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samdalefox's review
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Angela Saini is a treasure to the intersectional feminism world. Long may her research continue. 'Superior' is her next book following 'Inferior' and largely achieves the same outcome. Saini comprehensively debunks racism's core lie, just as she roundly debunked sexism's core lie previously. She methodically, logically, dissects the racism used within science. She explains how it begun, how and why it survives today, and how it has influenced society. Saini draws from a range of sources, notably anthropologists, historians, sociologists, molecular biologists, and geneticists. I personally found one of the later chapters examining clinical trials very interesting. Despite all this academic research, this is not a dry book. Siani is an experienced journalist and weaves personal narratives and dialogue into the text.
I greatly appreciate the thoroughness of Saini's investigations, and her attempt to report neutrally whilst simultaneously recognising her own experiences, limitations, and biases AND the inclusion of an impressive references list. From one scientist to another, THANK YOU. We love sources. We love peer reviewed research. We love substantiating our claims. This 1) gives weight to her analyses and credibility, and 2) gives us the readers the power to read further, critically assess for ourselves, and have an ammo list to hand when some devil's-advocate-troll demands a reference for your claim.
The reason this doesn't quite pip 5 stars is because at times the narrative repeated itself and felt a little wandering. It could benefit from a tiny bit of trimming and reformatting so that the key points and evidence cited in each chapter stand out more clearly.
Overall, this is a critical book for anyone interested in learning about racism and/or committed to becoming anti-racist. There were several moments in the book that prompted me to question my own internalised thoughts about race. I would highly recommend.
I greatly appreciate the thoroughness of Saini's investigations, and her attempt to report neutrally whilst simultaneously recognising her own experiences, limitations, and biases AND the inclusion of an impressive references list. From one scientist to another, THANK YOU. We love sources. We love peer reviewed research. We love substantiating our claims. This 1) gives weight to her analyses and credibility, and 2) gives us the readers the power to read further, critically assess for ourselves, and have an ammo list to hand when some devil's-advocate-troll demands a reference for your claim.
The reason this doesn't quite pip 5 stars is because at times the narrative repeated itself and felt a little wandering. It could benefit from a tiny bit of trimming and reformatting so that the key points and evidence cited in each chapter stand out more clearly.
Overall, this is a critical book for anyone interested in learning about racism and/or committed to becoming anti-racist. There were several moments in the book that prompted me to question my own internalised thoughts about race. I would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, and Slavery
rachbake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Antisemitism
graybat's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
still sticks in my head
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
nickytheparttimebelgian's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Medical content, and Gaslighting
charlottesomewhere's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
There's a lot of information packed into this book. A detailed and brilliantly written history of "race science" and how it has contributed to and perpetuated racism and racist stereotypes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism
jopriestley's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Really interesting. Obviously had a lot I had already considered, thought about and disagreed w (in terms of race science) but also brought up topics which I hadn't. E.g. the different medications given to black and white people for HTN, and how it isn't particularly relevant - there is only a small difference.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Medical content
Minor: Racial slurs
erenreads12's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a comprehensive, detailed guide to the roots of race science and the pervasiveness of old ideology, made modern by the nurturing of racist sentiments and spaces. This feels like an important read for anybody who wants to begin to learn how to be anti-racist, but especially for those in scientific fields, particularly in research.
This was, unsurprisingly, very science heavy, particularly in the beginning - here it felt at times inaccessible, and I had some difficulty understanding the scientific theory presented. However, by and large Angela Saini does a good job of making the science and theory as understandable as possible. If you're picking up this book, be prepared for the technicalities to be sometimes challenging - but I would recommend picking it up nonetheless.
This was, unsurprisingly, very science heavy, particularly in the beginning - here it felt at times inaccessible, and I had some difficulty understanding the scientific theory presented. However, by and large Angela Saini does a good job of making the science and theory as understandable as possible. If you're picking up this book, be prepared for the technicalities to be sometimes challenging - but I would recommend picking it up nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, and Xenophobia
lynleybidlake's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
cereads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism