans.

**Samuel Cartwright**  
An American physician known for his racist theories, including the notion that Black people were biologically suited for slavery, reflecting broader 19th-century scientific racism.

Dorothy Roberts

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Part 1: “Believing in Race in the Genomic Age”

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Part 2: “The New Racial Science”

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Part 3: “The New Racial Technology”

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Part 4: “The New Biopolitics of Race”

Part 4-Conclusion

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Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century

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