Books about Hereditary from Amazon.com

From the seventeenth century to the early years of the twentieth, the population of Martha's Vineyard manifested an extremely high rate of profound hereditary deafness In stark contrast to the experience of most deaf people in our own society, the Vineyarders who were born deaf were so thoroughly integrated into the daily life of the community that they were not seen--and did not see themselves--as handicapped or as a group apart. Deaf people were included in all aspects of life, such as town politics, jobs, church affairs, and social life. How was this possible? On the Vineyard, hearing and deaf islanders alike grew up speaking sign language. This unique sociolinguistic adaptation meant that the usual barriers to communication between the hearing and the deaf, which so isolate many deaf people today, did not exist..
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For over 10 years, parents and professionals have trusted Dr. Pueschel's best-selling book--and now they can get the latest information in his new edition Crossing the lifespan, this thorough volume highlights developmental stages and shows recent advances that can improve a child's quality of life. New topics covered include the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997; innovative services, programs, and support groups; the latest prenatal genetic testing methods; the impact of play on gross motor development; and the association of Down syndrome with other disorders. Written by leading experts, many of whom are parents of children with Down syndrome, this book offers readers the advice and insight they need..
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Chromosomal abnormalities can cause disability in children, and reproductive difficulty in parents Many parents and couples seek genetic counseling in order to learn why they, or a relative, may have had a child with a particular collection of medical problems and/or intellectual disability. There may have been a history of multiple miscarriage, or infertility. They may want to know the outlook for a pregnancy, and what the risks might be. These and other questions concerning chromosome abnormalities are addressed in this standard text, which will be of interest to genetic counselors, medical geneticists, pediatricians and obstetricians, infertility specialists, and laboratory cytogeneticists.
This third edition has been thorougly updated, and is richly illustrated and fully referenced. New chapters have been written on preimplantation diagnosis and on reproductive risks due to environmental agents. The practical applications of recent advances in molecular cytogentics are noted. The book will give counselors the information that will enable them to help concerned parents accommodate to their particular "chromosomal situation", and to determine what may be, for them, the best course of action..
Price: $63.60 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the second decade of the twentieth century, an idea became all too fashionable among those who feel it is their right to set social trends. Wealthy families took it on as a pet cause, generously bankrolling its research The New York Times praised it as a wonderful "new science." Scientists, such as the brilliant plant biologist, Luther Burbank, praised it unashamedly. Educators as prominent as Charles Elliot, President of Harvard University, promoted it as a solution to social ills. America's public schools did their part. In the 1920s, almost three-fourths of high school social science textbooks taught its principles. Not to be outdone, judges and physicians called for those principles to be enshrined into law. Congress agree, passing the 1924 immigration law to exclude from American shores the people of Eastern and Southern Europe that the idea branded as inferior. In 1927, the U. S. Supreme Court joined the chorus, ruling by a lopsided vote of 8 to 1 that the sterilization of unwilling men and women was constitutional.

That idea was eugenics and in the English-speaking world it had virtually no critics among the "chattering classes." When he wrote this book, Chesterton stood virtually alone against the intellectual world of his day. Yet to his eternal credit, he showed no sign of being intimidated by the prestige of his foes. On the contrary, he thunders against eugenics, ranking it one of the great evils of modern society. And, in perhaps one of the most chillingly accurate prophecies of the century, he warns that the ideas that eugenics had unleashed were likely to bear bitter fruit in another nation. That nation was Germany, the "very land of scientific culture from which the ideal of a Superman had come." In fact, the very group that Nazism tried to exterminate, Eastern European Jews, and the group it targeted for later extermination, the Slavs, were two of those whose biological unfitness eugenists sought so eagerly to confirm.

What are sometimes called the "excesses" of Nazism drove the open advocacy of eugenics underground. But there's little evidence that the elements of society who once trumpeted the idea have changed their mind. Dr. Alan Guttmacher provides a good example. The fact that he had been Vice-President of the American Eugenics Association was no hindrance to his assuming the Presidency of Planned Parenthood­World Population in 1962. And his seedy past did not keep Congress from providing millions of dollars in federal funds to Planned Parenthood. Nor did it stop the Supreme Court from carrying out the central item in Dr. Guttmacher's political agenda‹legalized abortion. Many of those who now admit that eugenics was evil have trouble explaining why so few of its advocates were every exposed and why so many are still honored.

