Science Under Attack

About the Book

Ralph B. Alexander's Science Under Attack: The Age of Unreason is a pointed, well-researched look at how science is being distorted, politicized, and in some cases outright fabricated in the modern era. Writing as a scientist rather than a pundit, Alexander argues that we are living through a new age of unreason — one where empirical evidence and logical thinking have been pushed aside in favor of fear, ideology, and political convenience.

To make his case, Alexander walks through six detailed case studies: continental drift, evolution, dietary fat, climate change, vaccination, and GMO foods. Each chapter traces the real scientific history of the topic and then examines where the public debate went wrong. Some findings will confirm what readers expect — the anti-vaccination movement's distortion of evidence, or creationism's rejection of evolutionary biology. But others are more provocative. Alexander argues that the scientific case for significant human-caused climate change is far weaker than the mainstream narrative suggests, and he challenges the popular comparison between climate science and the well-established link between smoking and lung cancer.

The book also pulls back the lens to address the broader crisis in science itself. Alexander points to alarming rates of irreproducibility — up to 90% of findings in some biomedical fields cannot be replicated — and a rising incidence of data falsification. He traces how political pressure, activist agendas, and research funding dynamics have all corrupted the scientific process. Anyone trying to understand why public trust in science is fracturing will find this book a sharp and thought-provoking starting point.