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In Reckless Hands: Skinner V. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics
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In Reckless Hands: Skinner V. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics Hardcover - 2008

by Victoria F. Nourse

In the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of men and women were sterilized at asylums and prisons across America because it was believed that criminality and mental illness were inherited. This is the disturbing, forgotten history of America's experiment with eugenics. 11 photographs.


From the publisher

In the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of men and women were sterilized at asylums and prisons across America. Believing that criminality and mental illness were inherited, state legislatures passed laws calling for the sterilization of "habitual criminals" and the "feebleminded." But in 1936, inmates at Oklahoma's McAlester prison refused to cooperate; a man named Jack Skinner was the first to come to trial. A colorful and heroic cast of characters--from the inmates themselves to their devoted, self-taught lawyer--would fight the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Only after Americans learned the extent of another large-scale eugenics project--in Nazi Germany--would the inmates triumph. Combining engrossing narrative with sharp legal analysis, Victoria F. Nourse explains the consequences of this landmark decision, still vital today--and reveals the stories of these forgotten men and women who fought for human dignity and the basic right to have a family.

Details

  • Title In Reckless Hands: Skinner V. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics
  • Author Victoria F. Nourse
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition 1St Edition
  • Pages 250
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher W. W. Norton & Company, New York
  • Date 2008-07-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780393065299 / 0393065294
  • Weight 1.17 lbs (0.53 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.25 x 6.36 x 0.95 in (23.50 x 16.15 x 2.41 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1920's
    • Chronological Period: 1930's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects Eugenics - United States - History, Skinner, Jack T.
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2008013140
  • Dewey Decimal Code 344.730

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 07/01/2008, Page 21
  • Booklist Editors Choice/Adult, 01/01/2009, Page 7
  • Commonweal, 04/10/2009, Page 25
  • Kirkus Reviews, 06/01/2008, Page 58
  • Publishers Weekly, 05/26/2008, Page 52
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In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics
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In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics

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