Amazon.com
Many of us pursue fitness because we want to remain attractive to partners and potential partners, and we stay healthy so we can continue to have sex with those partners. But why do people care so much about sex? This book, written by an evolutionary biologist, explains how all the weird quirks of human sexuality came to be: sex with no intention of procreation, invisible fertility, sex acts pursued in private--all common to us, but very different from most other species. Why Is Sex Fun? asks us to look at ourselves in a brand-new way, and richly rewards us for doing so.
Book Description
In Why is Sex Fun? Jared Diamond argues that, in our evolutionary history, humans' strange sex lives were as crucial to our rise to human status as our upright posture and large brain. He explores questions such as, `Why are humans one of the few species to have sex in private? Why do human have sex any day of the month or year? Why are human females one of the only mammals to go through the menopause?' Diamond concludes that, by the standards of the world's 4,300 species, we are the ones that are bizarre.
Why is Sex Fun? is a delightfully entertaining and enlightening account of the evolutionary forces that have shaped our sex lives: of the book Diane Ackerman writes that it offers `fascinating reading for anyone curious about why lovers do what they do'.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book to finally understand the opposite sex.......2007-09-12
Are men and women basically alike, save the obvious physical differences? Absolutely not! This quick read explores the different evolutionary pressures that shape human sexuality. The "Battle of the Sexes" has evolutionary roots millions of years old. Diamond explains how each gender of a given species seeks to leave as many off-spring as possible, and how biological gender differences lead to different strategies and behavior. Diamond convincing promotes an evolutionary paradigm of human sexuality that goes quite far in explaining why men and women act the way they do. Witty and concise throughout, this book is enjoyable and illuminating.
Very good overall.......2007-07-05
There is a bit of overlap in this book with "The Third Chimpanzee," and this is to be expected. (Many of us have noticed that authors tend to cover the same points again and again.) On account of this, it loses one star.
On the good side, this book is very concise and light to read. There are almost no graphs in the book (for maximum simplicity).
The best points:
1. There wwas a good discussion of the process of going about testing a theory/ hypothesis, and though this may need to be read several times to be understood it is something that is interesting to know.
2. There were lots of neat little factoids about animals (such as elephants having 5 sets of teeth over the course of a life).
3. The questions surrouding the function of concealed ovulation were dealt with in a very easy-to-understand way that didn't bog the reader down with excessive technical details.
4. Diamond's beginnings into analyzing the male/ female division of labor were, by far, the best part of the whole book. It was sufficiently quantitative to be believable, but not so much as to be boring.
A misleading title written solely for advertising purposes.......2007-06-24
The book is a blend of "Animal Planet" and Maxim, so at times many of its theories sound more like folk tales than well researched data and at the end you feel that it lacks a clear conclusion. There are many generalizations such as: Women tend to be more responsible with their off spring because they have invested more time and resources on their creation, (ii) That there is a war of the sexes going on, as the reproductive interest of women and males is often at crossroads, as we are more promiscuous and they prefer the company of a single by very well endowed male who could provide security. That ovulation in females is hidden and they are sexually available 24/7 so that their partners will be more inclined to keep them company and not run away looking for sex somewhere else, leaving them abandoned and at peril. Each one of them could be true but at the same time is possible to point out to certain facts which could prove that the premise is wrong. For more interesting observations and analysis buy a book of Desmond Morris.
By they way the book never really tell you why sex is fun (I mean outside the fact that we all know that is fun) and why we humans like to keep it private in practically every society.
Oh, GOD! This is the most stupid book EVER........2007-04-09
How does this man actually get his work published? He is an absolute idiot. This is the most nauseating drivel, I just can't believe anyone can take this guy seriously. He should retire from writing and someone should hide his laptop just incase. Perfectly pointless.
Laughable and Questionable.......2006-10-02
Diamond spends twenty one laughable pages on male lactation. What's next? How about implanting a uterus? After all, men are stronger and could probably carry babies better.
Big game hunting by the males of indigenous tribes was probably more effective when there was more game. But, for Diamond, it leaves the question open as to "What are men good for?"
My question is "What is Jared Diamond good for?"
Average customer rating:
- How much of your behavior is ruled by sexual evolution?
|
Sex, Evolution and Behavior
Martin Daly , and
Margo Wilson
Manufacturer: Brooks Cole
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Animal Behavior & Communication
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Sociobiology
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Evolution of Human Sexuality
-
Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior.
-
The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture
-
Narrow Roads of Gene Land, Volume 2: Evolution of Sex
-
Behavioral Genetics in the Postgenomic Era
ASIN: 0871507676 |
Book Description
* Provides elementary-level discussion of theory relating to evolutionary and adaptive aspects of reproductive behavior.
