The Mating Game : In Search of the Meaning of Sex

by John Gribbin, Jeremy Cherfas

Are men redundant parasites? Do women waste half of their reproductive capacity giving birth to sons? Would a woman who could reproduce asexually and bear only female offspring eventually become the mother of a new and dominant species? If these questions are not provocative enough for you, don't worry; you'll find plenty more in The Mating Game.In this challenging exploration of sexuality as a tool and engine of evolution, acclaimed science writers John Gribbin and Jeremy Cherfas pose thorny and contentious questions in their quest to discover and explain why we reproduce the way we do. Looking at everything from single-cell organisms to computer dating services, they reveal how human sexual behavior—including our attitudes toward incest, promiscuity, and homosexuality—is deeply rooted in our evolutionary past. They also explain, in clear, easy-to-follow language, the complex relationships between sexuality and natural selection, sexual dimorphism, gender roles, and many other evolution-related topics.If you're still wondering whether men are redundant, or if modern technology will soon make them so, it looks like the answer is yes—except for one tiny, but very surprising snag. Read The Mating Game and find out why men still matter, at least for the foreseeable future.

Genres: Biology, Evolution

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[حمد · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book. It helped me, at first place, to realise how humans understand things by putting them into patterns. This happens with sex and genders. While evolution of life ended up with two sexes as a process of proliferation, genders have different forms that are beyond the reach of our imagination.

[Leajk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for a combination of cool tidbits of facts in combination of sheer weirdness. It's all in all not a very well written book, but the small stories have stuck with me for years (a bit likeThe Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS).

Best read in combination with Jared Diamond's The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution & Future of the Human Animal (which is much the same as Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality also by him). Together you get a completly new view on where the sexes come from, how different sexes looks in different species and what seems reasonable to assume about our own species.

Oh, and of course one should also read The Selfish Gene. But regardless of how many other great books there are I'd say this book is a really easy read with a great overview of everything from the first cells and amoebas to the possibility of human non-sexual reproduction.

Ps. It is also possible that I'm giving this book a high rating based on the cover of my Penguin edition with a lovely corpulent couple on a beach.

[Ex Libris Haley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a real science nerd so maybe that's why I didn't find this book very interesting or enlightening. I felt as if I was reading my old biology college textbook. I enjoyed a couple chapters, but on the whole I didn't believe that their positions/ideas were very novel. I've read it all before. Parts were ok, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Nicknine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduces you to great theories and scientific questions based around procreation and mating, both the mental and physical aspects.