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Sex at Dawn cover art

Sex at Dawn

Written by: Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha
Narrated by: Allyson Johnson, Jonathan Davis, Christopher Ryan (Preface)
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Publisher's Summary

Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science - as well as religious and cultural institutions - has maintained that men and women evolved in families in which a man's possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman's fertility and fidelity. But this narrative is collapsing. Fewer and fewer couples are getting married, and divorce rates keep climbing as adultery and flagging libido drag down even seemingly solid marriages.

How can reality be reconciled with the accepted narrative? It can't be, according to renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. While debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, they offer a bold alternative explanation in this provocative and brilliant book.

Ryan and Jetha's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes a Preface written and read by author Christopher Ryan.

©2010 Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha (P)2010 Audible, Inc

What the critics say

“Funny, witty, and light ... Sex at Dawn is a scandal in the best sense, one that will have you reading the best parts aloud and reassessing your ideas about humanity’s basic urges well after the book is done.” ( Newsweek)
Sex at Dawn is the single most important book about human sexuality since Alfred Kinsey unleashed Sexual Behavior in the Human Male on the American public in 1948.” (Dan Savage)
"My favorite book of 2010...it's the only book I read this year that proved that I was badly mistaken about something." (Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!)

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Amazingly open perspective on sex

So important to read a totally varied perspective on sex even when your(my) religious views can interfere with the message. Really enjoyed this book

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Eye Opening Book

A really interesting view on the origin of sexuality from Homo Erectus to modern man. A journey worth exploring!

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Thought Provoking

A really good listen to! I wish everyone would listen to this and have their views on human sexuality changed, or at least challenged. Very well done.

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Revolutionary.

I was enthralled for every minute of listening. I would highly recommend this book. .

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Amazing and Interesting

I'm baffled at the amount of time, energy and effort this book must have taken to put together..

Such great perspectives and thinking points. Not pushing an agenda or opinion, simply laying out facts.

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Amazing!

I absolutely devoured this book. It wasn’t what I expected at all..very interesting and informative. I will be asking my boyfriend to read it before we agree to get married!

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Everyone should read this book!

As a bi open polyamourous man I do not struggle with stretching the limits of what could be. Anyone not so lucky should read this book. Great overview of how we came to limit ourselves with rigid definitions of love and sex. Great eye opener on what could be. The pain inflicted by such rigid definitions is real. IE broken families and heartaches. Not that a book will change all that overnight but one can hope that over time we as a species will free ourselves of the limitations brought about by religions and narrow mindedness. This book is a step in acheiving that. Thx to the authors!

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I might never stop reading this book

Each time I read or listen to it I grasp something new or I understand something better. It’s also hilarious and highly entertaining. I love it from cover to cover.

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well written and well read

While being a diatribe on scientific facts this book is far from bland. This easy listen is written in a tongue in cheek manner that will have you giggling and smirking as they touch on the varied topics involved with human sexuality... if you wanna know why you moan or your eyes roam this is the one you need to listen too.

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Well that explains a lot

A very interesting book packed with novel yet well reasoned ideas. Audio production is top notch and the reading is solid. Highly recommended!

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