Customer Reviews:
How much of your behavior is ruled by sexual evolution?.......2001-02-08
I read this book in a college class. Mind you, I didn't read most of my college books, but I couldn't put this one down. It gives a clear, intelligent, remarkably well-documented, fascinating description of how sex evolved and how that evolution effects the behavior of everything from bacteria to modern social humans.
This book is very accessible to any reasonably educated reader, regardless of your knowledge of evolutionary biology. And each idea is punctuated with a fascinating example taken from nature.
Why do lightning bugs flash, and what controls the pattern to their flashing? Why are there two sexes? Why is a red sports car sexy? You'll learn the (evolutionary biology) answers to these and countless other intriguing questions. This book is a great lesson in evolution and a revealing investigation of why aniamls do the things they do, from an African hamster to... you.
Book Description
Referring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass, a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place, Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators. The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture -- including why men propose marriage, the method behind our maddening notions of beauty, and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband. Brilliantly written, The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-03-27
I can't add very much to the excellent reviews already posted. I'll just say quickly that I enjoyed very much the fresh insight into mating practices among the "lower animals" and among humans. I've read a lot about evolution and biology and so forth, and still found much new material here. I really enjoyed learning about how scientists finally discovered the rampant adultery among birds and how incredible they are at hiding it.
Several reviewers warn about having to "make it through" the first part, and I certainly understand that if your primary interest is in the evolutionary origins of human sexuality. However, I really enjoyed the first part as well, because it provides a broad understanding of sex in evolution and give lots of fun examples about different behaviors and adaptations.
Although I didn't give the book 5 stars (I reserve that for the best of the best), it showed me that Mr. Ridley is a great writer and I'll check out his other books (I think I'll start with Genome).
Worth slogging through Part 1 to get to Part 2.......2007-01-30
Some of the ideas expressed in The Red Queen are brilliant, and their applicability to the nature of human sexuality are quite interesting. However, Ridley's very methodical approach to categorizing and cataloging the varieties during the first 120-150 pages can be painfully slow.
Once Part II kicked in, I was glad I persevered. After the first part apparently sets the stage for some descriptions related to human beings, I found myself unable to put the book down during second half. No need to add on to what has been written by others, but if I had to do it again, I definitely would have skimmed Part 1.
Still worth the effort and quite a conversation piece. In the month since I finished, I find I bring it up in casual conversation regularly, and even during the course of book club conversations about male and female perspectives to similar actions, perceptions, or mating rituals. Definitely recommended!
So interesting..........2006-12-14
I remember flying on an airplane 6 years ago and having the stranger sitting next to me highly recommend this book. It ended up taking me three years before I finally obtained a copy!
This book is phenomenal. Starting from the first organisms on the planet and building up to modern day human beings, this book gives a detailed account of evolution and covers numerous theories, supported in great detail, as to how humans are they way we are.
The only reason this book gets 4 stars from me is because it is written in text book language and it can be hard to follow at some points. But stick with it - the end of the book is where most of the interesting points emerge.
The implications to the future human civilization are staggering.......2006-11-10
Science writer Matt Ridley's book "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" is outstanding. I have read at least 20 other books by various authors on this subject, and yet Ridley's book contains a vast amount of original work and brilliant viewpoints.
His language is accessible, witty, and moving. His explanations and arguments are well researched, and elegantly written.
Ridley takes you on a journey, for those willing, into nature's infinite world of sexual evolution using existing species as examples. You'll end up realizing how constricted our society is in relation to our nature. The book opened my mind to how diverse our society can be, and how we limit and restrict ourselves. I find this book to be one of his best works.
Experts in every field of living systems should read this book, the implications are staggering. Although written entirely from a biological / genetic / nature point of view, anyone could use the material to develop an improved system. For example, improved political systems, draft laws that make sense, market products more successfully, understand the criminal mind-set, raise children better, better discern the cause of war and violence, etc.
In a nut-shell, if you want to understand the infinite possibility of human potential, this book gives you the "theory of operation" and should be considered the bible on how central sexuality is to the nature of humankind and our modern civilization.
Too serious / intense - Not for casual reading.......2006-11-06
This is interesting only if you want to do a very detailed study on Sex and Evolution of Human Nature. Not something I would recommend if you are just looking for some dating techniques or How to....type suggestions.
Amazon.com
Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. The Chalice and the Blade is one of those magnificent key books that can transform us and...initiate fundamental changes in the world. With the most passionate eloquence, Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia. -- Isabelle Allende, author of The House of the Spirits
Book Description
The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author--The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past.
