The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

by Matt Ridley | Science |
ISBN: 0140245480 Global Overview for this book
Registered by O-Jenny of Temple, Texas USA on 2/11/2003
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by O-Jenny from Temple, Texas USA on Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Bought this book because I liked Ridley's Genome so much. In this book, Ridley describes how sex is affected by and affects genetic makeup. Ridley really seems to know how to make science interesting to the lay person (hmmm...I'm thinking there's a better choice of words there, but I'm too lazy to figure it out right now).

Journal Entry 2 by O-Jenny from Temple, Texas USA on Tuesday, February 11, 2003
This one will go to atenea-nike next.

Journal Entry 3 by Atenea-Nike on Wednesday, April 9, 2003
Finally The Red Queen is in my hands! I had started to harbor all kinds of fears about its doom ("did it sink in the ocean?" ;) ). I'll read it asap. Thanks, JennyO!

Journal Entry 4 by Atenea-Nike on Thursday, April 17, 2003
It is a very interesting book, in which Matt Ridley suggests that several of our traits as a species and more specifically within genders were developed due to sexual pressure, that is, pressure to find a sexual partner and leave descendants that were sexually successful, too.
One of the things I liked most about reading the book is that I know most of the books and theories he mentions because I've already read them in other books, which means that my unoficial, unschooled, study of evolutionary matters is quite comprehensive and not as flimsy as I thought it would be.
If you like this book, read Genome, by all means! And if you like them both, read "On human virtue". Other interesting books on the subject are Steven Pinker's "The language instinct" or "How the mind works", Richard Dawkins' "The blind watchmaker", "The selfish genes", or, well, any by him, and Stephen Jay Gould's books for a different, but interesting, approach to the subject.

Journal Entry 5 by BlossomU on Wednesday, June 18, 2003
This book has just arrived, many thanks Atenea-nike, it seems like a fascinating read!

Journal Entry 6 by BlossomU on Sunday, January 25, 2004
I am afraid I am really not impressed with this book - its description interestd me very much, I am truly interested in this theme, but both the writing and the data interpretation on it really irritated me. I took ages to get this book read, the style was somewhat pompous and somewhat jerky in tone, but I finally sat down with it and restarted from scratch. And I was amazed and maddened at how Ridley can explain concepts in one chapter and totally forget their existence in other chapters. He says there are lots of other people who could write some of the chapters better ( undoubtedly!) but few who could write all of those - I agree, most humans would try to get some consistence between chapters. An example, Ridley goes on at great length about gene mixing and recombination when explaining on the need for sex at all, and how it can defeat parasites. On chapter 8 Sexing the Mind ( a master piece of sloppy writing and unashamed prejudice) he talks totally unscientifically about women´s genes specializing women brains in preparing for gathering and male for hunting, totally ignoring that each human person no matter their gender descends from as much women as men, and genes recombine at random - but he ignores that. In fact chapter 8 is extremely interesting as an example of unashamed sexism ( not that he thinks sexism is anything close to as bad as racism), the analysis of use of declarative emphatic sentences about something and conditionals about others is most interesting ( for example "There may be professions , such as car mechanics or big game hunter, that men are psychologically more suited to than women, such as there are professions, such as doctor and nanny that women are probably naturally better at" pg 262). I would advise mr Ridley to study a bit further on how gender-differences in education of sciences/language seem to be varying with culture and with time - the PISA report will do as an example. And no, I can not take modern California as an example of an utopian gender equality society.

Other serious objection is how on the chapters abpout polygamy and monogamy he goes at length about human history without ever adressing contraception, and talking as if male impulse for sex always equals the desire for reproduction - a serious flaw, I think it would be interesting to adress the dissociation between sex and reproduction, but he never does, totally ignores the issue and shoves it under the carpet. Plus, I can not resist, an example of his missuse of history to fit whatever he wants pg 297 "In medieval Europe and in Ancient Rome, powerful men took all the beauties into their harems, leaving a general shortage of women for the other men, so an ugly woman stood a better chance of eventually finding some man desperate to marry her".

In all, a book I can not recommend, the topic is interesting, the blurbs misleading, but a very unlogical, contradictory and unscientific book - and not particularly well written.

January 26th 2004 - book shipped to pokpok today.


Journal Entry 7 by PokPok from Vista, California USA on Wednesday, February 4, 2004
Kudos to Portugeuse mail! I just got the book today. How speedy! Last time I mailed a book to Portugal, it took 5 months.... Thank you! I will put it on my TBR stack. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I will pass it on when I'm through. Thanks again for sending this to me; that was quite generous.

Pokpok in California

Journal Entry 8 by PokPok from Vista, California USA on Saturday, December 25, 2004
My husband received a copy of this for Christmas, so I'm going to pass this one on. I think I'll release it at our BRAND NEW OBCZ at Panera Bread!

When he does read it, we'll likely post a review here, so others can see what we thought.

Journal Entry 9 by PokPok at Panera Bread, 401 Vista Village Dr. in Vista, California USA on Saturday, December 25, 2004
Released on Monday, December 27, 2004 at about 1:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Panera Bread - 401 Vista Village Drive in Vista, California USA.

RELEASE NOTES:

Will leave at the new OBCZ at Panera Bread. Stop and get some yummy soup, and enjoy an interesting book!

Journal Entry 10 by PokPok from Vista, California USA on Monday, December 27, 2004
On second thought, I know the owners' of the store where our OBCZ is are Christian, and the one concern they had was that the books are not offensive to them...since this book is about evolution, I want to respect their views, tho I don't share them, and not release this there. I think I'll send a suprise RABCK to illinicheme, who is a science buff, shares many of the same likes as I do, and recently moved.

Journal Entry 11 by illinicheme from Novato, California USA on Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Had arrived safely in New Jersey. Thanks PokPok!!!

Journal Entry 12 by illinicheme at Novato, California USA on Friday, May 15, 2015

Released 8 yrs ago (5/15/2015 UTC) at Novato, California USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Donated to Goodwill.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.