antidietleah 's review for:

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha

4.0

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Wow! This book was really interesting! I wasn't entirely sure what to expect and picked it up off a recommendation from a blog I read on occasion (RachelWilkerson.com). I found it fascinating. I have a biology background but found myself more enamored with sociology and anthropology and this book had a great mix of both, specifically evolutionary biology which is an intriguing subject all on it's own. It is obvious that the authors put a lot of time, energy, and research into this book. I particularly loved Part 2 (Lust in Paradise (Solitary?)) and Part 4 was fascinating (Bodies in Motion). Part 1 (On the Origin of Specious) was a bit dry but laid the groundwork for the rest of the book. Part 3 (The Way We Weren't) was a bit mind-numbing and I forgot for a minute that I was reading a book on sex. Part 5 (Men are From Africa, Women are From Africa) was a fantastic wrap-up and answered the, "So what now?" question that has to be lingering on your mind after having so many facts denouncing everything you were brought up with hammered at you. When you find yourself asking a question and it being answered in the next section, you know that you are picking up what the authors are laying down. The seemingly dense material was lightened up by the authors wit and interesting "who would have thunk it?" tid bits. I found myself laughing (and snickering) out loud and even reading passages out to my husband. Don't be too put off by the size of the book - there is 80 pages of acknowledgements, notes, references, and the index! It's worth the read - even if you just skim the less thrilling sections.