Customer Reviews:
Dumbest Book Ever Written.......2007-05-20
This is the weirdest, dumbest book I've ever read. It's a pity that a lot of college professors are using this doorstop as a textbook in their classes. What a crock. This book is the scholarly and intellectual equivalent of R.L Stine's Goosebumps series. If this book were food, it would probably be something like stewed okra. I would've rated this with no stars but, interestingly enough, Amazon doesn't seem to think that authors are capable of writing completely and utterly unredeeming books.
A Vivogenic Template for Human Beings .......2007-05-13
The Chalice and the Blade ranks in the top ten paradigm shaking books of the Late, Great Twen-Cen. Those continuing to puzzle over where we went wrong, as a species, will be well served by this outstanding scholarship.
When women were equal.......2007-01-14
"The Chalice and The Blade" is a wonderful book about the history of peaceful civilizations who worshiped the goddess and warring civilizations who worshiped male gods. Eisler's theory is that there was a global shift from egalitarian to patriarchal societies. Eisler shows how women were degraded to pawns controlled by men, and that without women as equals, men turned to violence. This book is a must read for anyone interested in women's history.
More timely now than ever!.......2007-01-12
This book answers these questions, "Where did humans go wrong?" "Why are we so cruel and allowing of cruelty?" and "Why does the majority of our world not value women, their work, their ideas?" I liked this book so much - after reading it I bought 10 more copies to hand out to friends because it is soooo encouraging. It does show us a different way of living is possible and humans use to live that way. NOTE: Since reading this book I have seen history channel explore the remains of the culture's Eisler talks about. BUT history channel only focused on the buildings being far advanced over Rome's. The program NEVER TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. Eisler talks about the people. And women were valued to those people. ALSO, huge media figures are now mentioning that society needs fundamental change. Eisler identifies where that change lies. In 'Conservatives without Conscience' Dean explores basic beliefs, attitudes and prejudices and how those are incorporated into our society and dialogue. Eisler's book goes straight to the heart of where those authoritarian beliefs, attitudes and prejudices come from, what we look like without them and how we can get back to living without them.
Nerissa Oden
Other Options for the Human Race.......2006-02-14
It was wonderful and freeing to read this book. Even if there were some oversimplifications, how liberating to have other possible explanations of and options for human history! This book has inspired me to question and reexamine beliefs and attitudes that are so ubiquitous in our society that it's hard to even know that we hold them, let alone question them. I'll always be grateful to Ms. Eisler for helping me find greater freedom in all aspects of my life.
Book Description
David Buss updates his classic study of the origin of human mating behavior with fascinating new research.
If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question, says noted psychologist David Buss, we must look into our evolutionary past. Based on the most massive study of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than ten thousand people of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first book to present a unified theory of human mating behavior.
Now in a revised and updated edition, Buss's classic presents the latest research in the field, including startling new discoveries about the evolutionary advantages of infidelity, orgasm, and physical attractiveness.
Customer Reviews:
Trash.......2007-09-25
Yet another piece of faulty popular science. Although the author conducted a survey of amazingly great scope, he at times seems to even deliberaty ignore or contradict his own results. His only interest seems to be to pseudo-scientifically back up gross stereotypes of men and women. Don't waste your time or money!
How the evolution of mating affects your dating.......2006-12-11
Why do women use makeup? Why do men like to buy big cars? Why do people feel jealous? Evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss digs deep into the ancient past of human relationships to answer such questions, and produces intriguing results, disconcerting insights and valuable explanations. Using observations from the animal world and from many studies conducted in various societies, he provides a theoretical framework based on Darwin's theory of natural selection. Give Buss credit for elaborately fitting in almost every conceivable puzzle inherent in human mating relationships - even though this, admittedly, at times requires quite a stretch of his evolutionary theory. We recommend this "drop-dead shocker" (The Washington Post Book World) to anyone who has ever searched for, attracted, kept or separated from a mate - that is, anyone who is strong enough to face the unromantic truth.
Evolution of desire........2006-06-19
The author does a superb job tracking down the evolution of desire via a plethora of studies, including some conducted by the author and his colleagues. Though it's true that evolution has granted us certain "sexual strategies", psychologically we are more complex mentally than hunters and gathers. The book reads exactly as the title suggest. The author never dabbles into behavioral psychology to explain anything left unexplained by evolutionary psychology. You may catch yourself arguing with the book, trying to explain human motives through behavioral psychology. A major pet peeve for me is I often find the author repeating statements, especially in the later chapters.
Provocative..........2006-04-09
I gave this book a 5 rating because it is provocative and challenges a lot of society's assumptions about sexual behavior. While I realize the book has some shortcomings, it does shed a lot of light on human mating strategy.
