I was delighted to be approached by the New Statesman to review this massive tome. It turned out to be one of the purest examples of scientism I have ever read. Genetics is claimed to explain everything in human history and to justify racist and classist views aplenty. Darlington was an Oxford professor a displayed pure explanatory arrogance. His book ranks with E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology in claiming that biology can account for cultural and historical phenomena. The review appeared in the 26 September 1969 issue.