"Identical twins provide a unique opportunity for human genetic research: two individuals who are genetically the same, and whose differences must be due to their environment. The ultimate experiment for such research is the study of identical twins who were separated at birth and reared in completely different homes, but while identical twins are scarce, those adopted into different families are rarer still. Now scientists at the University of Minnesota have discovered sixteen such pairs of siblings, and the results of their inquiries have stirred worldwide interest. For the lives of these twins reveal startling coincidences: twins who bought the same make of diary the same (and only) year and filled in entries for the same dates; twins who drove identical cars across the country each year to vacation at the same small beach in Florida; twins who arrived at the study center in Minneapolis and found each other wearing exactly the same clothes -- or the same jewelry. Telepathy? A 'spooky' bond between twins? Or just plain coincidence? Peter Watson relates the findings of the Minnesota study and explores the mathematical probability of the twins' similarities to see just how unusual they actually are. He also examines other twin research being conducted throughout the world, all of which raises a vital question: Are we subject to a genetic determinism that is stronger than any external influence? The answer is as yet unknown, but it appears that the role of genetics is far greater that had been thought. Twins is a provocative investigation of research that has implications for us all."--Jacket.