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80th out of 174 books
—
160 voters
Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray
by
Helen Fisher
"Captivates the reader, answers all those puzzling questions that caused your mother (or priest or guidance counselor or gym teacher) to blame God and/or hormones....Her prediction of a more open and egalitarian order provides a compelling--and hopeful--vision for the future."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Love at first sight...the copulatory gaze...dinner dates...jealousy... in...more
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Love at first sight...the copulatory gaze...dinner dates...jealousy... in...more
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
January 3rd 1994
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1992)
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Anatomy of Love offers an anthropological history of human mating, marriage, and infidelity written from an evolutionary perspective. A primary aim of author Helen Fisher is apparently to demythologize love, sex, adultery, and related topics, instead investigating them as nonjudgmentally as possible from a scientific perspective. She is especially ambitious in writing this book not for experts in her field but for a popular audience of varied backgrounds. That's a tall order for which she is p...more
This was an interesting, if somewhat unsettling, read. In all honesty, I would recommend Dr. Fisher's 2006 TED talk--which was very compelling and succinct--over her book. She's able to elaborate more on the technical details of her work in "Anatomy of Love," and while she never loses focus on her thesis that humans have and always will fall in love, stray, and fall in love again, the poignancy of the whole process is somehow mitigated. I felt a little hollow after finishing the final chapter, a...more
I would have given this one 4 stars except that the book was written in 1994 so I had this constant nagging that some of the info may have changed in the intervening years. She mostly looks back to our evolutionary past to make sense of monogamy, adultery, and divorce so I don't know how much that info has changed. She also looks at present traditional societies to look for clues.
The basic idea I took away from this book is that serial monogamy with plenty of adultery thrown in seems to be our h...more
The basic idea I took away from this book is that serial monogamy with plenty of adultery thrown in seems to be our h...more
An interesting topic with lots of information from a huge variety of sources. Very dry reading.
Me he reido muchísimo leyendo este libro. Cuenta desde un punto de vista científico, los vericuetos del amor romántico, y se pregunta si los animales se enamoran como nosotros los humanos, o si los humanos nos inventamos todo ese cuento del enamoramiento y en realidad solo seguimos instintos como los animales.
Lo que más recuerdo es la descripción de los comportamientos de infidelidad entre los primates, que han sido bien documentados: dos de esos monos que están ""emparejados"" en uniones establ...more
Lo que más recuerdo es la descripción de los comportamientos de infidelidad entre los primates, que han sido bien documentados: dos de esos monos que están ""emparejados"" en uniones establ...more
Well, the book is a little dated. Written long enough ago that it talks about baby boomers being in their late 20's.
As for the content, most of it was intriguing. I'm not sure I buy some of it though. I don't like it when anthropologists act as if they know what went on in the lives of Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon peoples. They don't. It's all speculation and inference.
Another part of the book that bothered me was the description of the sexual practices of certain cultures. I'm not sure I buy wha...more
As for the content, most of it was intriguing. I'm not sure I buy some of it though. I don't like it when anthropologists act as if they know what went on in the lives of Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon peoples. They don't. It's all speculation and inference.
Another part of the book that bothered me was the description of the sexual practices of certain cultures. I'm not sure I buy wha...more
Excellent treatment of the evolution of relationships, romance, love. She uses her studies in hominid evolution and comparative biology to highlight and give evidence to our current sexual behaviors. She also discusses social and religious evolution as an influence on our opinions on relationships, marriage and sex. Some of it is a reach, but it has led me to want to research more. She has an extensive bibliography which has been interesting to probe.
Jun 10, 2009
Regina
is currently reading it
Well who isn't interested in that thing called Love? This book presents a full analysis of what love/attraction is, why we pursue it, and with whom. Easy read, clearly written, lucid comments and generally very insightful. Much I knew or guessed but having it presented so clearly helps me to understand our common nature, in spite of different cultural influences and mores.
The writer uses a range of research on humans' and animals' sexual behavior plus evolutionary evidence to postulate that the human pattern of courtship, infatuation, marriage, adultery, divorce and remarriage has roots deep in our forebears (hominids, Neanderthals, apes, chimps, etc.) and is often mirrored among other animals.
