Official Interview: Conrad B. Quintyn

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Official Interview: Conrad B. Quintyn

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Today's Chat with Sarah features Conrad B. Quintyn author of The New Eugenics.

To view the official review, click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.

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1. What do you do when you aren't writing?

I teach biological anthropology (i.e., Introduction to Biological Anthropology; Primates; Neanderthals; Race and Human Variation; Population Genetics) at a small university in central Pennsylvania. I also travel to natural history museums in this country and overseas to study (i.e., research) their historic and prehistoric human skeletal collections.

2. Who's been the biggest influence in your life?

My parents, particularly my father (who died on February 22, 2018) who always advocated that one should obtain a good education in order to succeed in life (and not take ‘short-cuts’). My father died a poor man financially (and with no debts), but he was rich in educated children.

3. Let's talk about your book The New Eugenics. First, what is eugenics?

Eugenics is involuntary (forced) sterilization (not allowed to have children) of a group of people deemed ‘unfit’ by those in power. The eugenics movement was prominent in several countries in pre-WWII. The movement included educated middle and upper-class men and women. In the U.S., almost every state had a eugenics law (there was no eugenics federal law). Any individual who had a visible, physical deformity or displayed behaviors which were ‘abnormal’ (i.e., mental illness or deviant behaviors, etc.) [e.g., blindness, deafness, leg/arm deformities, criminals, homeless/poor, prostitutes, and un-wed mothers] were sterilized by state law ‘for the good of the gene pool.’ Of course, Nazi Germany was watching and they took it a step further beginning with their euthanasia program (i.e., gassing elderly and mentally ill patients in busses using carbon monoxide), and then the death camps. In short, the eugenicists wanted a gene pool free of “unfit” or diseased—mentally and physically—people.

4. Why did you decide to write a book about eugenics?

In the summer of 2015, I was compiling materials to teach Anthropology 290: Race and Human Variation—an elective for Bloomsburg University students that I teach every two years. I read Daniel J. Kevles’ book In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity as I was compiling materials for the course, and I found myself particularly interested in Chapter 17, titled “A New Eugenics.” This was the launching point for this book. I began by taking notes on several tentative titles and chapters, building the framework of the book. In this chapter 17, Kevles presented a short history of the research that led to genetic engineering (such as cloning amphibians, in vitro fertilization, and recombinant DNA) and the determination of geneticists to “reduce the incidence of genetic disease in the population.” Daniel Kevles, In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), 258. In addition, Kevles made it clear that cloning, germinal choice, and sperm banks—echoes of the “old” eugenics—were intertwined with genetic engineering. Outside of Kevles’s book, genetic engineering and medical genetics have been an interest (and concern) of mine since my postgraduate studies in biological anthropology. As a student of evolutionary biology, I worry about human impact on future evolutionary change through biotechnology.

5. Genetic engineering and cloning are advanced topics. How did you write about them in such a way that the average person could understand?

Yes, genetic engineering is an advanced topic. And, one of the criticisms is that the book might be too advanced for the average reader. Within some chapters, I use films as an analogy to real-world dangers of genetic engineering. For example, I used Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau as analogies to show the dangers of researchers ‘playing God’ as they manipulate genes without worrying about the consequences. Or, they emphasize the benefits and downplay the risks. I used the film Boys from Brazil to discuss cloning. In this film, Nazi doctor Josef Mengele (who fled to the Americas in 1945) was ‘allegedly’ trying to create another Hitler (from Hitler’s cells) via cloning.

How would clones be perceived or used? I used Star Wars Attack of the Clones, to show how certain segments of the population can be cloned for different types of service or slaves.

I also have a glossary.

6. What was the most difficult part of writing this book? What was the most rewarding?

After compiling all the research material for this book beginning in summer 2015—which was fun—I began writing in late May 2017 and completed the first draft in January 2020. I did most of my writing in the summer months and during my free time in the fall, winter, and spring. I enjoyed the journey that led to this book, but the journey that would eventually lead to publication was not so easy. This process was difficult and disappointing; the book was rejected a number of times—the worst of these rejections were the silent ones. I believe all book publishers, big and small, should have the decency to reply to queries and not keep the writer (particularly unknown writers or professors from tier 3 or 4 universities) waiting indefinitely. It is always devastating when your creation is rejected. You reflect on the possibility that “your baby” may not be as beautiful as you think, and it compels you to seek professional help to improve the book. In the end, I was forced to go alone in getting this book published.

7. Is it fair to say that you have a few reservations when it comes to genetic engineering? What would be your biggest?

Genetic engineering used today to prevent and repair ‘defects’ in all humans (the new eugenics) will exacerbate social injustices and/or lead to a public safety issue. For instance, in 2012, virologists in the U.S. and the Netherlands genetically engineered avian (bird) flu to be more transmissible between mammals. These scientists argued that virus transmission between mammals enables them to make vaccines to prevent pandemics. If this engineered flu virus accidentally got out of the laboratory (remember, we humans are mammals), it could have caused a pandemic similar to COVID-19.

8. You achieved at least 17 4-star reviews on the OBC website. How did you manage such a feat?

I am not sure. I am also nervous when I see the e-mail message of ‘Review Published.’ I naturally hope that the published review is not a one or two star. I think the book—although technical within a few chapters—resonates with readers (i.e., cloning, GMO foods, genetic editing, etc.): If you have money, you can possibly ‘design’ your fertilized egg for eye color, enhanced muscles, etc. If you are poor, you don’t have this opportunity. This creates more divisions in society.

9. What's next? Is there another book on the horizon?

Yes, there is another book on the horizon. But, first, I am working on getting this book acquired by a traditional publisher.

I like to end with fun questions.

10. What's your favorite thing about the area you live in?


The cost of living is inexpensive, and I am approx. three hours driving distance from both New York City and Philadelphia.

11. Do you prefer shorts weather or sweater weather?

I prefer sweater weather. I like April through early June and late September through early December.

12. Recliner, couch, rocking chair?

Rocking chair
A book is a dream you hold in your hands.
—Neil Gaiman
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Post by Chandelier Eden »

Very relaxing and educative interview, especially the whole talk about research and science. I enjoyed reading this review. When the writer talked about the link of involuntary eugenics and the Nazis taking it a step further, just makes so much scene and one can see how one little dough can leaven a whole lump.
I look forward to reading the book, I want to see how tho research played out.
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