The Debate Over Jewish Achievement

"Stephen L. Pease traces more than 100 years of major theories put forth to explain the phenomenon of Jewish achievement, using the technique of a Chronology to expose the strengths and flaws of each theory over time. He puts nature (genetics) and nurture (Jewish culture) under an unrelenting microscope, drawing on recent research into the impacts of culture as well as the breakthroughs in genetics following completion of the Human Genome Project. Some of that research has established the genetic heritage and linkages between most of the world's Jews dating back thousands of years: the Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Mizrahim, and others. Pease also explores how new ways of thinking are moving beyond conventional genetics to present new insights into how nature and nurture may interact to shape what we become"--