As the title suggests, eugenics is not the only evil that Chesterton blasts. Socialism gets some brilliantly worded broadsides and Chesterton, in complete fairness, does not spare capitalism. He also attacks the scientifically justified regimentation that others call the "health police." The same rationalizations that justified eugenics, he notes, can also be used to deprive a working man of his beer or any man of his pipe. Although it was first published in 1922, there's a startling relevance to what Chesterton had to say about mettlesome bureaucrats who deprive life of its little pleasures and freedoms. His tale about an unfortunate man fired because "his old cherry-briar" "might set the water-works on fire" is priceless.

That tale illustrates Chesterton's brilliant use of humor, a knack his foes were quick to realize. In their review of his book, Birth Control News griped, "His tendency is reactionary, and as he succeeds in making most people laugh, his influence in the wrong direction is considerable. Eugenics Review was even blunter. "The only interest in this book," they said, "is pathological. It is a revelation of the ineptitude to which ignorance and blind prejudice may reduce an intelligent man."

History has been far kinder to Chesterton than to his critics. It's now generally agree that eugenics was born of evolution and the "ignorance and blind prejudice" of social elites. But never forget that Chesterton was the first to say so, condemning what many of his peers praised.

The completely new edition of Chesterton's classic includes almost fifty pages from the writings of Chesterton's opponents. They illustrate just how accurate his attacks on eugenists were. For researchers, it also includes a detailed, 13-page index..
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This well-organized and clearly written text has a unique focus on methods of identifying the joint effects of genes and environment on disease patterns. It follows the natural sequence of research, taking readers through the study designs and statistical analysis techniques for determining whether a trait runs in families, testing hypotheses about whether a familial tendency is due to genetic or environmental factors or both, estimating the parameters of a genetic model, localizing and ultimately isolating the responsible genes, and finally characterizing their effects in the population. Examples from the literature on the genetic epidemiology of breast and colorectal cancer, among other diseases, illustrate this process. Although the book is oriented primarily towards graduate students in epidemiology, biostatistics and human genetics, it will also serve as a comprehensive reference work for researchers. Introductory chapters on molecular biology, Mendelian genetics, epidemiology, statistics, and population genetics will help make the book accessible to those coming from one of these fields without a background in the others. It strikes a good balance between epidemiologic study designs and statistical methods of data analysis..
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This is one of the few medical genetics texts on a 2-year revision cycle. It provides up-to-date information that can be read, retained, and applied with ease! The 3rd Edition covers pharmacogenomics, the societal implications of technologies, the Human Genome Project, cloning, genetic enhancement, and embryonic stem cell research, new tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, and more. Mini-summaries, study questions, suggested readings, and a detailed glossary facilitate review of the material. Clinical relevance is demonstrated in over 230 photographs, illustrations, and tables as well as boxes containing patient/family vignettes. Its coverage includes ethical, legal, and social issues and clinical commentary on important genetic diseases. A companion web site offers continuing updates and a wealth of additional features..
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Over the past decade, science has made historic progress in identifying the genetic origins of human development and functioning. From Down syndrome to sickle cell anemia, hereditary cancers to neurologic conditions, genetic tests now exist for dozens of human conditions. Research on the human genome continues apace, and the already considerable demand for genetic counseling services can only intensify as new genetic tests become available. The first book devoted exclusively to the principles and practice of genetic counseling, A Guide to Genetic Counseling prepares genetic counselors and health care providers to meet that demand.

Reflecting the experiences and expertise of more than a dozen genetic counseling, medical, and legal professionals, this book defines the theory, goals, and core competencies associated with the practice of genetic counseling. Combining clear step-by-step guidelines with many fascinating and instructive case studies, it tutors readers in the gamut of skills, procedures, and ethical, legal, and psychosocial considerations integral to the genetic counseling process, including:
* Obtaining family histories and interviewing clients
* Performing medical genetic evaluations
* Patient education and psychosocial counseling
* Developing multicultural skills
* Case preparation and management
* Medical documentation
* Ethical and legal conduct
* Making the most of computer-based resources
* Professional development.


