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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
The science is interesting, but I found the author's personal viewpoints insufferable. She might as well have subtitled this "Not All Men" for all her scrambling to justify why stereotypes about men are wrong. The transphobia is fairly pronounced as well, and particularly insidious the way she couches it in science. The chapters where she focuses more on animal behavior and evolutionary biology were more interesting, but I have no desire to hear anything further of her thoughts on human behavior.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Rape
Useful popsci book summarizing the studies of testosterone.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
It seems like Hooven has fallen down the Joe Rogan pipeline since publishing this book. Sad, but not totally unexpected.
informative
medium-paced
It's difficult for me to rate this book. The thing is, I find pop-sci about dense topics such as this tend to be carried by the author's personality: in the best case scenario, their enthusiasm and style keeps it enjoyable to read and interesting, no matter how dry the information is. Unfortunately, as much as Hooven is clearly enthusiastic on the topic (yay!), I just didn't really like what personality came through.
It sounds so mean, doesn't it? I have no idea whether Hooven is someone I would get along with or not. But the passages that were more personal tended to irritate me. I think it's that she reminds me of somebody I know who I consider a rather unpleasant individual. It's the sort of thing where, no matter how much you know it's a petty thing, you can't really shake the damper it has on your enjoyment! Her attempts to illustrate that there is some push-back against the idea that testosterone influences certain behaviours particularly irritated me. Like, I believe her in that this is a rather emotive topic and there is no doubt a lot of debate about it all, but she was straight-up shadowboxing half the time and, worse, it often felt like she was trying to be a bit of a martyr.
The illustrations are beautiful and Hooven argues her points clearly. Probably worth the read if you're interested in the mechanisms and influence of testosterone, and I found the parts where she discussed experiments and their implications fairly interesting. I do want to read other books about it, though, since she is very up-front about her bias (which, mind you, I don't think is strictly a bad thing - better than faking impartiality) and it'd be interesting to see the other perspectives and arguments floating about.
It sounds so mean, doesn't it? I have no idea whether Hooven is someone I would get along with or not. But the passages that were more personal tended to irritate me. I think it's that she reminds me of somebody I know who I consider a rather unpleasant individual. It's the sort of thing where, no matter how much you know it's a petty thing, you can't really shake the damper it has on your enjoyment! Her attempts to illustrate that there is some push-back against the idea that testosterone influences certain behaviours particularly irritated me. Like, I believe her in that this is a rather emotive topic and there is no doubt a lot of debate about it all, but she was straight-up shadowboxing half the time and, worse, it often felt like she was trying to be a bit of a martyr.
The illustrations are beautiful and Hooven argues her points clearly. Probably worth the read if you're interested in the mechanisms and influence of testosterone, and I found the parts where she discussed experiments and their implications fairly interesting. I do want to read other books about it, though, since she is very up-front about her bias (which, mind you, I don't think is strictly a bad thing - better than faking impartiality) and it'd be interesting to see the other perspectives and arguments floating about.
funny
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I've been reading a great deal about the differences between males and females this year, trying to make sense of the differences between the two genders. Testosterone is obviously a major difference, so I was eager to get my hands on T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us.
Any time you try to compare and contract the genders, you'll hit controversies. "Biology defines who we are." "No, gender is a social construct." I've read dozens of books with scientific facts to back their claims; most are difficult to trudge through.
What I liked most about T: The Story of Testosterone, is that it spans a great deal of information without once feeling overly scientific. It references other books, several of which I've read, and has vital quotes throughout the book. The book covers experiments, research, brutal history, recent scandals, and so much more. There is something for every adult reader.
While this is a text I imagine would be used for research purposes such as my own, I do think a content warning is necessary. Some of the facts may be disturbing for some readers.
Any time you try to compare and contract the genders, you'll hit controversies. "Biology defines who we are." "No, gender is a social construct." I've read dozens of books with scientific facts to back their claims; most are difficult to trudge through.
What I liked most about T: The Story of Testosterone, is that it spans a great deal of information without once feeling overly scientific. It references other books, several of which I've read, and has vital quotes throughout the book. The book covers experiments, research, brutal history, recent scandals, and so much more. There is something for every adult reader.
While this is a text I imagine would be used for research purposes such as my own, I do think a content warning is necessary. Some of the facts may be disturbing for some readers.