Sterilized by the state : eugenics, race, and the population scare in twentieth-century North America /

Students and novices of history may not be surprised by much omitted from texts and professors' lectures; read this book, however, and anyone with empathy will be shocked at what has taken place in the US, Canada, and elsewhere. Hansen (political science, Univ. of Toronto; Citizenship and Immigration in Postwar Britain, 2000) and King (American government, Oxford; The Liberty of Strangers: Making the American Nation, CH, Nov'05, 43-1789) combine efforts to provide an insightful history of eugenics and coerced (sometimes voluntary) sterilization of those deemed to be unfit because of heredity (feeblemindedness), class, race, poverty, or what some felt was below average intelligence. Many progressive-minded individuals along with foundations, superintendents of asylums, and, of course, politicians were involved in this sad effort. Although some trace eugenics to Germany's Nazi era, the movement occurred in the US and Canada far in advance of Hitler's rise to power. This book is a must for historians, sociologists, and those in the field of family planning. Consider Johanna Schoen's Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare (CH, Jan'06, 43-3102) as a companion read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. An acceptable read for all levels. P. D. Travis Texas Woman's University