cover image Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture

Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture

Nancy L. Segal, with Yesika S. Montoya. St. Martin’s, $26.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-10190-7

The fascinating case of two sets of identical twins in Colombia who were switched at birth, and only reunited at age 25, receives a plodding treatment from psychologist Segal (Twin Mythconceptions) and social worker Montoya. A hospital mixup resulted in William joining Wilber in remote, rural La Paz, while Carlos, Wilber’s real twin, went to urban Bogotá with Jorge. William and Wilber received limited education and access to culture, and Carlos and Jorge grew up in a single-parent household. Such environmental differences allow the authors to compare the impact of genetics and environment. They come up with some intriguing findings, in areas ranging from IQ (the city-raised pair tested higher than their rural twins) to handwriting (the biological twins were more similar to each other) but neglect the larger implications for human nature presented by twin studies. The book attempts to be both academic analysis and narrative, but shoehorning scholarly research into dramatically-recreated scenes leads to some awkward writing (“It is impossible to tell them apart, especially because of their ears—ear shape and structure are, in fact, genetically influenced features”). Although all of the brothers were interviewed, their voices are little in evidence. Readers will be left wishing for a greater sense of the twins’ own perspective on their extraordinary story. (Apr.)