I particular liked reading about the research on the courting rituals of contemporary humans.
The book tends to drag after a while; she makes her main point early, and the...more
I particular liked reading about the research on the courting rituals of contemporary humans.
The book tends to drag after a while; she makes her main point early, and the...more
An excellent book. I read it years ago, maybe 10 and I was thrilled by it... I remember I understood physiological aspects of love I never thought they could even exist and helped me very much to understand fundamental aspects of this essential human condition, choice.
Great book - interesting theories about monogamy, animal mating rituals and our own evolution as humans. Not necessarily a quick read, however, as it can be a bit wordy at times and "scientific," which didn't always hold my attention.
Very interesting! A bit too detailed, but overall it was a great read and I learned A LOT about the evolution of mating past & present. Book is also a bit dated, but I recommend it nonetheless!
An interesting discussion on just how many of the emotions supposedly behind love, are in fact largely determined by our evolutionary animal nature and are often controlled by chemicals in our brain.
I read this book a long time ago. It must have been good because it left an impression on me.
Absolutely fascinating and illusion-shattering anthropological survey of love and marriage.
Fascinating anthropological look at human relationships across history and cultures
Really liked this book. I've read it for my college honors research.
A fascinating book - explains so much!
One of the few books I saved.
I enjoyed this book, and it definitely gave me a lot to think about in terms of the biological/sociological urge to pair up and produce offspring.
The main problem in this book for me was that the writer tried too hard to convince me of her point of view. The book was written in defence of a particular theory, not as an exploration of a range of ideas.
I have no objection to the writing holding a particular viewpoint, I just prefer to find my own.
The main problem in this book for me was that the writer tried too hard to convince me of her point of view. The book was written in defence of a particular theory, not as an exploration of a range of ideas.
I have no objection to the writing holding a particular viewpoint, I just prefer to find my own.
Sep 25, 2010
Diana
marked it as to-read
In spite of the horribly cheesy cover, this is actually a really intelligent and interesting book....
A sociologist discusses chemical responses and psychological/sociological research and comparisons of of human and primate mating behaviors, as well as the history of marriage. She also looks at statistics of marriage success worldwide, mating,dating customs around the world today. It's incredibly interesting stuff if you're at all interested in stuff like this-- which I am.
After I read this book I don't think I can look at human love and connection the same way anymore. Fisher astutely describes the fickle nature of human passions and makes a convincing argument using evolutionary biology theories as to how and why humans pair up. A must read but total downer if you're a romantic.
General gist I remember seemed to be that infatuation can last up to three years and relationships that make it beyond three years have a greater chance of lasting 'forever'. Like the 'tipping' point in a pregnancy, it's not guaranteed -- just WAY more likely.
Mar 31, 2008
Marguerite
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
would-be "Jeopardy" contestants
Recommended to Marguerite by:
book review
Shelves:
giggle-worthy,
nature-and-science
This book explains (or hazards reasoned guesses about) the laws of attraction in humans and other species in a way that's often laugh-aloud funny. It's an interesting reflection on culture, morality and the sexes.
didn't finish the book, but Fisher definitely has an interesting theory- redefine the modern definition of Monogamy and the species Homo Sapiens are intrinsically monogamous.
I read this book several years ago and liked it then, it is a good book and written by a knowledgeable anthropologist with a keen sense of what we are all about. I recommend it highly.
All the explanation with scientific evidence. Very intense!!
Esta lleno de explicaciones con evidencia cientifica. Muy intenso!!
Esta lleno de explicaciones con evidencia cientifica. Muy intenso!!
This book was really interesting until about halfway through. It is definitly worth reading the first half.
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Helen E. Fisher (born 1945) is an anthropology professor and human behavior researcher at the Rutgers University and is one of the major researchers in the field of romantic interpersonal attraction.Prior to becoming a research professor at Rutgers University, she was a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
By many accounts, Fisher is considered the world’s...more
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Jun 17, 2012 09:05pm