Product Description

Sex is as fascinating to scientists as it is to the rest of us. A vast pool of knowledge, therefore, has been gleaned from research into the nature of sex, from the contentious problem of why the wasteful reproductive process exists at all, to how individuals choose their mates and what traits they find attractive. This fascinating book explores those findings, and their implications for the sexual behaviour of our own species. It uses the Red Queen from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ – who has to run at full speed to stay where she is – as a metaphor for a whole range of sexual behaviours. The book was shortlisted for the 1994 Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books. ‘Animals and plants evolved sex to fend off parasitic infection. Now look where it has got us. Men want BMWs, power and money in order to pair-bond with women who are blonde, youthful and narrow-waisted … a brilliant examination of the scientific debates on the hows and whys of sex and evolution’ Independent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12819 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

From the Publisher
Science is...
According to Matt Ridley, science is not a catalogue of facts; it is a search for new mysteries.

About the Author
MATT RIDLEY is a research fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs and a Trustee of the International Centre for Life, living in Northumberland. His last book, The Red Queen, was short-listed for the Rhone-Poulenc Prize for science books and the Writers' Guild Award for non-fiction.

Customer Reviews

A fascinating book that enthralls as much as a great novel
The Red Queen - named after a theory which is itself named for the 'Alice' character, who must run as fast as she can simply to keep pace with the world around her - fascinated from beginning to end.

Looking at the evolution of sex, it is filled with intriguing facts, remarkable examples, and frequently alarming revelations. From why the peacock has that remarkable tail (it's probably to do with sexy sons) to why polygamy benefits females rather than males, the book is a real eye-opener.

Once you've learned the secret of the lek, the local disco will never seem the same again. And, given that a man's testicular size is evidence that neither he nor his partner evolved for true monogamy, you may not find this book terribly reassuring.

Polygyny, polyandry, incest, infanticide, and group-bonking bonobos: it may leave you thinking that, in comparison to even some of our closest relatives, we humans have very conservative sex lives indeed. And we may only have started doing it at all so that we don't fall prey to parasites!

A great read, and real incentive to read anything else available by Matt Ridley.

Good summary of a fascinating topic
This is "popular science" at its best. Ridley deals with an extremely complex topic in a manner which anyone with a reasonable level of common sense/logic can understand. At the same time the book is very well referenced and in no way lacking in scientific content or examples. It is at once shocking, exciting and educational, smoothly linking invertebrate parasitology to 20th century human society and convention - and covering a fair amount of ground on the way! I have persuaded all of my friends, (especially my girlfriend) to read it, and they have all found it as fascinating as I did.

The Red Queen- A topic for debate
Matt Ridley's book the red queen talks about human evolution, but also how our love lives are similar to animals. Matt writes this book with conviction and spreads his love of zoology onto us when he compares how similar the courting rituals of birds to humans.
Matt also opens us up to debate as in one of the chapters he mentions about sexual reproduction "why do we have sex, why not go asexual, that way we would waste less energy" He wants us to question things instead of just accepting things for what they are just because someone famous made a discovery. He also mentions about the psychology of men and women and how any why they are different, the roles of beauty and how that could attract parasites and that is what makes this book so interesting up to the final ending when he leaves with a final analogy in the end of the chapter in The intellutual chess game. Recommended Reading!!!