From The Daily Mail:

World's leading geneticists attack 'racist' book based on their research: Work claims racial basis for behaviour and intelligence

Nearly 150 geneticists criticise contents of new book by Nicholas Wade

* Science writer's work includes claims there is a biological basis for race

* Leading geneticists claim he has 'misappropriated' research from their field

* Mr Wade, an old Etonian, emigrated from Britain to America in 1970

* Leading geneticists from around the world have joined forces to slam a new book which claims there is a biological basis for racial differences in behaviour.

* Nearly 150 geneticists have signed a letter condemning the book, written by science writer Nicholas Wade, called A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History.

* The book sparked controversy after claiming recent human evolution has led to racial differences in economic and social behaviour.

Nearly 150 geneticists have signed a letter condemning the book, written by science writer Nicholas Wade (left), called A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History.

But some of the scientists on whom he based parts of his work have lashed out claiming the old Etonian - a former New York Times science editor - has ‘misappropriated’ elements of research from their field.

According the the book's description on the Amazon website, 'Wade argues that what we might call middle-class social traits: thrift, docility and nonviolence, have been slowly inculcated genetically within agrarian societies.

'Also controversial are his findings regarding the genetic basis of traits we associate with intelligence, such as literacy and numeracy, in certain ethnic populations, including the Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.'

The description continues: 'Wade believes deeply in the fundamental equality of all people but he is determined to investigate what new genetic science shows about how race relates to human history and traits, even if it courts controversy.'

In a letter to the New York Times Book Review, they wrote:

Wade juxtaposes an incomplete and inaccurate account of our research on human genetic differences with speculation that recent natural selection has led to worldwide differences in I.Q. test results, political institutions and economic development.

We reject Wade’s implication that our findings substantiate his guesswork. They do not.

We are in full agreement that there is no support from the field of population genetics for Wade’s conjectures.