How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford

 The toxic effects of racist pseudoscience are clear to see in our society.  Human genetics is an ever-growing field, one that is incomprehensible to most people but here Rutherford provides an accessible enlightening guide to race as it relates to our genetic code.

When I saw the title of this book, it seemed like a must-read for me... recently we've had some difficult conversations about race in my family.  I was not expecting a science-based primer to dismantle old notions of race.  I certainly wasn't expecting to understand so much more about genetics by the end of reading it!

For the scientifically disinclined,  How to Argue with a Racist is accessible, enlightening and timely.  It certainly stands in direct opposition to those who use "science" to justify their prejudices.  However, even for someone who is as ignorant about how genetics work as I am, I did not find anything truly surprising in this book.  I instinctively knew that a lot of the science people use to justify racial prejudice is a load of hooey.  Perhaps this is a result of critical thinking and ability to identify fake, or unreliable news sources, perhaps it's just because I was raised not to be a racist.

I do think that the book has a great deal of value, but unfortunately I don't think it will be read by the people who need it most. 3/5 stars from me for this one.