Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution Of Human Sexuality (Science Masters) |  | Author: Jared Diamond
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 9707
Media: Paperback
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.4
ISBN: 0465031269
Dewey Decimal Number: 301
EAN: 9780465031269
ASIN: 0465031269
Publication Date: September 25, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Many of us pursue fitness because we want to remain attractive to partners and potential partners, and we stay healthy so we can continue to have sex with those partners. But why do people care so much about sex? This book, written by an evolutionary biologist, explains how all the weird quirks of human sexuality came to be: sex with no intention of procreation, invisible fertility, sex acts pursued in private--all common to us, but very different from most other species. Why Is Sex Fun? asks us to look at ourselves in a brand-new way, and richly rewards us for doing so.
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
 The evolution of human sex May 24, 2008
OverTheMoon (overthemoonreview@hotmail.com)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The evolutionist Richard Dawkins once said that he would have written a book on the evolution of sex if Jared Diamond hadn't had done such a good job of it with `Why is Sex fun?' If you are interested in evolution or the evolution of human sexuality then this scientific entry is an imperative. However if you are looking for a book that just does cheap thrills or agony aunt pseudo-explanations, go elsewhere.
Jared Diamond is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of `Guns, germs and steel' fame. He has a talent for making science interesting and writes extremely eloquently and often quite wittily.
The book is quite short but the material brought forth in it is an awareness raiser. Diamond starts by addressing the issue of human sexuality in relation to other animals and indicates a surprising uniqueness to how we do it and in many cases the inclusion of a recreational aspect that evades most other species and demands explanation. Diamond uses evolutionary pressures to explain why the sexes developed and the roles that the genders play with respect to anatomy and biology. The non-evolution of male lactation has a few surprises in store and then it is time to explain why we have recreational sex which finds its reason in concealed ovulation. There is a focus on why men behave in the role they do if it seems that women end up doing more work. The show-off male seems to have an evolutionary advantage because when he eventually manages to brings home the bacon he tends to bring home a butcher shop. There is a massive surprise in store for why the female menopause has evolved and has to do with old people being used as information storage retrieval devices instead of offspring producers. Diamond finishes up by explaining the evolution of sexual signalling before leaving us with the enigma of penis size that has yet to find a suitable evolutionary explanation.
This is far from a simple book but stick with it and you will learn some extraordinary things about why we are the way we are. I am sure this book will also help people get over certain guilt trips they might be on. I cannot over recommend its value and contribution to our biological lives.
Why is sex fun - book review. September 17, 2009
J-Man (NYC)
Why is sex fun - book review.
Why? Because we all have just one biological reason to exist, and every time we have sex we are fulfilling our destiny - to pro-create. (Ironic sort of, that the one thing some religions consider blasphemous to discuss provides an alternative to the one thing they want to give credit to above for!)
Jared Diamond's book on sex was a wealth of knowledge to me. I may have personally taken the time to understand how courtships work in my world, (Circa, New York, 2000 A.D.), but this book explains to me why I'm propelled to think and act the way I do.
Using a plethora of the world's animals to draw scientific comparisons to how we behave, many topics you might not realize are a part of humanity fall into the discussion. From the Bowerbird's superb display of his genetic capabilities and presentation of himself as a prime choice for mating, to our own useless customs to judge a mate -- such as facial beauty, e.g. body fat proportions, muscle build, spending money, penis envy and menopause - this book takes the reader on a tour that explains why, definitively.
Note: I've written this review after reading The 3rd Chimp & Why is sex fun?, back to back.
A great read. January 7, 1998
anggan@hotmail.com (Sydney, Australia)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is definitely the most entertaining and informative book I've read in a long time, both fiction and non-fiction. Why do some male species have harems and others only one lifetime sexual partner? Why are males more likely than females to have a harem? Why do some species display their sexuality overtly and others covertly? These and many more questions about animal sexuality are answered in very clear and entertaining language. The last chapter on that most discussed of male topics - is there any advantage to having a large phallus - had me rolling on the ground with laughter. Learn and laugh at the same time!
Do we need a reason? April 4, 2005
Steve Reina (Troy Michigan)
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
Why don't we know for sure when it is possible for a human woman to become pregnant? Why do human women experience menopause? Why don't human men nurse children? Indeed, what use are human men to child rearing? The evolutionary answers to these questions are fascinating.
Diamond's knowledge of other species mating habits really brings
home the point of the pecularilities of human sexuality. Even
in comparison with our close cousins, the chimpanzees and orangutans we have significant differences.
One thing we all -- and I mean all -- share however is the sensation that reproduction is an enjoyable experience...that is, with the right partner.
A Must-Read Book on Human Sexuality July 20, 2005
Itir Erhart (Chicago, IL)
7 out of 16 found this review helpful
Jared Diamond raises several questions relating to subjects most of us probably have never given a thought to-why men don't lactate, why human beings have recrational sex, why human females go through menopause, why most of the single mothers are women. As we read about the differences and similarities between human and animal sexual behaviour we learn more abour ourselves and the members of the opposite sex.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
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