The seminal book about IQ a nd class that ignited one of the most explosive controversies in decades, now up da ted with a new Afterwo r d by Charles Murray Breaking new ground a nd old taboos, Richard J. Herrnstein a nd Charles Murray tell the sto r y of a society in transfo r mation. At the top, a cognitive elite is fo r ming in which the passkey to the best schools a nd the best jobs is no longer social background but high intelligence. At the bottom, the common denominato r of the underclass is increasingly low intelligence rather than racial o r social disadvantage. The Bell Curve describes the state of scientific knowledge about questions that have been on people's minds fo r years but have been considered too sensitive to talk about openly -- among them, IQ's relationship to crime, unemployment, welfare, child neglect, poverty, a nd illegitimacy, ethnic differences in intelligence, trends in fertility among women of different levels of intelligence, a nd what policy can do -- a nd cannot do -- to compensate fo r differences in intelligence. Brilliantly argued a nd meticulously documented, The Bell Curve is the essential first step in coming to grips with the nation's social problems.