Summary of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray: Review

By: Quick Summary Books

Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, originally released in 1996, was a controversial piece of literature in which the authors opine that low intelligence is associated with criminality, unemployment, and other poor life choices and outcomes. Listen to this summary, and learn how IQ is considered the common denominator that relegates some people to the bottom of the social class while others are exemplified as being superior for their exceptional intellect, rising to the top of the social ladder.

Listen as this summary narrative reveals the emerging cognitive elite filling the universities and colleges for nearly a century and the stark divide that separates them from those who are assumingly “less intelligent”. According to the authors, this difference in intelligence levels explains the socioeconomic conditions in America. They provide details for policymakers to institute policies and procedures to mitigate these differences.

This data-driven summary will open your eyes to one explanation for social disadvantage and injustice, text which impacts all areas of American society.

©2022 Quick Summary Books (P)2022 Quick Summary Books

This book is totally objective with good science up to the date it was published.

This is my first reading of this book which has been aligned most of my professional and academic career. It is not at all what it has spun to be. The only way to accommodate the differences in people is to acknowledge it, and find useful places for people of all abilities. Selecting someone in the medical school based on the color of their skin , does no one any good. Do you really want brown skinned people treated by marginal brown skinned physicians? Would it not be better to take the best of the applicant pool so the highest quality medicine can be practiced?

Overall Good Subject

Well written and informative, but could be updated to more modern data. But, good none the less.

13/50 makes much more sense now.

If you know, you know. (Fifteen word minimum to complete review… filler content inserted here)

Fascinating Theories

1 hour in and I am already drawing connections to my experiences and observations in the workplace. I am greatly intrigued at the correlation between intelligence, jobs and work performance.

great read

I wished it was longer. I found this book to be very thought provoking, lots of information.

Interesting Book, Detailed Summary.

I liked the narrator. He delivered a calm and collected summary of a rather controversial book. It’s one of the better books on this topic and I recommend it if you are looking to widen your perspective.

society has its challenges

Simply follow the science. Policies should be designed to solve problems, not perpetuate them for political gain. Differences exist, and society needs to focus on haw to best address them, not deny they exist. Bell Curves are the foundation of all science, denying they exist is society is, well, unscientific.

Shockingly eye opening

Although listening to this audiobook was a shocking revelation, I am so grateful to the authors for sharing this information. Their theory explains much of what has been going on in society for years. I want to understand better how this theory can be used for policymaking and decisions moving forward that will impact future generations.