Nothing new is this book.

The book offers a hardcore evolutionary perspective on human mating strategies.There is hardly anything new in this that the author didn'tstate in his earlier, and much better book, "the evolution of desire". Of course humans are not animals, and the author acknowledged this.The problem is that he is oftentimes is stating the obvious. It also very repetitive. The narration is as much robotic as the content. Not recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Must read book

Every now and then, I read a book, and all I can think is, “How is this not required reading?” That’s exactly what I thought as I finished this new book from David Buss. It took me way too long to read the work of David Buss, but I kept seeing people talk about his books, so right before this new book, I read The Evolution of Desire. While the first few chapters of this new book had some of the same topics from The Evolution of Desire, it was just setting the foundation for upcoming subjects Buss was going to dive into. I love evolutionary psychology, and this book discusses the reasons behind intimate partner violence, stalking and revenge after a breakup, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and so much more.

As a father and someone who is friends with many women, I can’t stress enough how important this book is. When my son is older, I’m absolutely going to have him read this book, and I think this book may help women as well, but I’m not sure. I’m going to go find some reviews from women and see if this has any therapeutic value since so many women have been victims of what’s discussed in this book. If nothing else, the book provides education and awareness so we can all do our part to change patriarchal norms to hopefully decrease instances of violence against women.

2 people found this helpful

Interesting ideas, but argumentation incomplete

The posited framework relies on scientific research and logical argumentation, which is fantastic. I love authors who supply sources and multiple validations to their claims. The result, I feel, was a self-consistent explanation of phenomena stemming from human sexual conflict. However, many arguments were not taken to their logical finish and remained unexplained. For instance, "why do women find dark triad men attractive" was given the equivalent answer of "because they fake or have qualities which women usually find attractive, such as confidence, status and wealth". That does not address the critical detail that being impregnated and abandoned by such a man is about the worst outcome a woman can get in the consensual part of the mating market, and so one would assume women would become excellent detectors of dark triad men. It makes no sense to find a man who will use you attractive. The cherry on the cake is the "sexy son hypothesis", which argues by a circle "women find them attractive because their sons, who are similar to them, would be attractive". Such holes in argumentation are found throughout the book. Personally I was disappointed by the (acknowledged) lack of discussion and explanation of sexual violence perpetrated by women, which could certainly be illuminated within the same framework. In short, a great book full of cool ideas, but that could use thorough questioning and gap filling.

2 people found this helpful

Not worth a credit

I loved Evolution of Desire by Buss which was much more comprehensive attempt to describe human mating from evolutionary perspective. This book brings little new information. The last chapter is especially terrible, merging evolutionary approach with feminist utopianism where author ponders if men can override their natural inclination for sexual objectification of women(?!). The overarching point is I guess it would be beneficial to some women and some men(presumably to the author) to eliminate intersexual conflict completely. I wish the author goodluck with his totally realistic plan.

1 person found this helpful

Monotone narrator

Horrible choice of reader. I have no idea what the book is about because I couldn’t get through the first chapter. I heard the author on a podcast and it seems like a great book. Amazon won’t allow me to return this auto book. Definitely a candidate for return and read the book.

1 person found this helpful

Another great book!

Mr. Buss has delivered many great books over the years. His work gives us important information in easy to understand ways. Huge fan!

Evolutionary psychology for feminists. Sequel?

David Buss is a pioneer in Evo psyc. Here he gives an evo-psyc explanation of the minimal to vial behaviors of men and does a decent job putting things into perspective. I wonder if he would be willing to write the companion; "Women Behaving Badly", or "Men Behaving Excellent"?

Reality, Research, and Unfortunate

This is an absolute fantastic compilation and mesmerizing read....and...also sad, unfortunate, and scary in its reality. If you can peaceably hold these two realities this book is a must read!

Eyebrows up! Lots of sound truths here.

Loved the book. Lots of behaving badly tactics that skate by seemingly unnoticed. I doubt there aren't at least a few examples we've all known, witnessed, or were involved in one way or another. Good read.

highly recommend for humans.

highly recommend for humans. if you are humans please read it. super dupper love