Customer Comments:
 The implications to the future human civilization are staggering November 9, 2006
Science writer Matt Ridley's book "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" is outstanding. I have read at least 20 other books by various authors on this subject, and yet Ridley's book contains a vast amount of original work and brilliant viewpoints.
His language is accessible, witty, and moving. His explanations and arguments are well researched, and elegantly written.
Ridley takes you on a journey, for those willing, into nature's infinite world of sexual evolution using existing species as examples. You'll end up realizing how constricted our society is in relation to our nature. The book opened my mind to how diverse our society can be, and how we limit and restrict ourselves. I find this book to be one of his best works.
Experts in every field of living systems should read this book, the implications are staggering. Although written entirely from a biological / genetic / nature point of view, anyone could use the material to develop an improved system. For example, improved political systems, draft laws that make sense, market products more successfully, understand the criminal mind-set, raise children better, better discern the cause of war and violence, etc.
In a nut-shell, if you want to understand the infinite possibility of human potential, this book gives you the "theory of operation" and should be considered the bible on how central sexuality is to the nature of humankind and our modern civilization.
 Too serious / intense - Not for casual reading November 6, 2006
3 out of 36 found this comment useful.
This is interesting only if you want to do a very detailed study on Sex and Evolution of Human Nature. Not something I would recommend if you are just looking for some dating techniques or How to....type suggestions.
Not what I expected June 30, 2006
17 out of 25 found this comment useful.
I'd seen this book referenced too many times to count, but never picked it up until recently. However, I was disappointed with it in comparison to Ridley's others (Agile Gene, and Genome). Although he seems to dazzle people with evolutionary psychology (Just as Miller does in The Mating Mind, Wright does in Moral Animal, and Buss does in his books), Ridley falls into the same Evo Psyche troubles as the others listed above do.
1) They're blinded by the stereotypical ancestral habitat and because of that refuse to acknowledge how the sexes adapt, and how malleable sexual preferences are. By stating first that selection pressure can change the hierarchy of the sexes in a matter of a few generations (Ridley, Miller, others), but then assume that because such changes didn't happen frequently in OUR ancestry men and women are trapped in their gender roles (Women seeking status, men seeking looks), completely reduces our adaptability, and evolutionary change in general to something insignificant.
2) They avoid addressing the power of the environment when addressing the anomalies in their theories, too focused on the power of the gene, and less on influence of the meme (i.e. celibacy, altruism, etc.)
Other peculiarities with Ridley in particular, is his frequent habit to give up in the face of opposing ideas. This not only applies to the Red Queen, but his other books as well. He'll often list 2, 3, or 4 different views and then admit that he has no idea of how to resolve them either. And because of this he often comes off as a journalist rather than a scientist (he is the editor of a magazine, maybe that's why). So, although his books are informative, they're also devoid of insight.
 Dang it Ridley, you ruined everything! June 6, 2006
10 out of 13 found this comment useful.
Ok this book is awesome. However, whenever I see an attractive girl, I no longer think "wow, she is gorgeous". Now I think "hmm, the only reason i think she has great legs, a nice booty and pretty face is because my genes are programed to like that." Although, I will admit that it is REALLY interesting to know why certain traits are considered attractive and how evolution shaped our idea of beauty.
There were a few parts of this book that bored me though... there is a lot of bird talk. Not that birds are bad, I am just interested more in humans. But nontheless, this book is still fascinating, and I highly reccomend it... not that my reccomendation means anything to any of you, but still, its darn interesting book.
The Truth About Sex March 30, 2006
36 out of 38 found this comment useful.
I read the celebrated "Moral Animal" some 10 years ago, re-read it and underlined it at least twice. Finally I had found a theory of human nature and psychology I could wholeheartedly believe in. Ten years later, I have now found "Red Queen" - more of the same, but specialized particularly in the huge role sexual selection played during our evolutionary history.
Experienced scientist and science journalist Matt Ridley compiled these findings of evolutionary psychology (EP) for the lay reader in 1993 - and "Red Queen" is still a timely treatise. Disclaimer: For those who are offended by the very suggestion that our behavior evolved from a pre-ape ancestor - and that our behavior is an elaborate, sophisticated manifestation of language and socialization which evolved by natural selection along with a huge brain - you won't like this book.
I realize the following assessments of mine are anecdotal, but here goes: I have seen how men and women preen, peacock-like, showing off their best (?) sides during courtships, and how they pair off in society according to commonly accepted determinants of status, differing depending on sex. I have seen how the competitive, power-seeking behavior of men is drastically tempered by marriage. I have seen how married men who are careful in all other endeavors will take uncharacteristic risks for a sexual fling. I have observed how women tend to choose (in a mate) financial success and stability over looks (if they have to choose), whereas men tend to choose beauty over all else. I have seen how men and women differ in their outlooks: Men (generally) want to be practical, shrewd, assertive, dominating, competitive, critical, and self-controlled. Women (usually) want to be loving, affectionate, impulsive, sympathetic, and generous. One in three men said they had fantasized about having sex with more than a thousand women in their lives. Women overwhelmingly fantasize about having sex with a familiar partner. I have read about and subsequently observed how people (unconsciously?) score each other during their social interactions, rating relationship values for the future. Finally, game theory concepts are widely known to be utilized by humans in sexual and social interactions. All these concepts are predicted by EP. I could go on with other examples, but in short, I'm a sucker for EP.
Recently, I have read about resistance in university humanities departments to EP - humans being so special and all. We are - in the sense that our intelligence has given us free reign over our world - but humans are still very imperfect. We are poorly designed in many ways (backs, knees, tendency to war, self-delusion) - exactly what one would expect from evolution. Cockroaches or certain scorpions, which can live without food and water for almost a year, are also impressive. There is every reason to believe that our (at times) unethical sexual behavior as well as our superior intelligence evolved in just as Rube-Goldberg a fashion as did our (very complicated and redundant) blood clotting mechanism.
Anyway, this book is superb. I will close, since I could end up nattering on for more pages than most would want to read. Consider moving "Red Queen" closer to the top of your TBR list. A Best Buy.
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