From the damning research of The Bell Curve to the more recent controversy surrounding geneticist James Watson's statements, one factor has been consistently left out of the equation: culture. In the tradition of Stephen Jay Gould's "The Mismeasure of Man", Richard E. Nisbett takes on the idea of intelligence as biologically fixed, asserting that culture matters most in shaping our future. Intellect is not primarily genetic but is principally determined by societal influences. As the first major work to stake out such firm far-reaching positions on the central role of culture in moulding cognition, this book promises to reignite the fierce debate over society's role and responsibilitiy in nurturing IQ, with vast implications for structuring the educational system, the economy and society at large.