The Genius Factory (Abridged): The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank Audiobook

" Fascinating and surprisingly emotional. Well worth reading (or listening to, as I did). "

" Interesting book, I started off fascinated by this idea and bemused by reality of the situation. Toward the end, it did seem to drag a bit and I found myself saying "okay, okay, I got it already." Not a bad book by any means, but also not a tremendous number of surprises after the first half. "

" I remember when the sperm bank opened. This was an interesting update. "

" Interesting history of sperm banks in general. Also follows the particular stories of a few mothers and children turned up through his articles in Slate. "

" Human-interest stuff about a sperm bank supposedly based around Nobel-prize winning sperm. The author manages to link up a few donor/offspring pairs, despite the anonymity of the bank. "

" interesting take on nurture v nature, as well as a compelling take on a subject you likely know little about and didn't realize was so interesting. "

" interesting read. never knew anything about eugenics until this book, can't believe the things we've done to each other. strange off topic book. I like it. "

" Fun read but an unsettling idea. "

" An really interesting, quick read. Not worth buying but a good read nonetheless. "

" This was a thought-provoking book about the business and ethics of fertility, but I wished it had included foot or end notes for further investigation. "

" This was pretty interesting! Now I know where I came from! "

" Kind of interesting in that I was new to this subject. Probably not the best way to learn about an actual "nature versus nurture" research project, though that wasn't the purpose of the sperm bank, but it fed some of my suspicions. I found it interesting in a weird kind-of way. "

" Read for book group. The first 2 chapters were really dry. After that, it got more interesting. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it also gave me a lot to think about. "

" What a strange concept! It as interesting book in regards to the idea that some people want to choose characteristics of their babies based on "intelligence". I am glad that this project did not fully succeed...where has humanity gone when we choose our loved ones in this fashion? "

" A true eye-opener. An expose of the mysterious "Nobel Prize Sperm Bank." David Plotz's first book is a "God-sent"! Really looking forward to his second book this coming year! "

" I got bogged down during some parts but thought the parts about the children searching for their donor fathers interesting. "

" poorly written, interesting story/history. Content of book is slightly suggestive. "

" This is a history of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. While interesting, its too much historical reporting and not enough story about the people interviewed. "

" This is an excellent example of how I will try reading almost anything if the writing is sufficiently engaging. The book itself is only a moderately interesting look at eugenics and parenting, but I did finish it (skimming some bits) with an interest in trying more of Plotz's writing. "

" While I was interested in the premise, I didn't find this a very enjoyable book to read. Slow pacing, and the stories of some of the donors and offspring were not written in a very interesting way. I struggled to care enough to finish it. "

" Faqscinating history of what may have been one of the biggest scams in history! I would suggest anyone that reads it will like it. "

" It's fascinating reading about a subject I always thought to be an urban legend--the Noble Prize winner sperm bank. It follows the investigation into where the chidren are now, who the parents where, and how this affected all of their lives. "

" I listened to this on tape (MP3) while on vacation. It was great vacation listening because it was interesting and informative without being too information dense. The book started as a series of articles in Slate, which shows in the breezy, first-person style. "

" A good summary of a weird social experiment. Not as interesting as I was hoping., but still fairly interesting. Gets repetive towards the end. "

" I got bogged down during some parts but thought the parts about the children searching for their donor fathers interesting. "

" Fascinating and surprisingly emotional. Well worth reading (or listening to, as I did). "

" interesting read. never knew anything about eugenics until this book, can't believe the things we've done to each other. strange off topic book. I like it. "

" fascinating. great audio book. abridged, but in this case i think that's okay. incredible these eugenicists.... "

" Interesting - about the Nobel Prize sperm bank, and the donors, recipients, and kids involved with it. "

" Did a sperm bank, hawking Nobel Laureate genes in the 80s and 90s, succeed in reversing the retrograde evolution of mankind? No it didn't and shame on it's founders for their racism and bad science. Disgraceful. Pacing of this book is a bit slow. "

" Kind of interesting in that I was new to this subject. Probably not the best way to learn about an actual "nature versus nurture" research project, though that wasn't the purpose of the sperm bank, but it fed some of my suspicions. I found it interesting in a weird kind-of way. "

" Read for book group and found it fairly interesting. There were definitely things I learned from this book and I found myself wanting to see what happened to the "genius kids". In the end, I was glad I had read it. "

" Read for book group. The first 2 chapters were really dry. After that, it got more interesting. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it also gave me a lot to think about. "

" What a strange concept! It as interesting book in regards to the idea that some people want to choose characteristics of their babies based on "intelligence". I am glad that this project did not fully succeed...where has humanity gone when we choose our loved ones in this fashion? "

" I remember when the sperm bank opened. This was an interesting update. "

" Faqscinating history of what may have been one of the biggest scams in history! I would suggest anyone that reads it will like it. "

" A fascinating investigation of "neo-eugenics" in America. "