The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank

Author:   David Plotz
Publisher:   Random House Trade
ISBN:  

9780812970524


Pages:   262
Publication Date:   10 October 2006
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank


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Overview

From the former editor of Slate and CEO of Atlas Obscura comes the unbelievable story of the Nobel Prize sperm bank and the children it produced-- a superb book about the quest for genius and, ultimately, family (Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Talking to Strangers). NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS It was the most radical human-breeding experiment in American history. The Repository for Germinal Choice--nicknamed the Nobel Prize sperm bank --opened to notorious fanfare in 1980, and for two decades women flocked to it from all over the country to choose a sperm donor from its roster of Nobel-laureate scientists, mathematical prodigies, successful businessmen, and star athletes. But the bank quietly closed its doors in 1999--its founder dead, its confidential records sealed, and the fate of its children and donors unknown. Crisscrossing the country and tracking down previously unknown family members, award-winning Slate columnist David Plotz unfolds the full and astonishing story of the Nobel Prize sperm bank and its founder's radical scheme to change our world. Praise for The Genius Factory [David] Plotz's wonderful history of the Nobel sperm bank is filled with wit, pathos and insight. . . . [He acts] as narrator, ethnographer, historian, social critic and even go-between, brokering reunions between children and their genitors. --Chicago Tribune Perfectly pitched--blithe, smart, skeptical, yet entranced by its subject. --The New York Times By turns personal, confounding, creepy, defiant of expectations and touching . . .The Genius Factory isn't merely curious, it's useful. --San Francisco Chronicle Tense, hilarious, and touching . . . wonderfully readable and eye-opening. --The Wall Street Journal Terrific . . . [a] lively account. --The Washington Post Book World

Full Product Details

Author:   David Plotz
Publisher:   Random House Trade
Imprint:   Random House Trade
Dimensions:   Width: 13.50cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 20.30cm
Weight:   0.213kg
ISBN:  

9780812970524


ISBN 10:   0812970527
Pages:   262
Publication Date:   10 October 2006
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

Advance praise The Genius Factory <br> The Genius Factory is a riveting account of a truly bizarre episode in American history- Robert Graham' s crusade to save the human race. David Plotz has written a superb book about the quest for genius, and, ultimately, family. <br>- Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point <br> I want to start a terrific writers sperm bank, and the first seed I want in the inventory is David Plotz' s. Plotz has it all. He' s an incredible, unstoppable reporter- unrelenting yet always fair and compassionate- and a deft, witty writer. Plotz' s account of the Nobel Prize sperm bank is an absorbing, surprising, deeply human tale of deceit and megalomania, of hopes and dreams and eugenics gone wild. <br>- Mary Roach, author of Stiff <br> One part detective story, one part cultural snapshot, and one part just plain weird, the tale of California' s infamous Nobel Prize sperm bank is unexpectedly enthralling. David Plotz gives us the science, the business, the ambitions, and most especially the people: from founders to donors to mothers and children. A marvelous and thoroughly engaging read. <br>- Atul Gawande, author of Complications<br> <br> If it weren' t so disturbingly true, The Genius Factory would be a gripping work of science fiction. David Plotz' s terrific reporting uncovers one man' s quest to ' improve' the species and its complex, touching, troubling, very human repercussions. <br>- Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World ofCompetitive Scrabble Players <br> <p> From the Hardcover edition.


Author Information

David Plotz is deputy editor of the online magazine Slate. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children.

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