A Human Garden

Well into the 1980s, Strasbourg, France, was the site of a curious and little-noted experiment: Ungemach, a garden city dating back to the high days of eugenic experimentation that offered luxury living to couples who were deemed biologically fit and committed to contractual childbearing targets. Supported by public authorities, Ungemach aimed to accelerate human evolution by increasing procreation among eugenically selected parents. In this fascinating history, Paul-Andr Rosental gives an account of Ungemachs origins and its perplexing longevity. He casts a troubling light on the influence that eugenics continues to exerteven decades after being discredited as a pseudosciencein realms as diverse as developmental psychology, postwar policymaking, and liberal-democratic ideals of personal fulfilment.