Customer comments on this selection.
Why men don't think Joe Quirk dances away from all the problems with self-help books, embraces the good parts of science books, and blends in his own character. The result is a hilarious ride through science with lots of "give me pause" and "change my perspective" that self-help books try to deliver and science books never seem to bother with.
My favorite part was the "aquatic ape" theory.
The best line in the book, Pg 138 "...in order to orgasm, some women need to concentrate, and some men, to put off orgasm, need to think about something else. My method is to list each Yankee baseball player's batting average. The second a man thinks about what he's actually doing, it's over. So the only way a man can enjoy sex is to not think about what he's doing. Can you blame us if we extend this strategy to relationships?"
Hands down favorite seminar book I teach a college-level seminar for science-phobes using popular science literature. Of all the books I have ever used, on any topic, this was the hands-down favorite. The seminar was titled Sex, Gender and Love: A Biological View, and this book covered the love part -- haha. I read it alternately being annoyed at the corny (but devilishly clever) jokes and laughing out loud in spite of myself. Most of all, though, I was impressed by the research that went into each of the chapters and the way Quirk made all our human sexual foibles explicable and hilarious -- nothing better than laughing at ourselves since we're stuck with us! Thanks!
Pure Genius The best book on sexual evolutionary biology. Why both men and women seem to be on different planets. Hm... is there a catchier title?
Perhaps, but not a better book.
Unfortunately, despite his extensive bibliography, Joe Quirk (What the blazes kind of name is that for a scientific researcher? ) does not have a Phd. Neither is he buddies with Oprah, so I doubt this will top the besteller list.
Never mind. I've suffered through many academese imbued evolutionary snoozefests texts. This one will keep you wide awake, I promise.
What Quirk has is brilliance, and (gasp!) an ability to write. He must have had some alpha ancestors during the pleistocene era that could spin some awesome tales by the campfire.
Among The Table of Contents we find such gems as:
Chapter 9: The Jerk Gene
Chapter 12: Why Women are Coy, Men Clueless
Chapter 26: Free Love Causes War
And, for a smaple paragraph:
" Men are attracted to nubility and health. Women are attracted to nobility and wealth. Both want intelligence, kindness, and opulence.
Both want a good sense of humor. They'll need it. "
As will the reader.
An easy 5 stars.
Quirk is a kick A fun and funny spin on evolutionary biology. Sex: a serious topic at its silliest. Good reading, full of clever lines and information perfect for sharing at cocktail parties.
Great book. It is not often that you find a book that informs as well as amuses. This is for everything they left out of sex-ed when you were a kid.
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