A Guide to Genetic Counseling belongs on the syllabi of all medical and human genetics and genetics counseling certification programs. It is an indispensable working resource for professional genetic counselors and all health care providers charged with educating patients in genetic diseases..
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In a field where even experts may find that years have elapsed since they last encountered a child with a given disorder, it is essential for the clinician to have a comprehensive source of practical and highly illustrated information covering the whole spectrum of metabolic disease to refer to. The second edition of this highly regarded book, authored by three of the foremost authorities in pediatric metabolic medicine, fulfils this need by providing an invaluable insight into the problems associated with metabolic diseases. For ease of reference, Atlas of Metabolic Disease is divided into sections of related disorders, such as disorders of amino acid metabolism, lipid storage disorders and mitochondrial diseases, with an introductory outline where appropriate summarizing the biochemical features and general management issues. Within sections each chapter deals with an individual disease, starting with a useful summary of major phenotypic expression and including clear and helpful biochemical pathways, identifying for the reader exactly where the defect is occurring..
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Genetic deafness affects 1 in 1000 children, and over the last decade several dozen of the responsible genes have been identified. This unique textbook aims to assist clinicians dealing with deaf patients and families by critically reviewing all relevant published material on genetics, pathology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and laboratory findings. Thoroughly revised, the Second Edition has been updated throughout and includes a new chapter on hearing loss with cardiovascular disorders. It continues with the successful formula of presenting separate chapters on deafness associated with findings in specific body systems. Careful attention to cross referencing between chapters means that the multifaceted clinical presentations of distinct conditions are highlighted. These clinical variations are complemented by excellent clinical photographs, audiograms, figures from essential laboratory or other investigations, and comprehensive reference lists. Gene mutations that cause deafness are highlighted throughout the text, both in chapters dealing with syndromes and in a vastly expanded chapter focusing specifically on nonsyndromic forms of deafness. Thus, the new edition reflects all the progress on the molecular understanding of deafness made in recent years and integrates these findings into clinical practice. It also makes an important contribution to the cataloguing of new syndromes that have emerged in recent years, such as HIDS and X-linked maxillofacial dysostosis..
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"I propose to show in this book that a man’s natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world. Consequently, as it is easy, notwithstanding those limitations, to obtain by careful selection a permanent breed of dogs or horses gifted with peculiar powers of running, or of doing anything else, so it would be quite practicable to produce a highly-gifted race of men by judicious marriages during several consecutive generations." –Introductory Chapter

A cousin of Charles Darwin, Francis Galton (1822-1911) was so impressed by Darwin’s On the Origin of Species that he decided to investigate in detail the implications of inheritance and evolution for the development of outstanding human abilities. By "hereditary genius" Galton meant, "an ability that was exceptionally high and at the same time inborn," and he argued that in the debate over "nature versus nurture" (an expression that he coined) nature always prevails. In 1869, he published this, his first, book on the topic, presenting a good deal of evidence showing that exceptional ability often ran in families. In separate chapters devoted to outstanding professionals ranging from English judges to "wrestlers of the North Country," Galton pointed out that most of these high achievers had relatives who also displayed notable abilities. Based on this statistical sampling, he concluded that eminence in any field was due to hereditary factors.

Many greeted these results with skepticism, but Charles Darwin expressed his admiration for Galton’s results and later cited his work in The Descent of Man. Galton went on to use this initial research as the basis for a new field, which he called "eugenics," the aim of which was "the betterment of the human race" through "appropriate marriages or abstention from marriage." Although Galton’s ideas gained momentum over several decades, they were eventually discredited after being misappropriated by the Nazis as part of their racist ideology. Today, however, with the discovery of heritable diseases, the use of genetic screening to eliminate undesirable traits, sperm banks, and the possibility of "designer babies" and human cloning, Galton’s groundbreaking research has gained renewed currency and will be the subject of debate for years to come..
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