Search - The Genius Factory : The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank

The Genius Factory The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank
Author: David Plotz

It was the most radical human-breeding experiment in American history, and no one knew how it turned out. The Repository for Germinal Choice–nicknamed the Nobel Prize sperm bank–opened to notorious fanfare in 1980, and for two decades, women flocked to it from all over the country to choose a sperm donor from its roster of Nobel-lau... more »reate scientists, mathematical prodigies, successful businessmen, and star athletes. But the bank quietly closed its doors in 1999–its founder dead, its confidential records sealed, and the fate of its children and donors unknown. In early 2001, award-winning columnist David Plotz set out to solve the mystery of the Nobel Prize sperm bank.

Plotz wrote an article for Slate inviting readers to contact him–confidentially–if they knew anything about the bank. The next morning, he received an email response, then another, and another–each person desperate to talk about something they had kept hidden for years. Now, in The Genius Factory, Plotz unfolds the full and astonishing story of the Nobel Prize sperm bank and its founder’s radical scheme to change our world.

Believing America was facing genetic catastrophe, Robert Graham, an eccentric millionaire, decided he could reverse the decline by artificially inseminating women with the sperm of geniuses. In February 1980, Graham opened the Repository for Germinal Choice and stocked it with the seed of gifted scientists, inventors, and thinkers. Over the next nineteen years, Graham’s “genius factory” produced more than two hundred children.

What happened to them? Were they the brilliant offspring that Graham expected? Did any of the “superman” fathers care about the unknown sons and daughters who bore their genes? What were the mothers like?

Crisscrossing the country and logging countless hours online, Plotz succeeded in tracking down previously unknown family members–teenage half-brothers who ended up following vastly different paths, mothers who had wondered for years about the identities of the donors they had selected on the basis of code names and brief character profiles, fathers who were proud or ashamed or simply curious about the children who had been created from their sperm samples.

The children of the “genius factory” are messengers from the future–a future that is bearing down on us fast. What will families be like when parents routinely “shop” for their kids’ genes? What will children be like when they’re programmed for greatness? In this stunning, eye-opening book, one of our finest young journalists previews America’s coming age of genetic expectations.

From the Hardcover edition.

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ISBN-13: 9780739320709
ISBN-10: 073932070X
Publication Date: 6/7/2005
Edition: Abridged
Rating:

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Publisher: Random House Audio
Book Type: Audio CD
Other Versions: Paperback, Hardcover
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Wendy N. reviewed The Genius Factory : The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank on 10/21/2010 + 177 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

While the book was an engaging read, it did not live up to my expectations. From the description, I expected to discover the results of this "experiment" of making genes from highly intelligent males available for DI. While the author claims to have made contact with 30 of the 215 children from the Nobel Prize sperm bank, he only details the stories of 3 of them; two of whom had the same (unimpressive) sperm donor. The author is actively hostile to the idea of the sperm bank, which shows in his writing.

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Damaris C. (Erinyes) reviewed The Genius Factory : The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank on 2/16/2006 + 279 more book reviews

I found the whole thing to be sordidly fascinating. How a eugenics idea took off. They focus on the people who were upset in some way. The people who were happy with all their choices didn't come forward. I recommend it to anyone.

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Gregory M. (GreggMcFarland) reviewed The Genius Factory : The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank on 5/27/2009

Excellent book about a sperm bank for geniuses - but the women who used the bank didn't know the full story. Read it in one sitting.

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Common Title

The Genius Factory The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank

Genres:

Nonfiction >> Social Sciences >> Sociology >> Marriage & Family
Science & Math >> Evolution >> Genetics
Science & Math >> History & Philosophy >> History of Science
Science & Math >> Mathematics >> History
Engineering & Transportation >> Professional Science >> Evolution >> Genetics

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