Consanguinity in Context
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:24th May '12
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£38.99(9781108822497)
An essential guide to the sensitive topic of cousin marriage, examining its social, medical, political and legal connotations.
Consanguinity in Context will appeal to a wide readership, from clinicians and geneticists to anthropologists and social scientists. Written in an approachable manner, with excellent illustrations and relevant background information, this book is the essential guide to the controversial medical and social issue of intra-familial marriage.An essential guide to this major contemporary issue, Consanguinity in Context is a uniquely comprehensive account of intra-familial marriage. Detailed information on past and present religious, social and legal practices and prohibitions is presented as a backdrop to the preferences and beliefs of the 1100+ million people in consanguineous unions. Chapters on population genetics, and the role of consanguinity in reproductive behaviour and genetic variation, set the scene for critical analyses of the influence of consanguinity on health in the early years of life. The discussion on consanguinity and disorders of adulthood is the first review of its kind and is particularly relevant given the ageing of the global population. Incest is treated as a separate issue, with historical and present-day examples examined. The final three chapters deal in detail with practical issues, including genetic testing, education and counselling, national and international legislation and imperatives, and the future of consanguineous marriage worldwide.
'… packed with carefully collated information, covering all aspects of consanguineous marriage … The compilation is exhaustive, fascinating and rigorously discussed … There is so much information here, but it is all relevant, well-validated, significant and stimulating … amazingly comprehensive, and yet readable … this book is exactly what is needed to clarify discussions and debates about consanguinity. It deserves to be influential in scientific, political and religious thinking.' BioNews (bionews.org.uk)
'… a comprehensive, balanced overview of consanguinity … this book treats consanguinity like a prism - turning the subject this way and that to capture different reflections, both positive and negative … Packed with fascinating facts on the history of consanguinity, and statistics comparing practices and resources between countries, Consanguinity in Context makes for 'must read' material on a complex, often controversial, issue.' OrphaNews Europe
'I found Alan Bittles' book to be extremely fascinating. Bittles provides an eye-opening and exhaustive review of the political, religious, economic, social, and biological factors impinging on consanguineous unions. His goal for this work is well summarized at the end of chapter one: '… to provide an appropriately extensive framework of information within which the subject [of consanguineous unions] can be rationally and dispassionately evaluated'. Consanguinity in Context admirably fulfils this objective.' Jamie Schwendinger-Schreck, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine
'This book is a treasure trove of information and anecdotes on consanguineous unions.' Elof Axel Carlson, The Quarterly Review of Biology
'Consanguinity in Context is a rich, well-structured, well-written, convincing, and in many details astonishing book recommendable for students as well as for scholarly work.' Anthropos
ISBN: 9780521781862
Dimensions: 234mm x 155mm x 19mm
Weight: 640g
328 pages