Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)

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Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 1,807 ratings · 142 reviews

Why are humans one of the few species to have sex in private? Why are human females the only mammals to go through menopause? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? There is no more knowledgeable authority than the award-winning author of The Third Chimpanzee to answer these intriguing questions. Here is a delightfully entertaining and enlightening look at the uniq...more

Paperback, 176 pages

Published September 25th 1998 by Basic Books (first published 1997)

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Mar 28, 2010 indri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: weni, dharwiyanti, ibutio

Recommended to indri by: GRI

Shelves: feature

#2010-27#

baca itu seru!
baca ini saru!

Begitu mungkin yang ada di pikiran orang-orang ketika membaca buku ini, dilihat dari judulnya ‘Mengapa Seks itu Asyik’. Sesudah membaca buku ini, aku merasa buku ini bisa dihadiahkan pada anakku ketika nanti dia menginjak masa remaja, dan organ reproduksinya tumbuh sempurna. Namanya juga punya anak perempuan, jadi harus dijaga baik-baik.

Seperti dijelaskan di pengantarnya, buku ini tidak akan mengajari anda posisi-posisi baru dalam menikmati hubungan seks, nam...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: evolution, psychology, science

I had forgotten just how good this book actually is. I’ve read most of the popular stuff Diamond has written and enjoyed all of them. My favourite is Guns, Germs and Steel, but this one is also very good.

Although this one has a particularly fine title I have to say that it does make me want to ask another equally important question – why are there so few really good television documentaries that come out of the USA. I mean, there was Cosmos, which was mind-blowing, but there have been few that r...more I had forgotten just how good this book actually is. I’ve read most of the popular stuff Diamond has written and enjoyed all of them. My favourite is Guns, Germs and Steel, but this one is also very good.

Although this one has a particularly fine title I have to say that it does make me want to ask another equally important question – why are there so few really good television documentaries that come out of the USA. I mean, there was Cosmos, which was mind-blowing, but there have been few that reach the heights of some of the stuff that comes out of the BBC. Connections, Life of Earth, The Ascent of Man, Civilisation, The Body in Question, The Light Fantastic, The Root of All Evil, and these just to name a few life altering documentaries from the BBC (and also just for the sheer joy of listing them).

It is not as if good pop science books don’t come out of the USA. In fact, the best pop science books and pop psychology books all come from the US. This is a discrepancy I find completely puzzling.

The book asks, and mostly answers, a series of intriguing questions about human sexuality. The questions themselves are so interesting that if I was designing the cover I would just list them there. Not just the first question – and if you ever wanted to sell a book, I’d have thought it would be hard to come up with a better title. But the book is bursting with similarly fascinating questions.

Why do we have sex even when there is no chance of pregnancy? This needs answering because most of the other mammals in the world would look at us as incredibly strange for engaging in such odd behaviour.

Why don’t men breastfeed? We have most of the equipment and men have been known to produce milk – even without scientific intervention. So, why not?

I’m only going to answer one of his questions – he asks, what are men good for? And his answer? Not a lot. Men come out of this book looking rather pathetic. We don’t do nearly as much helping out as women do, we don’t do hardly anything at all except some occasional hunting and ‘alpha’ posing. It is quite unattractive – and that does seem to conform to my understanding of what most men seem to be like.

There are lots of other questions in the book, why menopause? Why are women pretty? Why do women have large breasts? And the most surprising ‘answer’ in the book is to the question, why do men have such large penises?

The best thing about this book is that it shows that many of these questions have not been completely settled. The questions are clearly important, they are all very easy to ask, but the answers many not be nearly so easy to come by. Diamond presents some of the alternatives here and this makes for a fantastic insight into the scientific method, particularly as it applies to the evolution of various traits and behaviours.

This is either a short book or a long essay, take you’re pick, either way, it is a quick read and very interesting.
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May 07, 2013 Jen Estrella rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-and-waiting-to-be-read

