The concept of heredity is fundamental to how we see ourselves & others It goes far beyond the obvious continuity of physical traits across generations We routinely ascribe similarities in personality intellect outlook & aptitude between family members to what's passed down in sperm & eggs The simple idea that children take after their ancestors has long been central to science & medicine & to the breeding of plants & animals It has also been used for ideological purposes to impute innate differences in character & rationality between males & females & among different ethnicities & social classes Slavery colonialism & genocide the unequal treatment of women & the concentration of power & wealth in the hands of the few have been consistently rationalized in the language of heredity & 'natural' hierarchy In this Very Short Introduction John Waller traces the diverse ideas about biological inheritance expressed by Europeans & their colonial descendants during two millennia of human history He charts the changing ways in which scholars & laypersons have believed heredity to work the development of spurious & self-serving beliefs about heredity by dominant groups the recent revolution in our ability to understand the mechanics of heredity & the difficult dilemmas our species is likely to face as we gain increasing mastery over the contents of our own genomes ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable