Product Description

'The Descent of Woman' is a pioneering work, the first to argue for the equal role of women in human evolution. On its first publication in 1972 it created an international debate and became a rallying-point for feminism, changing the terminology of anthropologists forever. Starting with her demolition of the Biblical myth that woman was an afterthought to the creation of man, Elaine Morgan rewrites human history and evolution. This lively, informative book sets out to solve the riddle of our origins; its answer is controversial. Elaine Morgan has made the 'Aquatic Ape Hypothesis' a plausible alternative to conventional theories of evolution and 'The Descent of Woman' first set out an understanding of who humans are and where they come from.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143093 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-28
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

'The Guardian'
"Part feminist polemic, part evolutionary bombshell."

'The Observer'
"It was one of the most outrageous, improbable evolutionary ideas
ever proposed... now the idea... is becoming respectable."

'Sunday Telegraph'
"She is more scientific than Genesis, more up to date than
Darwin... and she writes better than Desmond Morris."

Customer Reviews

Putting women in the picture
I've bought about 5 copies of this book since the first edition was published in the 1970s: they were lent to friends because the book is so good, and not returned for the same reason.

Elaine Morgan provides a refreshing and plausible account of how we got where we are today, how you cannot consider evolution without considering women, and challenges many of the men-the-mighty-hunter myths.

What puzzles me is that her theories (based on Hardy) have now got wide-spread credence, but it is still possible to find recently-published books on evolution that make no reference to the aquatic theory.

A brilliant book: informative, readable ... and - added bonus - funny.

How women became oppressed....?
The Descent of Woman takes a critical look at how the theory of evolution, has become dogged by male prejudice. The book explains how this prejudice has led to some rather unscientific interpretations being placed upon the evidence.
For example it explains how aggression has become misinterpreted and even admired by men as part of their evolution, yet our closest relatives, the ape and chimpanzee are not agressive by nature and there is no real evidence to suggest that humans are either.
This book is very well written and easy to read. I found some parts very amusing, when reading some of the truly ridiculous things male scientists have actually said about women...and then other parts were more worrying for the same reason. The book remains scrupulously fair and does not stray into anything remotely "feminist" or "anti male", yet I think it sends a fairly clear message to male scientists to put aside their prejudices when researching and writing on the subject. It would even help if they would stop the continual use of the pronoun "he" and the phrase "as every school boy knows".
I confess I do not believe in evolution myself, yet I would recommend this book, because the conclusions reached are far more credible than anything else offered up on the subject.
I would recommend it to anyone studying evolution and also anyone with an open mind/interested in "who we are" and "where we come from".

Cannot praise this book highly enough.
What can I say? This book makes perfect sense, rewrites history and gives a far more plausible explanation than the traditional Savannah theory.