beardedbarista's review against another edition
4.0
Sex. We all love it and it is nice to see such a hard stance on making it social and free. I have always been of the opinion that we are monkeys and this book really helps my cause.
We only have the morals and ideas we have because of institutions that have made them the only option available and you are deemed a sinner or a pervert to think any different.
This book was also one of my few attempts into audible.com. There were some pretty corny moments and tongue and cheek comments that were a bit too cheesy for me but over all the book had a very credible feel.
I want to thank Joe Rogan for having Christoper Ryan on his podcast and interesting me in this book and subject.
WOOO another book listened to!
Justin
We only have the morals and ideas we have because of institutions that have made them the only option available and you are deemed a sinner or a pervert to think any different.
This book was also one of my few attempts into audible.com. There were some pretty corny moments and tongue and cheek comments that were a bit too cheesy for me but over all the book had a very credible feel.
I want to thank Joe Rogan for having Christoper Ryan on his podcast and interesting me in this book and subject.
WOOO another book listened to!
Justin
maddiebee's review
Based on the rampant bias and questionable ideas present I can tell it's not worth my time. Looking up criticism of the book has only solidified that
jyukidavidoff's review against another edition
4.0
The material was a little dry to begin but the more I read the more interested I became. Really fascinating to learn a different perspective on how we pair and mate. I wish I had read this when I was younger, but I'm glad I know about this now.
kelz31's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this. I love the thought and methodology behind these claims that we as Homo sapiens are not hard-wired for monogamy.
Favorite quotes:
"One can choose what to do, but not what to want."
"Where most men can and do hunger for sex in the abstract, women report wanting narrative, character, a reason for sex."
"Sex for pleasure with various partners is therefore more 'human' than animal. Strictly reproductive, once-in-a-blue-moon sex is more 'animal' than human. In other words, an excessively horny monkey is acting 'human', while a man or woman uninterested in sex more than once or twice a year would be, strictly speaking, 'acting like an animal.'"
"No creature needs to be threatened with death to act in accord with its own nature."
"One wonders, in fact, why marriage is a legal issue at all - apart from its relevance to immigration and property laws. Why would something so integral to human nature require such vigilant legal protection?"
"Why is it so easy to believe that a mother's love isn't a zero-sum proposition, but that sexual love is a finite resource?"
"It's not like you want to rip your clothes off with somebody that you're sleeping with for the thousandth time. We should know going into it that the nature of love and sex changes from what it begins as, and that a great love affair doesn't necessarily make a great marriage."
Favorite quotes:
"One can choose what to do, but not what to want."
"Where most men can and do hunger for sex in the abstract, women report wanting narrative, character, a reason for sex."
"Sex for pleasure with various partners is therefore more 'human' than animal. Strictly reproductive, once-in-a-blue-moon sex is more 'animal' than human. In other words, an excessively horny monkey is acting 'human', while a man or woman uninterested in sex more than once or twice a year would be, strictly speaking, 'acting like an animal.'"
"No creature needs to be threatened with death to act in accord with its own nature."
"One wonders, in fact, why marriage is a legal issue at all - apart from its relevance to immigration and property laws. Why would something so integral to human nature require such vigilant legal protection?"
"Why is it so easy to believe that a mother's love isn't a zero-sum proposition, but that sexual love is a finite resource?"
"It's not like you want to rip your clothes off with somebody that you're sleeping with for the thousandth time. We should know going into it that the nature of love and sex changes from what it begins as, and that a great love affair doesn't necessarily make a great marriage."
trillium9's review against another edition
I broadly agree with the author's main thesis: that scientific research doesn't support the idea of biologically determined monogamy in humans.
Aside from that, which could have been presented in an essay 1/10th the size of this book, I thought the book was quite weak. For as many sources as are cited, the author just as often relies on colloquial knowledge and loosely connected evolutionary psychology arguments. Many parts of the book arrive back to the gendered stereotypes about sexuality they aim to critique.
Aside from that, which could have been presented in an essay 1/10th the size of this book, I thought the book was quite weak. For as many sources as are cited, the author just as often relies on colloquial knowledge and loosely connected evolutionary psychology arguments. Many parts of the book arrive back to the gendered stereotypes about sexuality they aim to critique.
thomwallacern's review against another edition
4.0
Educational and enlightening. Exactly what i expected
stuhlsatzg's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book to many of my colleagues who are educated in critiquing the standard way we do things. This was an excellent introduction into critical thinking and evaluating research that is often cited to explain the way we do things, specifically the way we do research. I enjoyed reading it but I wasn't blown away.