I thought the author's notion of long term and short term mating strategies in both sexes was fascinating. It makes logical sense and it seemed to make sense with my experience of people in American culture. I also found the examples and references he used to back up his arguments interesting.
While this isn't a perfect book from a research perspective, it is excellent for what it is... a trade paperback written for a general audience. I recommend it to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of human sexual behavior.
Also... a lot of the information in this book is redundant with the content in the same author's book on jealousy. You may want to get one or the other first and get the other one later depending upon how big a fan you are of his approach to these topics.
Very good.......2006-03-25
A deep dive in human mating process. We can follow the author in every aspect of men and women behaviour toward relationships.
Amazon.com
This book sets out to explore why and when people evolved so far away from other mammals in several key ways, all of which Dr. Shlain ties to the biological differences between men and women. As in his excellent prior work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (which holds that there are links between the ascendancy of patriarchy and written language and the descent of matriarchal societies and goddess-based religions), some of the concepts proposed in this book might seem a bit of a stretch. And they are—whether or not they turn out to be factual. Shlain contends, for instance, that women essentially invented the concept of time due to their experience of menses. Whatever conclusions the reader comes to, the author exposes the underlying gender biases in so many scientific assumptions; the result is one of those books that cannot help but alter one's perceptions. A consistently engaging writer, Shlain traces the course of his own evolving ideas with what might be called a didactic wit: bold statements are first writ large, then Dr. Shlain reveals how he came upon them, frequently with colorful anecdotes that show these are questions he's been wrestling with for many years. It's difficult to tell whether this fascinating thinker will be viewed as the next Darwin or as a crank, but there's no denying this is an audacious work in the realm of evolutionary biology. --Mike McGonigal
Book Description
As in the bestselling The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain's provocative new book promises to change the way readers view themselves and where they came from. Sex, Time, and Power offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? The key, according to Shlain, is female sexuality. Drawing on an awesome breadth of research, he shows how, long ago, the narrowness of the newly bipedal human female's pelvis and the increasing size of infants' heads precipitated a crisis for the species. Natural selection allowed for the adaptation of the human female to this environmental stress by reconfiguring her hormonal cycles, entraining them with the periodicity of the moon. The results, however, did much more than ensure our existence; they imbued women with the concept of time, and gave them control over sex—a power that males sought to reclaim. And the possibility of achieving immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures that went on to dominate so much of human history. From the nature of courtship to the evolution of language, Shlain's brilliant and wide-ranging exploration stimulates new thinking about very old matters.
Customer Reviews:
one of those best sellers that was intended as such.......2007-09-14
I heard about this book from an interview with Shlain on NPR. The ideas he presents are compelling, but in places his arguments lack true depth. As a result, I was left feeling like I should not have bothered to buy the book and should have just been satisfied with listening to the interview, which gave me adequate exposure to the ideas. The book did not go beyond that. It provided only exposure to a wide range of ideas. Exploring the bibliography would obviously lead to the depth I desired, but after 400 pages of looking for it in Shlain's writing itself, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. His style was a bit too flowery and a bit too crowd-pleasing.
Innovative thinking for our time.......2007-05-22
I believe that to arrive at the correct answers, one needs to be asking the correct questions.
It is Shlain's ability to ask questions about how we have arrived at this time and place which inspires some out-of-the-box thinking and ideas.
I enjoyed his thought process immensely.
I recommend the book for any thinking person.
Starts out OK but then devolves into mistaken fantasy.......2007-04-27
Shlain is a quite knowledgable physiologist and has several interesting observations to make about the subject, especially with regard to iron metabolism and some perplexing aspects he's noted relating to humans versus other animals. This material occupies roughly the first third or 40% of the book, and it's worth reading. Interesting stuff, and potentially very important in piecing together how human evolution went.
The problems arise when the author then seeks to do this by applying evolutionary principles in building a model of how these physiological properties came about. In short, his understanding of evolution seems quite dated and just plain inapplicable -- one is tempted to be harsh and use words like 'rudimentary' or 'amateurish'. Specifically, he keeps referring to *group* selection, using terminology such as "what's good for the species", mixing it up with the more currently accepted idea that selection takes place almost exclusively at the level of the individual or its closer kin. His use of questionable concepts in the situation he's trying to come to grips with thus make his conclusions questionable (at best), and all the more so because he doesn't seem aware of his error/confusion, and thus he proceeds both boldy and blindly. He really would have benefited from teaming up with someone well-grounded in how evolution is really thought to work.
