Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free, advanced copy of this thought-provoking book.

Eugenics, the idea of “improving” human genetics, might initially sound innocuous. However, its application has led to some of the most horrendous crimes and genocides in human history. Hitler’s “Final Solution” is perhaps the most infamous example of eugenics taken to a horrifying extreme. Yet long before and even after WWII, millions of people fell victim to this so-called “science.”

The Shortest History of Eugenics traces eugenics’ disturbing origins and evolution, from its inception to its devastating role in World War II and beyond. Erik L. Peterson examines how this pseudoscience gained popularity and was endorsed by many influential figures despite its flawed and unethical foundations. The book is packed with disturbing yet fascinating facts, shedding light on why eugenics attracted widespread support across various sectors of society.

The subject of eugenics is indeed a dark one, and its history is filled with tragedy. As such, it remained in the shadows for many years after WWII. This book, however, is a superb resource on the topic, offering a well-researched and engaging account that brings the history of eugenics to life. Readers interested in history or science will find this book invaluable.

I plan to purchase a physical copy as soon as it’s available, as it’s the kind of book you’ll want to return to for its rich historical insights and well-documented accounts.

This is the second "Shortest History" book I've read, I have found them both to be easy and interesting to read. They're written in a way that is accessible for anyone whether you have prior knowledge of the subject or not, which makes them fly by, but still gives a great overview of all the things you should know about the topic. I studied eugenics some in philosophy and ethics classes in university, but we primarily focused on pre-WW2 and WW2, so it was interesting to learn how those ideas continued after 1940s and even into the present day.

I taught social policy at degree level and one of the topics I’d cover in a lunch time workshop was eugenics, I wish this book had been around then! What an important topic covered in an easy read format. Something not all courses include in their material, but crucial for social policy teaching. Have recommended to others

4.5

This book does exactly what it says: it gives you a good understanding of the way this dangerous movement came to be so powerful and how it's impacted politics and society-wide healthcare while pointing out how much of these ideas still exist today and how some of those truly atrocious acts are still committed (legally!!!) in many countries as I write this review.

The content isn't too dense even though it's part history, part science (pseudoscience for the most part), and this book covers many countries which I found was really interesting as the other book on the topic I've read only included cases and politics in the UK and the US.

Such a relevant read in these times of political... chaos and with the rise of the very controlling and dangerous extreme-right. That said, don't fool yourself into thinking only Trump supporters support eugenics.



I wish the very last part included a bit more of a look at how eugenics are a part of the popular culture / how people talk about eugenic ideas so casually without fully recognizing it's eugenics. I think it would have been a perfect opportunity to get the reader to question their own feelings and beliefs by stating more common ideas that float around society, but that's just personal preference. This book was good regardless of this little thing.

Thank you NetGalley and The Experiment for the opportunity to read this ARC.


P.S. Note to other reviewers (I am only adding this on NetGalley) : The Experiment does watermarks in the middle of every page which made reading a bit difficult for me as the contrast of the black letters on the white background wasn't very different from the grey watermark, this is just a thing to consider if you request one of their ARCs.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in November. This is an activist must read. Too many times people struggle to recognise how much of our work is and should be anti eugenics work, and they struggle to recognise when they partake in eugenics (like how much eugenics informs the way they treat disabled people during the still ongoing pandemic).

The shortest review of The Shortest History of Eugenics is: exactly what it says on the tin.

The book is a history of eugenics, starting with references from ancient history and ending…well, it does not end. The book makes it a point to detail the ways in which eugenics or eugenics-inspired theories exist in contemporary political and social discussion.

It is a brief introduction (I keep wondering if "shortest" is a pun) out of necessity of covering 2,500 years of history. It is also brief because eugenics itself is a protean figure. Think, for instance, if you were writing the history of light. The book could discuss physics, the eye, astronomy, art theory, yet eugenics is still worse for having not only science but pseudoscience.

The author makes a pair of good choices in terms of presenting a satisfying arc. The first is in focusing on biographies of the proponents throughout the years. This helps the reader have something concrete to hold to as the modalities change, and it provides humanization without rationalization.

The second is in stressing the trend of the history from "positive" to "negative." Not in a moral sense - it is all evil - but in a methodological sense of eugenicists trying to breed "the good" shifting to sterilization or genocide of "the bad."

Its brevity is weakness and strength. It is necessarily short to be an overview, but at points that becomes elision, for instance in dealing with genetics pre-re-discovery of Mendel (the subject of a great public science <a href="https://www.constantpodcast.com/episodes/archives/01-2023">series</a>). I am less worried about this in the abstract of the book as foundational education as I am in thinking about where our current supporters of Eugenics or I Can't Believe It's Not Eugenics! supporters would criticize the text on. The same goes for some of the melodrama in the writing. It is justified on the basis of the material (contra the chapter titles, where an editor ought to have stepped in [or if an editor did step in, find a new career]), but I feel that the persuasive value is less than the risk of tone policing.

So, while this should be looked at as more of a springboard to further reading, it does not profess to be anything else, and does that job well. The book is a reminder of how far we have not come, how bad so many otherwise decent people were, and as an adjunct to many other intellectual histories that glues ideas together.

My thanks to the author, Erik Peterson, for writing the book, and to the publisher, The Experiment, for making the ARC available to me.

This is such a triggering and sensitive topic that many may shy away from seeking information about it. The “shortest history” approach is an ideal way to engage and inform people about a topic which remains hugely controversial and relevant. The author has distilled useful information from a range of credible sources to offer something of a condensed account of the topic and has done so very well indeed.

This was a great guided history of eugenics, covering a broad range of dates. The information was presented well and clearly, overall a great read.