Blood

Blood runs red through every person’s arteries and fulfills the same functions in every human being. The study of blood has advanced our understanding of biology and  improved medical treatments, but its cultural and social representations have divided us perennially. Blood pulses  through religion, literature, and the visual arts. Every time it pools or spills, we learn a little more about what brings human beings together and what pulls us apart.  For centuries, perceptions of difference in our blood have separated people on the basis of gender, race, class, and nation. Ideas about blood purity have spawned rules  about who gets to belong to a family or cultural group, who enjoys the rights of citizenship and nationality, what privileges one can expect to be granted or denied, whether you inherit poverty or the right to rule over the masses, what constitutes fair play in sport, and what defines a person’s identity.

Blood: The Stuff of Life is a bold meditation on blood as an  historical and contemporary marker of identity, belonging, gender, race, class, citizenship, athletic superiority, and nationhood.


‘Chock full of fascinating statistics, anecdotes and arguments about blood and ranges in topics from embryonic stem cell research and doping in sports, to the Holocaust and the search for ancestors. It’s entertaining, shocking and informative’ —Vancouver Sun

‘Transparent and compelling. The book is as enthralling as it is informative. The reasons for Hill’s success as a writer are apparent throughout.’ —Publisher’s Weekly