Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6286 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Synopsis
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 behavior 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 behaviors. 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".

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

Customer Reviews

Fascinating topic explained well
A very enjoyable popular science read. Evolutionary scientists are coming out with more and more evidence and theories on how evolution makes us what we are - not just the flesh and bones but why we think like we do. This book covers much of this interesting subject and does it well. He is a good writer that makes it easy to understand.

Some people will have an issue with this book -by it's nature, evolutionary biology and behaviourology are somewhat deterministic. It also necessarily recognises sexual differences. People of a left-wing bias tend to find this at odds with the fundamentals behind their politics (although the same fuss is not made when the same principles are applied to animals...) - hence low scoring reviews of this book having a sexist/political slant. This is unfair as the subject matter is what it is - the book itself is a very well written popular science tome and that is what you want when buying such a book.

amazing
I couldn't believe the poor reviews this book got - don't believe them! This book was an amazing insight when I read it during my biology degree around 10 years ago, and I still mention things from it. Admittedly, there may have been progress since then, but the info. in this book is an absolute must for anyone who is interested in evolution and the fallacy of 'the survival of the fittest' (the Red Queen representing Alice in Wonderland character i.e. evolution is not going anywhere, it is just adaptation to a constantly changing environment, and we are no more 'advanced' than any other organism). One of the best books I've ever read (and accessible to a wide audience).

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!!!