What makes one person different from another? In everyday life, personality is one of the most important ways we have of distinguishing Sue from Sarah, or Bob from Bill. But what makes Sue Sue, and Bob Bob, with all their individual quirks? There are enough theories and research projects to fill a small library.
Enter Judith Rich Harris. Her first book, The Nurture Assumption, caused an international storm in 1998 when she claimed that, barring downright abuse or neglect, parents have no direct long-term effect on the personality, intelligence or mental health of their children, and that children’s…
