Synopses & Reviews
Manthropology is the first of its kind. Spanning continents and centuries, it is an in-depth look into the history and science of manliness. From speed and strength, to beauty and sex appeal, to bravado and wit, it examines how man today compares to his masculine ancestors.
Peter McAllister set out to rebut the claim that man today is suffering from feminization and emasculation. He planned to use his skills as a paleoanthropologist and journalist to write a book demonstrating unequivocally that man today is a triumph---the result of a hard-fought evolutionary struggle toward greatness.
As you will see, he failed. In nearly every category of manliness, modern man turned out to be not just matched, but bested, by his ancestors. Stung, McAllister embarked on a new mission. If his book couldnt be a testament to modern male achievement, he decided, it would be a record of his failures.
Manthropology, then, is a globe-spanning tour of the science of masculinity. It kicks off in Ice Age France, where a biomechanical analysis demonstrates that La Ferrassie 2, a Neanderthal woman discovered in the early 1900s, would cream 2004 World Arm Wrestling Federation champion Alexey Voyevoda in an arm wrestle. Then it moves on to medieval Serbia, showing how Slavic guslar poets (who were famously able to repeat a two thousand-line verse after just one hearing) would have destroyed Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, in a battle rap. Finally, it takes the reader to the steaming jungles of modern equatorial Africa, where Aka Pygmy men are such super-dads, they even grow breasts to suckle their children. Now, thats commitment.
For modern man, the results of these investigations arent always pretty. But in its look at the history of men, Manthropology is unfailingly smart, informative, surprising, and entertaining.
***
HOW DOES MODERN MAN STACK UP?
Russian arm wrestling champion Alexey Voyevoda has a twenty-two-inch bicep and has curled more than two hundred and fifty pounds---with just one arm. But could he stand up in an arm wrestling match with an average Neanderthal male? Or, for that matter, a female? (p. 10) ***
Todays Ultimate Fighters compete in a sport where bouts routinely end with an unconscious loser splayed out on a blood-soaked canvas. But what would a match in the Octagon look like next to the Pankration bouts of the Ancient Greeks: a battleground or a playground? (p. 77) ***
A modern army goes into battle with state-of-the-art technology and centuries of strategical insight. But for sheer determination, could they have bested Neros legions, who marched nearly two marathons a day for six days straight---each legionary carrying hundred-pound packs? (p. 99) ***
Theres philological evidence that suggests Homer may not have written the Iliad; he may have rapped it. If 50 Cent had to face Homer in a rap battle, would he come out on top? (p. 160) ***
Wilt Chamberlain is known for scoring on more than just the court. He claimed to have had as many as twenty thousand sexual encounters in his lifetime. Such conquest could only be matched by one of the worlds greatest conquerors: There is the evidence that approximately 32 million people are descended from Genghis Khan. (p. 248)
Review
“Manthropology aims to do for the history of man what Freakonomics did for statistics. . . . An eye-opener and a bracing call to arms.” —Mens Journal
Synopsis
Featured in The
Wall Street Journal
and on ABCs Nightline,
Manthropology
is an entertaining and surprising look at manliness
Anthropologist Peter McAllister set out to prove once and for all that man today is the best man who has ever lived. But to his disappointment, in nearly every category he examined modern man was beaten by his ancestors.
Manthropology, then, is a look at male achievement—and underachievement. It kicks off in Ice Age France, where McAllister proves how a Neanderthal woman could beat even todays strongest strongman at arm wrestling. He looks at medieval Slavic poets who could take 50 Cent to school in a rap battle. And he takes readers to the jungles of Africa, where Aka Pygmy men have taken fatherhood to such extremes that they even grow breasts to suckle their children.
For the modern man, the results arent always pretty. But Manthropology is unfailingly smart and entertaining.
How Does Modern Man Stack Up?
Ultimate Fighters routinely end up on a blood-soaked canvas. But what would a match in the Octagon look like next to the bouts of Ancient Greece: a battleground or a playground? [Page 77]
***
A modern army goes into battle with state-of-the-art technology. But could they have beaten Neros legions, who marched fifty miles a day for six straight days—each soldier carrying a hundred-pound pack? [Page 99]
***
Wilt Chamberlain is known for scoring on the court and off. He claimed to have had as many as 20,000 sexual encounters. But thats nothing compared to the 32 million people today all descended from just one conqueror. [Page 248]
About the Author
PETER McALLISTER is an archeologist and science writer from the University of Western Australia, where he lectures in science communication. He insists that he doesnt have it in for men, and that he is, in fact, happy being one himself. Besides his work as a scientist, Peter has been, by turns, a journalist, an ad salesman for a country music radio station, and a Chinese-speaking football commentator.