By enabling precise documentation of human variation at the genomic level, recent advancements in genetics – and science more broadly – have enlivened race as a social, legal and medical construct. With a focus on nation-states, What's the Use of Race explores the problems and possibilities of enlisting genetics and race in projects of governance. The book emphasizes that the penetration of genetics and race into diverse institutions demands critical reflection, particularly given the historical misuse of race in social and public policy. Complementing past descriptive work on race in the era of genomics, What's the Use of Race strives to provide normative analyses, focusing on how race should be used in specific contexts. As the book explores these issues, the complexity of the nexus of genetics, race and governance becomes readily apparent, underscoring the editors' decision not to provide an overarching, normative framework.

The book, composed of twelve chapters, is organized into three thematic sections. The first section, ‘Ruling’, focuses on law and regulation, and takes a close look, in particular, at the incorporation of genetic technologies into the legal system. The second section, ‘Knowing’, discusses large-scale biomedical projects, documenting how race is enacted and employed in scientific research. And the third section, ‘Caring’, examines the use of racial categories – in the clinic, medical education and research – in efforts to address outstanding health inequities. The book begins with an introduction that provides an overview of the recent reinvigoration of race, and that sets the foundation for the subsequent sections, arguing the pertinent spheres of governance are ethically required to attend to difference. Finally, the book closes with a discussion about race as a key element in contemporary constructions of the biocitizen.

What's the Use of Race is an accessible and insightful contribution to the growing literature on race in the era of genomics. Simon M. Outram and George T.H. Ellison offer a comprehensive account of ongoing debates about the use of racial categories in science. Several of the chapters, moreover, provide pithy introductions to larger bodies of work developed over the last several years. Steven Epstein, for example, provides an introduction to his ‘inclusion-and-difference paradigm’, and Nancy Krieger outlines her ‘ecosocial theory’, replete with relevant findings. And given the international character of genomic initiatives, the inclusion of articles on Canada and the United Kingdom is laudable.

While the book brings together chapters on a range of important – and, in some cases, neglected – topics, highlighting the particularity of each situation, it would benefit from a more robust discussion about normative considerations. While an overarching, normative framework might lack the nuance these issues demand, perhaps a discussion about guiding principles or ends would prove useful. How does one, after all, determine the benefits and harms of a particular application of race in governance? Moreover, with the widespread presence of genetics and race in other spheres (e.g. commercial, transnational), a comprehensive introduction to this field would require supplementary reading. Despite these caveats, What's the Use of Race is recommended reading for students, medical and legal practitioners, researchers and others hoping to better understand the promises and dangers of race in contemporary society.