- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books (31 Mar 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0465077501
- ISBN-13: 978-0465077502
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
612,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #47 in Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Men's Health & Lifestyle > Sex > Psychology
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
How we chooseand loseour mates has always been a source of fascination. This controversial book is the first to present a unified theory of human mating behavior. The Evolution of Desire is based on the most massive study of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 peoples of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide. If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question, we must look into our evolutionary past, according to David M. Buss. For in attracting, keeping, and even breaking up with our mates, we are closer to our ancestral forebears than many of us think.
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First Sentence
"HUMAN MATING BEHAVIOR delights and amuses us and galvanizes our gossip, but it is also deeply disturbing." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"HUMAN MATING BEHAVIOR delights and amuses us and galvanizes our gossip, but it is also deeply disturbing." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For the individualist, it's not easy to think of human behavior as largely a mass of strategies selected by evolution. Yet the evidence from several directions is impressive, if not entirely convincing in all respects. _The Evolution of Desire_ should play an important role in the popular science writing of our age, illustrating both the influence and the boundaries of evolutionary selection on human behavior. Both readable and well documented, _Evolution_ goes beyond simply interpreting modern behavior in terms of evolutionary stories. Buss also synthesizes massive amounts of data from far reaching and extensive cross-cultural studies to reveal the patterns in our attraction, mating, and separation behaviors. Notably, exceptions to the patterns are discussed at length. This aspect leaves the reader with a slightly better understanding of the limitations of strict evolutionary thinking than we find with the similar and also excellent "Anatomy of Love" by Helen Fisher. Human behavioral flexibility is emphasized, and our potential freedom from the patterns of evolutuionary selection, through knowledge of those patterns. Much of _Evolution_ will seem consistent with common experience, while some will be remarkable new food for thought. There is virtually no aspect of intimate human relationships that does not have some light, or at least a new and intriguing viewing angle, cast by the broad strokes of evolutionary psychology in David Buss' absorbing web of sexual strategies and counter-strategies.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Why do women use makeup? Why do men like to buy big cars? Why do people feel jealous? Evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss digs deep into the ancient past of human relationships to answer such questions, and produces intriguing results, disconcerting insights and valuable explanations. Using observations from the animal world and from many studies conducted in various societies, he provides a theoretical framework based on Darwin's theory of natural selection. Give Buss credit for elaborately fitting in almost every conceivable puzzle inherent in human mating relationships - even though this, admittedly, at times requires quite a stretch of his evolutionary theory. We recommend this "drop-dead shocker" (The Washington Post Book World) to anyone who has ever searched for, attracted, kept or separated from a mate - that is, anyone who is strong enough to face the unromantic truth.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although this book easily classifies as a must in any library of evolutionary psychology, it also will offer a great deal of insight to the laymen on how human sexuality really works (and why) through clear cut comparisons with ancestral man an the entire animal kingdom. All of the studies and investigations that lead to the conclusions in this book are completely covered, leaving the reader with no doubt as to the source of these amzing behavioral discoveries. Wonder no more why men and women do the "things" they seem to do in practically every social situation. So whether you need information for a Masters Thesis or just want to know more about why we are what we are, this publication is the one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
brilliant
This book is an Eye Opener Book, shows and explains all the things we humans have in common and why are we so hard to understand ourselves
Published 7 months ago by L. Zeqiri
What about fetishes?
Overall a very interesting book and equally a very disturbing book; it is one that I think a lot of people should read and that more research should be carried out in this... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Claggart's on fire
There's Reason in Romance
In a thorough analysis of human reproduction through the lens of evolutionary psychology, David Buss carefully examines a variety of its aspects. Read more
Published 14 months ago by anozama
Harmony between the sexes
Buss has taken the story of human evolution a significant step forward with this comprehensive study. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2006 by Stephen A. Haines
A fascinating read
I studied this book six years ago as part of my psychology course at university. I found it an absolutely fascinating and highly interesting read. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2005
lacks scientific evidence
This book may be interesting in parts, but on the whole it contradicts itself, it is bias and focusses on male desire alone. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2002
interesting
I found this book interesting, but it was bias and many of the studies conducted were done in such a way as to simply confirm ideas that our society already has and reinforced... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2001
A clear, well-writen book
I strongly recommend this clear, well-written book to the general reader who wishes to get away from conventional ideas on men-women relations. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2000 by J. Thiry
The most fascinating popular science book I've ever read
I once read that biological psychology was probably the most interesting topic in the world. After reading the Evolution of Desire, I strongly believe that evolutionary (not... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 1999
Eliminates Psychologizing
This theory, suggesting that evolutionary biological drives triggered by current environmental stimuli explain human behavior, is far superior to any psychological theory. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 1999
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