shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Interviews | December 15, 2009

Jill Owens: IMG The Powells.com Interview with Eoin Colfer



eoincolferEoin Colfer is best known for his bestselling Artemis Fowl series, which inspires fanatical devotion in its fans. Entertainment Weekly raved: "The... Continue »
  1. $18.19 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)

by Jared Diamond

Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

To us humans the sex lives of many animals seem weird. In fact, by comparison with all the other animals, we are the ones with the weird sex lives. How did that come to be?Just count our bizarre ways. We are the only social species to insist on carrying out sex privately. Stranger yet, we have sex at any time, even when the female can’t be fertilized (for example, because she is already pregnant, post-menopausal, or between fertile cycles). A human female doesn’t know her precise time of fertility and certainly doesn’t advertise it to human males by the striking color changes, smells, and sounds used by other female mammals.Why do we differ so radically in these and other important aspects of our sexuality from our closest ancestor, the apes? Why does the human female, virtually alone among mammals go through menopause? Why does the human male stand out as one of the few mammals to stay (often or usually) with the female he impregnates, to help raise the children that he sired? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large?There is no one better qualified than Jared Diamond—renowned expert in the fields of physiology and evolutionary biology and award-winning author—to explain the evolutionary forces that operated on our ancestors to make us sexually different. With wit and a wealth of fascinating examples, he explains how our sexuality has been as crucial as our large brains and upright posture in our rise to human status.

Synopsis:

Why are humans one of the few species to have sex in private? Why are human females the only mammals to go through menopause? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? There is no more knowledgeable authority than the award-winning author of THE THIRD CHIMPANZEE to answer these intriguing questions. Here is a delightfully entertaining and enlightening look at the unique sex lives of humans.

Description:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-149) and index.

About the Author

Jared Diamond is professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School and the author of The Third Chimpanzee

Table of Contents

  1. ch. 1.Animal with the weirdest sex life
  2. ch. 2.Battle of the sexes
  3. ch. 3.Why don't men breast-feed their babies? The non-evolution of male lactation
  4. ch. 4.Wrong time for love: the evolution of recreational sex
  5. ch. 5.What are men good for? The evolution of men's roles
  6. ch. 6.Making more by making less: the evolution of female menopause
  7. ch. 7.Truth in advertising: the evolution of body signals.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
ortarchi, April 15, 2008 (view all comments by ortarchi)
At first what he says sounds absurd, but then he makes sense of it all and has the facts to back it up. We really are a strange and fascinating animal.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

Product Details

ISBN:
9780465031269
Subtitle:
The Evolution of Human Sexuality
Author:
Diamond, Jared
Publisher:
Basic Books
Location:
New York, NY :
Subject:
Sexuality
Subject:
Human Sexuality
Subject:
Sex
Subject:
Physiology
Subject:
Sex customs
Subject:
Life Sciences - Evolution - Human
Subject:
General science
Copyright:
Series:
Science Masters
Series Volume:
set SP 188
Publication Date:
October 1998
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
176
Dimensions:
7.96x5.36x.49 in. .38 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $19.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list
  2. $7.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $8.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  4. $7.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Finding contentment

    Neil Clark Warren
  5. $8.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  6. $15.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.