Sex: A Natural History

Rating:
Summary: I never thought I'd see the day.....
Review: ....when I would find sex so boring! But somehow this author, like my ex-wife, managed to pull it off!!! The prose is plodding and the material is disorganized. If you've read and enjoyed other "natural history of" books, you will be bitterly disappointed by this one. The author lacks the ability to wax poetic about her subject like Diane Ackerman. There are also few good scientific yarns or the kind of gee-whiz stuff that you might expect--or hope--from a book about one of the primary preoccupations of mankind! Wait for the movie.

Rating:
Summary: I never thought I'd see the day.....
Review: ....when I would find sex so boring! But somehow this author, like my ex-wife, managed to pull it off!!! The prose is plodding and the material is disorganized. If you've read and enjoyed other "natural history of" books, you will be bitterly disappointed by this one. The author lacks the ability to wax poetic about her subject like Diane Ackerman. There are also few good scientific yarns or the kind of gee-whiz stuff that you might expect--or hope--from a book about one of the primary preoccupations of mankind! Wait for the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Evolutionary point of view
Review: Great book, highly recommend; Evolutionary history of sex. If you want to know why things work the way they work. A book you might want to own instead of borrowing in the library. Open in the middle and read any chapter....

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Didactic Romp about Sex.
Review: Sex. Sex. Sex. Now that I've got your attention, Joann Ellison Rodgers, winner of the Lasker Award for medical journalism, has authored "Sex: A Natural History."
The topic is stripped down. The biology, genetics, psychology, and so on of sex are examined. Why do men have a propensity for sleep after an orgasm? Why is the brain the engine of sex? How does smell play a part in a woman's choice of a mate?
Rodgers discusses numerous theories. Scientific studies on animals, insects and humans are used frequently. Careful attention and rereads are par for the course for the lay person. Some of the text seems more at home in medical journals. However, she sustains our attention with humor and an upbeat tone.
Getting to "yes" with the right people is an amazingly more subtle and complex process than one would imagine. Rodgers carefully examines the many aspects that entail sex: attraction, flirtation, arousal, love, and fidelity.
The author's scientific treatise on sex is not dumbed down and still remains accessible. At times, the countless studies of fruit flies, monkeys and other hapless creatures went overboard for my taste. Nevertheless, the data presented confirms the notion that sex coevolved through cooperation, not conflict.
In conclusion, Rodgers successfully showcases sex and its evolutionary wonders. But she admits, "No, we don't know (yet) exactly why sex evolved, or why there are thorns among the roses." Attempting to answer questions about the history of sex is akin to untying the Gordian knot. Some questions may remain unanswered for awhile or perhaps forever. Overall the romp through "Sex" was didactic and entertaining.


Rating:
Summary: Good Info
Review: This Book is not meant to be an incredible mind bending guide, or an extremely dull informative textbook. Instead this is a book in the middle of both extremes, it provides interesting information without being boring about the evolutionary process sex has take over history. This book is not some Hopper guide to great sex, but rather an interesting historical/scientific view of sex. For those who are interested in love, touch, relationships, and sex.