Shlain then compounds the error in the last third of the book or so by trying to create a complete scenario of human social evolution from the dim past (50-100 thousand years ago?) up through to about the invention of the first primitive nation states, but again uses grating pseudo-evolutionary sounding language about what "mother nature wants", with yet more appeals to what's good for the human species, while often confusing things by using specific hypothetical individuals as test particles in his thought experiments. I didn't find hardly any of this believable in the least, and since it's based on faulty evolutionary thinking it's almost certainly entirely wrong. Too bad, because the gloss of scientific and evolutionary credibility will cause many to take this part of the book as some definitive exposition on how it really was and draw unwarranted conclusions about human nature. One would love to see this book done right. 2 1/2 to 3 stars.
Who knew a steak was so important?.......2007-04-20
Dr. Schlain has brought to our attention the key role of iron for women, not only for nutriton and survival, but for courtship and commitment. I think Mother Nature is entirely capricious to make we women so dependent on men to provide steaks to get our attention. In a more serious vein, I am impressed with Dr. Schlain's grasp of history, prehistory, anthropology, sociology, and all the other ologies that make us what we are. I will never take my various systems for granted again. And now I understand how I used to become easy prey for the men who took me to dinner and wooed me with a steak (and wine). Thanks, Dr. Schlain.
Leonard Schlain : a Panoramic Thinker .......2007-03-09
Leonard Schlain is a creative and panoramic thinker: very like a multi-tasking woman who must focus in the moment and simultaneously "see" the past and future. He's ingeniously woven the story around the facts into what perhaps is our best guess yet, about our evolutionary underpinnings. Schlain's a genre of his own, who has mentally freed us up from a scanty and overly focussed scientific box. This medical man is comfortable that the scientist affects the experiment. Read it. ~ Elena Dolan
Amazon.com
"Many people have sex in mind a great deal of the time." Authors Malcolm Potts and Roger Short spent more than 15 years trying to understand and explain these passions. While not fully embracing biological determinism--that destiny is simply written in the genes--Potts and Short believe that evolutionary biology can help explain human behavior. In this book they focus on milestones in life's cycle, such as love, marriage, sex, pregnancy, birth, parenting, divorce, and death. Each of these complex behaviors is studied in turn and analyzed for its biological foundations and centuries of cultural modifications. Nearly 100 illustrations lend support to the authors' theories, and dozens of fascinating sidebars go into greater depth about everything from Siamese twins and cloning to wet-nursing and Viagra.
The book is not without its flaws: the authors' belief that most behaviors are biologically based leads them to make sexist conclusions at times--for example, they argue that a woman's interest in sports must primarily stem from a desire to please her man. They also maintain that evolutionary biology can suggest solutions to some of our most difficult problems, without suggesting what these solutions (or, indeed, problems) may be. That said, the authors do an excellent job of teasing out the twisted strands of nature and nurture that make us who we are. Though scholars may find the lack of footnotes frustrating, Ever Since Adam and Eve will pique the interest of educated readers. --C.B. Delaney
Book Description
Eminent scientists Malcolm Potts and Roger Short view the broad panorama of human sexual and reproductive behaviour to reveal an inextricable mixture of nature and nurture - a combination of innate actions which have evolved over the millennia to adapt us to a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, overlain by more recent cultural constraints imposed by civilization. For each of life’s milestones - sexual intercourse, conception, pregnancy, birth, puberty, love, marriage, parenting, menopause and death - they describe the biology behind our actions and consider how pressures imposed by various historical and contemporary cultures have further influenced our behaviour. By looking back at the past they attempt to make sense of the present, to see how and why these cultural modifications arose, how they have contributed to the richness of human sexual behaviour, and what our biological and cultural inheritance can teach us about safeguarding the continuation of our species.
Customer Reviews:
Ever Since Adam and Eve.......2000-03-20
This book is a MUST for anyone who considers themselves an unbiassed thinker. If only there were a text like this when I was in college. It will appeal to anyone interested in anthropology, sociology and/or zoology. You don't have to agree with the arguments of the authors as they are the flavour enhancers of the proverbial "food for thought". The beauty of this book is it's personal affect of invading your waking and sleeping hours with questions. Wonderfully stimulating, the best thing I have read in AGES. What a legacy.
A great Outlook on sexual inhabitions and what drives them!.......1999-08-26
This book was written by my uncle who has always been an inspiration in my life. This book is just another extension of his Greatness! Malcolm Potts takes his work very seriously. I know that this book will and has already made changes in my life as far as human sexuality goes. It will make me take my sexual desires and actions to a new and much safer level.
veryprovacative,justone of thosebooksthathasrealityalloverit.......1999-08-03
the book was very touching.it made feel as if iwas far away from God, and it made me realize how far my relationship with God really was, and i'm just glad that Malcolm Potts and Roger Short brought me back to reality...
