In these essays — updated for this volume — Robert M. Sapolsky once again applies his curiosity, compassion, and generous insight into the human condition to make a case for the science of behavioral biology that tells us who we are, why we are, and how we are.

The first section, "Genes and Who We Are," addresses the physiology of genes, featuring a dissertation on "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" and tackling the vital question: How did they wind up on the list? Another essay explains the invisible genetic warfare that takes place between men and women as they conceive a baby and that continues as the fetus develops. As Sapolsky says, "Warning: this essay does not make pleasant wedding-night reading."

The second section, "Our Bodies and Who We Are," focuses on our physical natures and dwells on such diverse topics as why dreams are in fact dreamlike, why we are sexually attracted to one another, and why Alzheimer's disease tends to be a postmenopausal phenomenon. As Sapolsky writes, "Sometimes, all you need to do is think a thought and you change the functioning of virtually every cell in your body."

In the third section, "Society and Who We Are," Sapolsky takes his interdisciplinary curiosity out into the wilds of civilization and poses such interesting questions as: When and why do our preferences in food become fixed? Why do desert cultures tend to be monotheistic and sexually repressed, whereas rainforest cultures tend to be sexually relaxed and polytheistic? Why do different cultures think differently about dead bodies? "We are shaped by the sort of society in which we live," Sapolsky tells us, "and we would not be the same person if we had grown up elsewhere."

In each of these investigations, we see a brilliant mind synthesizing his and others' research in a thoughtful, engaging, and witty voice that reveals the enormous complexity of simply being human. Charming and erudite in equal measure, this collection will appeal to the inner monkey in all of us.

-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author's Note

Acknowledgments

Part I: Genes and Who We Are

Introduction

Nature or Nurture? "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" Assess the Source of Their Good Looks

(Discover, 2000)

A Gene for Nothing (Discover, 1997)

Genetic Hyping (The Sciences, 2000)

The Genetic War Between Men and Women (Discover, 1999)

Of Mice and (Hu)Men Genes (Natural History, 2004)

Antlers of Clay (Natural History, 2001)

Part II: Our Bodies and Who We Are

Introduction

Why Are Dreams Dreamlike? (Discover, 2001)

Anatomy of a Bad Mood (Men's Health, 2003)

The Pleasure (and Pain) of "Maybe" (Natural History)

Stress and Your Shrinking Brain (Discover, 1999)

Bugs in the Brain (Scientific American, 2003)

Nursery Crimes (The Sciences, 1999)

Part III: Society and Who We Are

Introduction

How the Other Half Heals (Discover, 1998)

The Cultural Desert (Discover, 2005)

Monkeyluv (The Sciences, 1998)

Revenge Served Warm (Natural History, 2002)

Why We Want Their Bodies Back (Discover, 2002)

Open Season (The New Yorker, 1998)