- Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Reprint edition (29 Jun 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140245480
- ISBN-13: 978-0140245486
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.5 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 565,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Red Queen
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Product Description
Product Description
Two fascinating questions lie at the heart of The Red Queen: Why is Homo sapiens a sexual species, and what implications does this have for human nature? That man is sexual may seem unremarkable, yet in fact not all plants and animals need to have sex to reproduce; simple cloning is practiced by many animals with much greater efficiency. To understand how life evolves, and what benefit sex provides for humans, we must think like the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, who had to keep running just to stay in place. According to a controversial yet persuasive new theory, evolution is not about progress, but about changing in order to survive. Because humans are in a perpetual battle with the parasites lurking within our bodies, we need to be able to change molecular locks as fast as parasites invent new keys. Sex enables us to alter genetic combinations every generation. Sex, then, is a vital weapon in disease resistance. It enables us to change, not so we progress ahead, but so we avoid falling behind. But what does all this mean for human nature? From a lucid overview of the Red Queen theory, Matt Ridley follows the logic of its argument into the heart of human behavior. For just as the human eye is a product of evolution, so is human nature. Evolutionary theory provides the clues to help us understand fundamental facts about human beings, from our fashion consciousness to our "system of monogamy plagued by adultery." Ridley's probing mind asks a series of provocative questions. Is mankind naturally polygamous like most of our ape relatives? Are men and women mentally different as well as physically, and if so why? Why do people share so many sexual habits withswallows? Are our notions of human beauty arbitrary, or is there method in them? Jumping into the middle of the debate over the definition of "human nature, " The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved. It throws fresh light
From the Publisher
Science is...
According to Matt Ridley, science is not a catalogue of facts; it is a search for new mysteries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
According to Matt Ridley, science is not a catalogue of facts; it is a search for new mysteries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
When a surgeon cuts into a body, he knows what he will find inside. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
When a surgeon cuts into a body, he knows what he will find inside. 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
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Red Queen - named after a theory which is itself named for the 'Alice' character, who must run as fast as she can simply to keep pace with the world around her - fascinated from beginning to end.
Looking at the evolution of sex, it is filled with intriguing facts, remarkable examples, and frequently alarming revelations. From why the peacock has that remarkable tail (it's probably to do with sexy sons) to why polygamy benefits females rather than males, the book is a real eye-opener.
Once you've learned the secret of the lek, the local disco will never seem the same again. And, given that a man's testicular size is evidence that neither he nor his partner evolved for true monogamy, you may not find this book terribly reassuring.
Polygyny, polyandry, incest, infanticide, and group-bonking bonobos: it may leave you thinking that, in comparison to even some of our closest relatives, we humans have very conservative sex lives indeed. And we may only have started doing it at all so that we don't fall prey to parasites!
A great read, and real incentive to read anything else available by Matt Ridley.
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very enjoyable popular science read. Evolutionary scientists are coming out with more and more evidence and theories on how evolution makes us what we are - not just the flesh and bones but why we think like we do. This book covers much of this interesting subject and does it well. He is a good writer that makes it easy to understand.
Some people will have an issue with this book -by it's nature, evolutionary biology and behaviourology are somewhat deterministic. It also necessarily recognises sexual differences. People of a left-wing bias tend to find this at odds with the fundamentals behind their politics (although the same fuss is not made when the same principles are applied to animals...) - hence low scoring reviews of this book having a sexist/political slant. This is unfair as the subject matter is what it is - the book itself is a very well written popular science tome and that is what you want when buying such a book.
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Matt Ridley's book the red queen talks about human evolution, but also how our love lives are similar to animals. Matt writes this book with conviction and spreads his love of zoology onto us when he compares how similar the courting rituals of birds to humans.
Matt also opens us up to debate as in one of the chapters he mentions about sexual reproduction "why do we have sex, why not go asexual, that way we would waste less energy" He wants us to question things instead of just accepting things for what they are just because someone famous made a discovery. He also mentions about the psychology of men and women and how any why they are different, the roles of beauty and how that could attract parasites and that is what makes this book so interesting up to the final ending when he leaves with a final analogy in the end of the chapter in The intellutual chess game. Recommended Reading!!!
Matt also opens us up to debate as in one of the chapters he mentions about sexual reproduction "why do we have sex, why not go asexual, that way we would waste less energy" He wants us to question things instead of just accepting things for what they are just because someone famous made a discovery. He also mentions about the psychology of men and women and how any why they are different, the roles of beauty and how that could attract parasites and that is what makes this book so interesting up to the final ending when he leaves with a final analogy in the end of the chapter in The intellutual chess game. Recommended Reading!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
C'est ridicule
The kindle price is more expensive than the paperback. This is ridiculous. Kindle you are really annoying me. either you don't have the titles I want of they are more expensive!
Published 5 months ago by Lucky
Evolution of sex
What is sex? It's The Red Queen - nature's way of enabling us to `run in order to stand still'.
It turns out that the purpose of sex is to enable our genes to refresh... Read more
It turns out that the purpose of sex is to enable our genes to refresh... Read more
Published 15 months ago by anozama
well researched
This book has been well researched and a thoroughly good read. It is an indepth book about sex in nature and Matt has obviously gone to alot of trouble to back up his idea with... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. H. D. Phillips
Curious and flawed, but worth a read.
This curious, flawed book is an interesting concoction of evolutionary science, story-telling and anthropomorphism designed to explain, and to posit as dominant, the impact of sex... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Dr. G. SPORTON
Dating will never be the same
With most evolutionary science there is an ongoing debate about the prevailing selection forces over the millennia, and the factors that created some non-obvious biological... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dave C
a very good read
all the standard criticisms are true: the first part is too long and technical, ridley disgresses and says more than the science allows for
but all the standard praise... Read more
but all the standard praise... Read more
Published 20 months ago by asp
Interesting, good...
I think I agree with most of the opinions presented in this book, but I have the distinct feeling that they are mere layman's opinions, he's not Richard Dawkins. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by R. Court
Great work
This is a great work explaining a fascinating subject. I found it maybe a little complicated because of much biology and sociology included.
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by R. Florin
What is the point of sex?
Matt Ridley makes a good point when he says that science too often asks the question 'how?' rather than 'why? We take things for granted. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by A. Reece
A fact-filled and enjoyable learning experience
'The Red Queen' makes a good case for William Hamilton's 'parasite theory of sex', which says that sex evolved as a tool to fight attacks by quickly-evolving parasites. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by G. Imroth
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