Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant

By Jonathan Peter Spiro

Scholars have labeled Madison Grant everything from the "nation's most influential racist" to the "greatest conservationist that ever lived." His life illuminates early twentieth-century America as it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584657154
• ISBN13: 9781584657156
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: University Press of New England
• Length: 487 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A book that should be required reading for all college students.

Jonathan Spiro has written a masterpiece! His book is much more than a biography of Madison Grant. The first 100 pages alone would make a lucid book on the history of the conservation movement in the U.S., with fascinating details of who did what. Other authors have begun their discussion of Madison Grant emphasizing his part in promoting eugenics, with less emphasis on his role in saving America's biological legacy. By starting with Grant's central role in conserving America's wildlife and forests, in the context of his being a member of the New York elite at a time of maximum immigration, Spiro has helped me to understand how an educated, caring person could have embraced the extreme racism of eugenics. He is a rare author that has created a page-turner from a exceedingly complex topic that is easily made overwhelming or boring. He is a genuine story-teller.

Defending the Master Race

Defending the Master Race is truly a great expose of the shocking success of the eugenics movement in this country and in Europe, a part of American history that seems to be missing in most of our history books. The author was meticulous with his documentation and clearly overcame huge obstacles in finding the information he needed. The book is so clearly and beautifully written that I found myself memorizing much of the amazing parts because I felt that this story was so vitally important to remember in this age of anti-immigration and racism. It was difficult to make myself put it down. I wasn't even clear about what eugenics was before I read the book nor the extent of the movement's influence. I was horrified with what passed in the highest level of our society as truths that were openly racist and were used to justify implementing policies such as forced sterilization and turning away millions of immigrants including Jews who were ultimately murdered by the Nazis. The seemingly schizophrenic accomplishments of Madison Grant-he founded the conservation movement and spearheaded the drive to create our national parks, the Natural History Museum , the Bronx Zoo just to mention a few of the achievements of this visionary and tireless behind the scenes activist -juxtiposed with the truly evil and powerful influences he created is mindboggling. But the book shows that his concern with preserving the "Nordic race" and his powerful influence and cooperation with the Nazis made sense, because everything he knew about in the breeding of animals he extrapolated to people! Every American needs to know what's in this book.

Excellent!

This book provides a mesmerizing portrait of a largely forgotten- yet hugely important-figure in modern American history. Grant and his eugenics cronies wielded immense influence over contemporary politics, but have largely dissappeared from our society's conscience today. In addition to detailing Grant's "exploits" in the "field" of scientific racism (such as advocating for forced sterilization of the handicapped and exclusion of jewish immigrants), the book contains in-depth coverage his role in the early conservation movement. Spiro's coverage of Grant's efforts in conserving California's redwood forests is particularly well written. Finally, Spiro's ability to explain the links between Grant's conservationist streak and his faith in eugenics are insightful and thought-provoking. Historians will appreciate the highly detailed appendix and plentiful endnotes.

biography of prominent activist for conservation and eugenics

Madison Grant threw his energies equally into conservation and eugenics. He wrote the book on eugenics The Passing of the Great Race seeing the blond-haired, blue-eyed Nordic race as the top, more desirable race. He was a cofounder of the Eugenics Committee of the U.S.A. and American Eugenics Society. Grant's racial positions extended to sterilization of those he regarded as inferior races. And he worked on racial policies and practices with Southern segregationists. Grant stood out in the field of conservation too. He was identified with Theodore Roosevelt in helping to create the country's magnificent national parks. He was a leader in zoological organizations; and he founded the Bronx Zoo. For his decisive role in preventing the complete destruction of California's giant sequoia trees, he had one species named after him. Spiro does not try to reconcile nor rationalize these two salient interests and activities of Grant. He does not even see them as contradictory. Grant was not conflicted over his beliefs, passions, and activities. For Grant was a robust, socially active, well-to-do, well-connected individual of the latter 1800s and early 1900s in the Teddy Roosevelt mold naturally taking a lead in fields he felt strongly about and felt were beneficial for society. Like Roosevelt, he hunted big game while at the same time working toward a major zoo where animals could be preserved and appreciated by the public. The basis of his racial views was a strong America. With the Holocaust and the coming of a racially diverse America over the decades following World War II, Grant's abhorrent racial views (pointed to by some defendants in the Nuremberg trials in support of their involvement in genocide) eclipsed his incomparable conservationist contributions so that he became identified with the former. Any interest in him thus sunk to zero. Writing this voluminous biography on Grant going into different dimensions and influences while presenting him as a whole and understandable, though not necessarily sympathetic figure was particularly challenging for Spiro. Grant's relatives destroyed his papers when he died in 1937. Archival material in storage was ruined by a flood or carelessly thrown out. Spiro has overcome this "dearth" in the typical source material however by exhaustive reading of newspaper accounts of Grant's activities, letters of colleagues of his, and references to him in memoirs written by his contemporaries. Despite the obstacles, Spiro has written a balanced biography that portrays Grant as a prominent man of his time; which book also sheds light on controversies continuing to this day.

An outstanding book!

Jonathan Spiro has written an amazing book and I'm impressed on how it operates on so many levels. It is immensely readable and provides a fascinating look at how Madison Grant began as one of the chief proponents of the conservation movement yet ended up being a tremendous influence on Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. But it is far more than just a book about Grant and really gives great insight into the social history and the mindset of early 20th century America and Europe.