Twins: And What They Tell Us About Who We Are
by Lawrence Wright
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Recent studies of twins have shaken the field of psychology to its foundation, revolutionizing our understanding of our own personalities. Because identical twins separated at birth share all the same genes, yet live separate lives, they offer a unique opportunity to test theories about the roles played by nature and nurture in shaping who we are. Twins directly challenges many long-held beliefs. For instance, a series of groundbreaking studies of twins has shown that our genes play a much show more stronger role in shaping our identities than previously thought. Today, scientists can actually estimate what proportion of our intelligence, our personality, and our behavior is determined by inherited tendencies. Even our political orientation and our religious commitment, it turns out, are largely governed by our genes. Twins is filled with astounding stories of identical twins who have lived entirely separate lives but have an incredible amount in common: their hobbies, their mannerisms, their taste in music, food, and clothes, their experiences in marriage and divorce, their careers, their sexuality, even the names they've given their children. show lessTags
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Interesting and well-written, but sadly, quite outdated by the time I read it (2014, more than 15 years after its original publication). I imagine this was a great read at the time, but now, I would not recommend it as both psychology and genetics have advanced quite a bit. Even the lay reader will notice modern omissions such as epigenetics.
This is more than simply book about identical twins. This is really a book about every one of us. Want to understand where you came from and where you are going? Here's a great place to start learning.
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22+ Works 9,287 Members
Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947), Pulitzer Prize winning author, graduated from Tulane University and spent two years teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Wright is a staff writer for The New Yorker and a fellow at the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. Wright is the author of the books God Save show more Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State (2018), Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief (2013), Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006), Noriega: God's Favorite (2000), Twins: And What They Tell Us About Who We Are (1999), Remembering Satan (1994), Saints & Sinners (1993), In the New World: Growing Up in America, 1964-1984 (1987), and City Children, Country Summer: A Story of Ghetto Children Among the Amish (1979). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Les jumeaux et leur jumeau : les mystères de l'identité humaine
- Original title
- Twins: And What They Tell Us About Who We Are
- Original publication date
- 1997
- Disambiguation notice
- Full title (1997): Twins : and what they tell us about who we are / Lawrence Wright; 1st UK paperback edition (1998) has title: ... (show all)gov/00274372" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Twins : genes, environment, and the mystery of human identity / Lawrence Wright.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.73)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
