Superior cover art

Superior

The Return of Race Science

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Superior

By: Angela Saini
Narrated by: Angela Saini
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Financial Times Book of the Year
Telegraph Top 50 Books of the Year
Guardian Book of the Year
New Statesman Book of the Year

‘Roundly debunks racism’s core lie – that inequality is to do with genetics, rather than political power’ Reni Eddo-Lodge

For millennia, dominant societies have had the habit of believing their own people to be the best, deep down: the more powerful they become, the more power begins to be framed as natural, as well as cultural. When you see how power has shaped the idea of race, then you can start to understand its meaning.

In the twenty-first century, we like to believe that we have moved beyond scientific racism, that most people accept race as a social construct, not a biological one. But race science is experiencing a revival, fuelled by the misuse of science by certain political groups.

Even well-intentioned scientists, through their use of racial categories in genetics and medicine, betray their suspicion that race has some basis in biology.

In truth, it is no more real than it was hundreds of years ago, when our racial hierarchies were devised by those in power.

In Superior, award-winning author Angela Saini explores the concept of race, from its origins to the present day. Engaging with geneticists, anthropologists, historians and social scientists from across the globe, Superior is a rigorous, much needed examination of the insidious and destructive nature of race science.

©2019 Angela Saini (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Anthropology History Thought-Provoking
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Native American DNA cover art
Brit(ish) cover art
The Windrush Betrayal cover art
Ain't I a Woman cover art
Skin Deep cover art
The Strange Career of Jim Crow cover art
The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States cover art
Afropean cover art
The Madness of Crowds cover art
The Burning cover art
On Inhumanity cover art
Racism cover art
Racecraft cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art
Unsettling Truths cover art
Maverick cover art

Critic reviews

"In this essential book, Angela Saini deftly shows how science and racism have long been intertwined, why that pernicious history continues to this day, and why 'race science' is so deeply flawed. Deeply researched, masterfully written, and sorely needed, Superior is an exceptional work by one of the world's best science writers." (Ed Yong)

"This is an essential book on an urgent topic by one of our most authoritative science writers." (Sathnam Sanghera)

This is an urgent and important book. It contains a warning: you thought racism might be on its way out of science? You thought wrong." (Observer)

What listeners say about Superior

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    213
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    184
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    178
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

Angela Saini handled a traumatising subject with great sensitivity and flair. I learned so much from this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is a great book

I think everyone should read this book. It is a modern masterpiece. Angela Saini has written something here that will stand the test of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superior read

Absolutely loved it! The author has really done her home work on the topic covering a wide range of views on such a hot subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Everyone should read this book.

Well written, and well narrated audiobook. Very important message exceptionally presented in an engaging way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

One of the best audio books I have ever listened to. Helped me to understand research, as well as the topic. I currently want to buy this for my friends and those who I think misunderstand the way evidence is used in policy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic review of race science

Angela Saini has written a fantastic review of the history and development of race science. Looking at the key findings that have shaped the area, Saini demonstrates how the researchers' naivete and even cognitive biases have led a series of scientists to draw fallacious conclusions from limited data, and how any such discoveries have been promoted by groups with political interest in demonstrating the superiority of their own 'race'. I bought the audiobook, which is narrated by the author who has a pleasant, soothing voice, and calm even through the rather moving Afterword, which was my favourite part.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

essential reading

this book collates a vast amount of information on race science and presents it in an easily digestible format. it is not overly political, and simply shows how the science supporting a biologic concept of race is flawed. Great examples of structural and systemic racism. This book is a force for good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great but lacking

This was a brilliant and incisive book however from Chapter 8 onwards the analysis felt really lacking. Saini rushes through cultural explanations and more contemporary race science only giving superficial dismissals to these arguments instead of giving the more watertight analysis and rebuttals she did in the earlier chapters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Mind Blowing Must Read

After a long search to find a book that deconstructs ‘Race’ I feel I’ve hit the jackpot with this one. A brilliant discourse on the history and science around the views we hold and how this has shaped our past and present.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An eye-opening read.

This book should be read by all kids/teenagers at school. It's a crime against humanity to not read this book to your kid, family and friends. It was an eye-opener. We, Humans, are complicit in our ignorance... and I am a research scientist!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!