Stunning summary of the human condition from then to now.......1999-07-13
Of course there is nothing new under the sun...or is there? Better read this often funny, frequently irreverent book with remarkable sexual pictures and graphics. New syntheses must draw on past information. Like any masterpiece, these authors took lifetimes to acquire and understand the knowledge they now offer us in this complex, yet easy to read scientific recitation of human and other sexual histories. The book tells you about our evolutionary hsitory, that we are indeed descended from earlier animals and even earlier forms of life. They document that the main evolutionary drive for humans and mammals generally has been and is SEX, for the key to our existence is the need to produce the BEST next generation. For many this book will prove an epiphany of understanding, a creation of more reverence for life, but one not based on the mythology of religion, but on the clear facts of science. Don't miss it.
well written cultural anthroplogy.......1999-05-24
Two internationally recognized authors have provided us with a sparkling volume; informative and engaging. Several lay friends have read my copy, and shared it with their families.
Book Description
Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that. Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their enslavement within the larger cell was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms and, closely related, the origin of two sexes. Unlike the DNA in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed down exclusively (or almost exclusively) via the female line. That's why it has been used by some researchers to trace human ancestry daughter-to-mother, to 'Mitochondrial Eve'. Mitochondria give us important information about our evolutionary history. And that's not all. Mitochondrial genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus because of the free radicals produced in their energy-generating role. This high mutation rate lies behind our ageing and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer, through their involvement in precipitating cell suicide. Mitochondria, then, are pivotal in power, sex, and suicide. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in this exciting field to show how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death. 'An extraordinary account of groundbreaking modern science... The book abounds with interesting and important ideas.' Mark Ridley, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
Customer Reviews:
everything a popular science book should be.......2007-09-30
While this book is not easy reading, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Nick Lane does not try to oversimplify the intricacies of the molecular biology
underlying the workings of a cell, but shows how the details are necessary to
understand how and why it all came to be. I am amazed at how he managed
to distil a vast quantity of mostly very recent scientific research into not only
a readable, but also a visionary book. The speculative parts of the book need
to be taken with a grain of salt. However, after reading this book my attention
is drawn to articles on mitochondria in Nature and Science, articles which I would
certainly have shirked before reading this book.
Ohh mitochondria, tell us the truth.......2007-09-17
What a book, absolutely fascinating and highly recommended, although I must say that this is not an easy book, in fact is kind of complex if you are not acquainted with the subject. This is not a critic, thing is I would not change a bit of it, but in my opinion, people should have a little knowledge of cellular metabolism and biochemistry before attempting this book.
After reading Dawkins book about the selfish gene, it was inevitable for me to wonder about life origins, why unicellular organisms have that tendency to complexity and to group itself, and how all this machinery works. This book provide a thorough and absorbing introduction of Mitochondria and its symbiosis with eukaryotes, what is the function of each one, why there are two sexes and why we aged and finally become history. As you will see, our understanding of these matters is rather modest, the author insinuate possible solutions to some of the big questions, but in any case the subject is so interesting that you read this book excited all the way to the end.
How beautiful is life and how complex ... you can see that just watching a little fly and wonder how on earth this insect manage to fly, as if eukaryotes have a previous knowledge of Physics, as if they have all the basic solutions of nature in a template. I just know one thing: I want to know and read more about it.
Simply the most fascinating book I have read in years.......2007-07-19
I cannot over recommend this book. It ranks alongside "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins as one of the seminal books for understanding life on earth. Interestingly, the title doesn't oversell the book at all - it really does contain fascinating information about power, sex and suicide (albeit cell suicide). If you have any interest in evolution or the origins of life - just get this book.
The ATP Powerhouses.......2007-07-16
The power of "mighty"chondria enthralled me to my very cells. Science, power, intrique...like a great mystery novel that takes place within the cell...
Note: reading this book in public elicits stares. The title jumps out, but not the subtitle.
It *is* a life-changing book!!!.......2007-05-14
Well, all right... Enthusiasm might trump my common sense a little, here. Not everyone will change their outlook on life after reading this highly interesting and eye-opening book, but it certainly convinced me of the central role that mitochondria likely played in the evolution of eukaryotic cells and of multicellular organisms. I had to change my opinion on the relative importance of getting a nucleus or getting mitochondria during our evolutionary journey; mitochondria, which up to now I had unfairly considered as rather boring ATP factories and mere actors in the process of apoptosis, now do indeed seem to be the architects of life as we know it.
Nick Lane does a great job at integrating the relevant scientific literature and weaving it into an all-audience book filled with exciting facts and clever hypotheses. Among popular science writers, he is certainly among the best; the same appears to be true as a theory-builder.
