Eugenics And the Welfare State: Sterilization Policy in Demark, Sweden, Norway, and Findland (Uppsala Studies in History of Science) | 
| Creators: Gunnar Broberg, Nils Roll-hansen
Publisher: Michigan State University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 1301043
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 294
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0870137581
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.920948
EAN: 9780870137587
ASIN: 0870137581
Publication Date: November 30, 2005
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| Customer Reviews:
 new printing of provocative book on eugenics policies in Scandinavian countries February 22, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
With only a new Preface, this paperback is a reissue--not a new edition--of the 1996 hardcover to raise once again fundamental social and moral issues relating to eugenics; which is invariably portrayed as a singular means for the betterment of many individuals and improvement of society by those attracted to it. The six articles by the editors and others examine various practices and aims of "the history of sterilization and genetics" particularly in Scandinavian countries in the first part of the 20th century so as to develop "an understanding of the interaction between science, ideology, and politics" mainly as a "brake on the distortion and misuse of scientific results and authority." Though the United States is only occasionally mentioned, the relevance to the genetic testing which has become a central political and religious issue in the U.S. is clear. As now, in the early 1900s, the Scandinavian countries were seen by many and held themselves out as model societies. Yet as the essays go into with much social and government data, scientific studies, and related widely-accepted ideas and values as found in contemporary writings, the eugenic practices, including sterilization, these Scandinavian societies engaged in were rooted largely in racial, ethnic, or nationalistic beliefs. In some ways, as the essays suggest and occasionally state, Nazi ideology touting the goal of racial purity and supremacy was more of an extension of widespread practices and visions regarding eugenics rather than a mutation of them. The several essays present an unsettling picture of how scientific possibility can take a turn into unseemly social programming.
 3 stars = Good - solid history, but boring January 31, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In the twentieth century, both in the United States and in Europe, the idea gained ground that society was in danger from "superior" people having few children and "inferior" people having many children - or in the case of mentally retarded people, their having any children at all. Several countries passed laws to allow the sterilization of people, against their wills, for the "betterment" of society. In this book, authors Gunnar Broberg, a professor in the Department of History of Science and Ideas at the University of Lund, Sweden, and Nils Roll-Hansen, a professor at the Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education in Oslo, Norway, record the history of Scandinavia's embracing of eugenics, and the results that this produced.
Now, where do I start with this book? I give this book 3 stars for "Good." The book is a solid history of what happened in Scandinavia, including Finland, going into excellent depth on the subject. On the downside, the book is written in a very boring and academic manner. Indeed, the authors took what should have been a fascinating topic, and produced a dull and pedestrian book.
So, if you want to an in-depth and non-sensationalistic book about how eugenics gained such a firm footing in Scandinavia, then this book is for you. But, if you want a book on this subject that will keep you fascinated and glued to your chair, then you had better look elsewhere. Overall, I give this book a rather guarded recommendation.
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