The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris. This was a science book published in 1967, and it shows - it's a book about human biology written before the genomic revolution. But what makes this book worthwhile is timeless: it provides an orientation to the idea that evolution tells us where we came from, and who we are. And its very best feature is…
The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris. This was a science book published in 1967, and it shows - it's a book about human biology written before the genomic revolution. But what makes this book worthwhile is timeless: it provides an orientation to the idea that evolution tells us where we came from, and who we are. And its very best feature is a wonderful description of human mating habits which I have never encountered anywhere else.
Human sexuality classes tend to take a clinical and fragmentary attitude to the subject of sex, and academic works focus on extremely specific aspects which can leave the big picture of human courtship feeling very vague. Morris gives a very clear account of typical Western mating behaviors, grounding everything in the framework of evolution. Along the way you'll encounter some interesting speculation (e.g. aquatic ape hypothesis) and anthropological details presented in a very candid and easy-to-read way. Either The Naked Ape, or something very like it, should be ubiquitous across high school and college curricula.
The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris. This was a science book published in 1967, and it shows - it's a book about human biology written before the genomic revolution. But what makes this book worthwhile is timeless: it provides an orientation to the idea that evolution tells us where we came from, and who we are. And its very best feature is a wonderful description of human mating habits which I have never encountered anywhere else.
Human sexuality classes tend to take a clinical and fragmentary attitude to the subject of sex, and academic works focus on extremely specific aspects which can leave the big picture of human courtship feeling very vague. Morris gives a very clear account of typical Western mating behaviors, grounding everything in the framework of evolution. Along the way you'll encounter some interesting speculation (e.g. aquatic ape hypothesis) and anthropological details presented in a very candid and easy-to-read way. Either The Naked Ape, or something very like it, should be ubiquitous across high school and college curricula.