This is a must-read book for all biologists, and a "really, really should be read" book for anyone else.
Amazon.com
"Don't trust your instincts." Hardly the standard self-help fare, to be sure. Arguing that Darwin has a lot more to tell us about ourselves than Freud, Mean Genes is high on evolution and low on inner child. Deemed "brilliant" by E.O. Wilson himself, the book is the work of two young Wilson disciples: Terry Burnham, an economics professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Jay Phelan, a professor of biology at UCLA.
Burnham and Phelan divide life issues into 10 categories (debt, fat, drugs, risk, greed, gender, beauty, infidelity, family, and friends and foes), and then offer a two-step guide to better living. "Step 1 is to understand our animal nature, particularly those desires that get us into trouble and can lead to unhappiness. Step 2 is to harness this knowledge so that we can tame our primal instincts."
Needless to say, Nancy Reagan-esque bromides don't fit into the Mean Genes scheme of things:
"Just say no" to drugs is the simplest way to kick a habit. Unfortunately, this obvious and low-cost approach is also the route most likely to fail. For example, only one person quits smoking for every twenty who attempt to just say no. Raw willpower seems like a great solution right up until weakness strikes and we light up a cigarette or mix a margarita.
Instead of slogans, the Mean Genes approach to overcoming drug addiction is to first recognize that "every person has strong, instinctual cravings for destructive substances." This, coupled with a thorough scientific understanding of a given drug's pleasurable effects on the brain, offers a more realistic course of action, such as finding a less harmful substitute for achieving a similar buzz.
Be it talk of weight loss, saving for retirement, or resisting the neighbor's wife, such practical, tough-love suggestions for subduing the beast within are provided throughout the book. Phelan describes how he instantly smears mayonnaise all over tempting sweets served with airline meals to keep from eating them during long flights, and Burnham writes of giving away his Internet access cable in order to free himself of a serious day-trading fixation.
The authors also rely heavily on findings from the animal world in stating their case, which makes for fascinating reading, if not always for readily transferable lessons to daily life. Consider, for example, certain frog species that "continue individual bouts of mating for several months. If people mated for a similar percentage of our lives, a single round of intercourse would last almost ten years." And then there's the famed black widow spider. "Shunning the more traditional chastity belt, the male breaks off his sexual organ inside the female, preventing her from ever mating again. When the act is completed, the female kills and eats the male."
Put off by all the sex and violence? Don't worry. There's also a nod to family values in the form of the Australian social spider. "Soon after giving birth to about a hundred hungry spiderlings, Mom's body literally liquefies into a pile of mushy flesh. The babies then munch on the flesh so they can start their lives with full bellies." Mean genes, indeed. --Patrick Jennings
Book Description
"The Mean Genes message is optimistic . . . a self-help book for the merely average human being." (The Washington Post Book World)
"An unusual cross between a social Darwinist monograph and a self-help manual." (The New Yorker)
Why do we want-and do-so many things that are bad for us? In Mean Genes Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan argue that we need to stop looking to Sigmund Freud for answers and start looking to Charles Darwin. Mean Genes reveals that our struggles for self-improvement are, in fact, battles against our own genes-genes that helped our distant ancestors flourish, but are selfish and out of place in the modern world. Using this evolutionary lens, Mean Genes brilliantly examines the issues that most affect our lives-body image, money, addiction, violence, and relationships, friendship, love, and fidelity-and offers steps to help us lead more satisfying lives.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-06-27
The book is easy to read, and aims to explain human behavior based on our psychological aspects and our genes. It's a good book, a book I will keep on my book shelf. However, it's nothing extraordinary, it will not change your life perspective by 180 degrees :).
Funny, Practical.......2007-04-30
Phelan and Burnham's practical, yet informative and humorous approach to teaching shines in their book through multitude of real life stories. It is half science, half novella, 100% genuine and funny!
Nothing New.......2007-01-04
I just finished "Mean Genes". This is a book you will read once and will sit on the shelf. I am glad I checked it out from the library.
It is a quick and easy read, which I like. Other books of this sort can become bogged down in scientific lingo. There was nothing in this book that I had to re-read several times before it sunk in. That isn't necessarily a good thing.
I did not read any information that I have not already heard. And I am far from an expert on such a topic. I, like most, am somewhere in the middle when it comes to intellegence (of course, I like to think I am at the upper level of average). I am sure that has something to do with my genes.
If you want a quick and easy read, this book is for you. If you want to learn in-depth information on genes, look elsewhere.
