Man's Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race

By Ashley Montagu and M. F. Ashley Montagu

Book Overview

Man's Most Dangerous Myth was first published in 1942, when Nazism flourished, when African Americans sat at the back of the bus, and when race was considered the determinant of people's character and intelligence. It presented a revolutionary theory for its time; breaking the link between genetics and culture, it argued that race is largely a social construction and not constitutive of significant biological differences between people. In the ensuing 55 years, as Ashley Montagu's radical hypothesis became accepted knowledge, succeeding editions of his book traced the changes in our conceptions of race and race relations over the 20th century. Now, over 50 years later, Man's Most Dangerous Myth is back in print, fully revised by the original author. Montagu is internationally renowned for his work on race, as well as for such influential books as The Natural Superiority of Women, Touching, and The Elephant Man.
This new edition contains Montagu's most complete explication of his theory and a thorough updating of previous editions. The Sixth Edition takes on the issues of the Bell Curve, IQ testing, ethnic cleansing and other current race relations topics, as well as contemporary restatements of topics previously addressed. A bibliography of almost 3,000 published items on race, compiled over a lifetime of work, is of enormous research value. Also available is an abridged student edition containing the essence of Montagu's argument, its policy implications, and his thoughts on contemporary race issues for use in classrooms. Ahead of its time in 1942, Montagu's arguments still contribute essential and salient perspectives as we face the issue of race in the 1990s. Man's Most Dangerous Myth is the seminal work of one of the 20th century's leading intellectuals, essential reading for all scholars and students of race relations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803946481
• ISBN13: 9780803946484
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Altamira Press
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

ESENTICAL BOOK

This is a great edition and a very good book from one of the most important researcher on Race in last sentury. No all book is about the things I'm working on although the chaper 1, 5, 7 and 8 are important for those who are searching for the development of the concept of race and the relashionship with genetics. Specially those who want to Know how the things start!

Ahead of its time

Montagu's book was ahead of its time in terms of the DNA evidence on 'races'. There are no such thing as human 'races'. The very idea of 'race' is actually racist. Most biologists, anthropologists, and geneticists ditched the idea of 'race' in the 1950s. The lay public still believes in this myth. The DNA research against the 'race' myth is very damaging to white supremacists because it undermines their entire worldview. A white supremacist could get their DNA tested and it would demonstrate what DNA haplogroup belonged to their distant ancestors (maternal and/or paternal). The haplogroup would have migrated from Africa and through the Middle East, or Asia and to a white supremacist this violates the mythology that they surround themselves in. Also, the idea of a "white" person only emerged in the early 1700s. If you were to go to Europe or anywhere else on the planet before the idea of 'race' emerged and ask who is "white", people would look at you as if you were insane. Another funny thing is to compare a piece of paper with the skin color of a "white" person and demonstrate how it never matches. A modern book by an evolutionary biologist on the 'race' myth is Joseph Graves' (2004) book, "The Race Myth". Another book that is the most detailed examination of the idea of 'race' is Audrey Smedley's "Race in North America" now in its third edition (2007).

not to mention DNA

i am of italian descent,make of that fact what you will.i read this book 25 years ago,prior to being required to read "doublehelix." without mentioning dna the author proved to me that differences were so miniscule as to make race moot.this was anexcellent book.should be high school requirement.

A brillant book

It really is shocking to discover that race is simply a social construct. Even scientists are duped by the myth of race with sometimes sad results. This book truly exposes how the race myth has disorted our views on society, especially the cognitive abilities of certain groups.

An ancient truth

My review of this book is basically a heartfelt one. I read this book over 15 years ago. The thing that struck me as the most prominent theme in this book was that "race", as a differentia- tion among humans, is exclusively a social con- struct. Race, per se, is non-existent because the simil-arities that are exhibited between humans by far outweigh the differences. In fact, race is a term that is used to disignate groups within a family that are (or are not) able to mate and have viable offspring. Take the genus Canis (dog's) for example: wolves, coyotes, and domesticated canines can all interbreed and produce viable offspring. Therefore, they are "stains" within the genus "Canis". However, lions, tigers, jaguars, etc... are all part of the genus Felis (cats) but can in no way interbreed and produce viable offspring. Montagu the goes on to provide different exam-ples of how the human population is more alike than different.I feel that this book is thorough in it's treatment of how the term race is misused and in it's refutation, through social, empirical, and factual data, of the supposition of one groups superiority/inferiority to another.