A light introduction to a serious subject.......2006-11-30
Mean Genes is a light and entertaining overview of human sociobiology, so those looking for a more "serious" work should skip this one. Burnham and Phelan demonstrate that much of human nature reflects our evolutionary past. They do acknowledge the importance of environment, but it's now clear that upbringing is a 3rd-order effect after genetics and epigenetics in that order. (Otherwise chimps could be raised to be like people.)
When I was younger, I used to be on the fence re: evolution and religion. However I'm now a believer in the former because it explains what the latter can't: it explains why men have a stronger sex drive than women (because men have an infinite supply of sex cells vs. women); it explains why people are more aggressive and violent than they should be (e.g. road rage), considering our modern (easy) lifestyle; it can even explain why people are compelled to believe in religion in the first place.
junk theories?.......2005-07-16
Save your money! I can sum up the book in a few sentences. According to the authors, we are genetically inclined to spend money and avoid saving because our ancenstors didn't have refrigerators. We use drugs because they make us feel good. We take risks because it gives us a little high. We do drugs because they make us feel good.
I had to read this book for a graduate Accounting class. No, I am not joking. I wouldn't have wasted my money, nor my time if I wasn't being graded on it. This book is a bunch of junk theories that say we are genetically induced to do things because of some ancestor and we can change it if we are smart enough. On just about every page in the book is some study done on animals that is supposed to be related to the topic. The author says races have DNA that are almost identical. Yeah, well Chimps and humans have almost identical DNA's. The book also says that 25% of women and 50% of men admit to cheating on their spouse. If you look at the source, you will see it is from 1974 and published by none other that Playboy Press. The book also says 10% of British children tested were not children of their married mother and father. Meaning that the mother had an affair. However, in the notes it says that this 10% only applies to people who were suspicious and actually went and had the test done. That is a pretty importatnt fact they chose to leave out in the text.
This book is a bunch of theories based on animal behavior and the hypothetical behavior of our ancestors. The rest of the book is common sense. Especially the dozen or so pages the authors use to discuss how women like men with money and success. I didn't need a PhD to tell me that.
Average customer rating:
|
Sex Differences: Developmental and Evolutionary Strategies
Linda Mealey
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Sex
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Personality
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sexuality
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Human
| Sexuality
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Psychology of Sexuality
| Sexuality
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gender Studies
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Developmental Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ecology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Behavioral Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Developmental Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Ecology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Health Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Health, Mind & Body
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Female of the Species
-
Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women
-
Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences
-
Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn about Sex from Animals
-
Brain Gender
ASIN: 0124874606 |
Book Description
Sex Differences serves as an advanced text for courses in evolutionary and human biology, psychology, and sexuality and gender studies. It also serves as a reference source for academic professionals in these disciplines. The book covers the evolution of sex and sex differences, and sex differences and sexual strategies in non-human and human animals. The final chapter addresses issues of sex and gender in interpersonal relationships, organizations and politics. Diagrams, graphs, charts, and tables illustrate key concepts; cartoons and photos provide visual breaks and an element of humor.
Key Features
* Examines sexual differences from a multi-level comparative approach
* Contains a thorough coverage of literature through 1998 and into 1999
* Illustrates pages with a generous use of cartoons, photos, figures, and diagrams
* Invites bonus learning with special interest boxes interspersed throughout text
* Presents a critical analysis
* Includes a combination of feminist and evolutionary thinking
Customer Reviews:
Clear and Informative.......2001-09-22
This is an excellent, clearly written, well-organized scholarly review of sex differences. The author takes a broad look at the topic, which makes the book useful for a broad range of readers: biologists, psychologists, medical practitioners, ecologists, clinicians,counselors, and the well-informed general reader. The clear writing style and careful review of the literature make this a very accessible and informative book.
Books:
- Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
- Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
- Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
- Worlds in Collision
- 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems, 2nd ed.
- 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
- A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love
- A Time Before Crack
- Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism
- Biological Science, Volume 2: Evolution, Diversity, and Ecology (2nd Edition) (Biological Science)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- William Howard Taft: A Conservative's Conception of the Presidency - Library of the Presidents
- The Indian Way: An Introduction to the Philosophies & Religions of India
- Rocks That Float
- Taylor's Guide to Roses: How to Select abd Grow 380 Roses, Including the New Hardy Ever-Blooming Var
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: A Kaplan Vocabulary-Building Classic for Young Readers
- Probability and Computing: Randomized Algorithms and Probabilistic Analysis
- The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird Gardens
- Childhood at Court: 1819-1914
- Ninety-Six and Too Busy to Die: A Life Beyond the Age of Dying
- Not All Soldiers Wore Pants : A Witty World War II Wac Tells All
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (P.S.)
Collapse
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