While sort of dating somebody that was very, very ill suited for me...so much that I was absolutely certain that we had no future, he would never be introduced to my family, et cetera et cetera, I really started being interested in the subject of sex. Attraction. The difference between women and men's approaches to it, the difference between pure physical attraction and what people call "chemistry." Pure, simple sexual attraction and then the kind of attraction that develops. While ultimately I...more
While sort of dating somebody that was very, very ill suited for me...so much that I was absolutely certain that we had no future, he would never be introduced to my family, et cetera et cetera, I really started being interested in the subject of sex. Attraction. The difference between women and men's approaches to it, the difference between pure physical attraction and what people call "chemistry." Pure, simple sexual attraction and then the kind of attraction that develops. While ultimately I didn't place much stock in the relationship, the undercurrent of sexual tension that buzzed between us was undeniable. I would find myself gazing at him in total awe, body abuzz. And then I'd wonder... why? Sure, I'd found him gorgeous at first sight but it was being in each others company that had done it, now my feelings/opinions had multiplied and it seemed like there had never been anybody MORE gorgeous. the first time he reached for my hand I was buzzin. And I couldn't make sense of it, it was totally out of my hands. Whether or not I wished to be attracted to him this way, I was. Of course I am a human being and with my evolved brain am able to grasp the weight of my choices and their consequences so I am not a slave to my body, but it was my body's reaction that piqued my interest. Like why this person? I'd been around beautiful men plenty, men technically more beautiful than he, why so enamored with this one? And so I've picked up a few books on sex, this one being the 2nd I've read, Bonk by Mary Roach the 1st. So, the fact that I had been looking to learn about something that was kind of specific, this book was a little bit of a let down. But only in the sense that there wasn't enough info on what I wanted to know. Sure, there was a brief mentioning of pheromones and how they are potentially responsible for the "chemistry" thing. I guess I wanted them to be a little more specific, like explain what's happening.. draw me a diagram of the route these pheromones take thru me, the synapses and nerves, the brain waves and activity. Maybe I'm just crazy for wanting an explanation for my attractions! There was a lot of random educational info, stuff I am less inclined to care about like the sex lives of animals and the anomalies and rarities that exist in them. An entire one out of the 6 chapters in the book is devoted to animal sex actually, including gems like listing other animals that enjoy sex, others that partake in same sex sex, others that have sex in private like humans instead of out in the open. There was a chapter on menopause (which according to this book is something that happens only to human females.) A chapter on breast feeding and the supposed non-evolution of male lactation, A chapter on gender roles in sex, yadda yadda. It's all interesting enough to read about, but that's because SEX in general is interesting to read about. I still prefer this book to Mary Roach's Bonk because it reported facts in an interesting and witty way without laying on the lame jokes so heavily and "breaking the fourth wall" constantly the way Roach does. Also Mary Roach isn't a Dr. or professor on the subject, or any subject, which causes me to mistrust a little more. Jared Diamond (who also wrote Guns, Germs, and Steel) is both a Dr. and Professor of human sexuality. That lends him a little more credibility in my eyes, and it shows in his writing which isn't amateurish the way Roach's is.

SO. For anyone looking for a quick and interesting read, sort of random facts about sex/human sexuality this shouldn't disappoint. It's short, and mostly interesting... and written in a manner that an average person can enjoy it. You don't have to be a dr or a scientist to understand it, is what I mean. Tho, it won't explain to you why you just can't seem to get enough of your new gf/bf, or why the sex with your plain jane neighbor is soo much more amazing than with your smoking hot ex. Or why you aren't attracted to Mr. Perfect with the body like a greek god, and yet you are borderline obsessive about the cute cater waiter from last night's dinner. I have two more books on the subject but something tells me that searching for an explanation of my attraction to a man is like searching for the meaning in life...destined to be fruitless forever... but at least reading about sex is never dull ;)(less)

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Aug 27, 2010 Charity rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, blah

Why is sex fun? Who the eff cares??? It just IS...if you're doing it right, that is. Ha!

I thought the book had a lot of promise, but it failed to deliver on many, many levels. Diamond's lack of footnotes really irked me and I was left questioning a lot of his research. I mean sure, learning about the number of hermaphroditic fashion models really boosted my self-esteem, but hello? Source please! I don't have time to go digging around through his entire bibliography looking for relevance. Ultimat...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Alnoory. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Well, that was just a brief summary on Human Sexuality. I expected more psychological understanding of the matter, but nothing. This book frequently focuses on the role of genes, and how human mating is similar to animals, nothing much about the history of each or so.

However, I think mating and sexuality, in contrast, are domains in which women and men are known to have confronted different adaptive problems. These basic tenets render it necessary to distinguish between evolutionary psychology a...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Taras rated it 2 of 5 stars

It seems that Jared Diamond got better and better with every book he wrote. With practice he got exceptionally good at making comparisons between species, cultures, etc. He also developed a better focus on the subject with every book.

However this book was written before any of that. While it is easy to read, it contains little info and has strange examples. It also alludes too often to the author's sex life in a "Look at me I'm a successfully married man with a sex life...horay!" way. Diamond tr...more

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May 03, 2011 Kylie Gatse rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book I read was Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality. I first chose this book because of its title. It seemed like a fun, and interesting topic for a college student to read. But as I started reading the book I realized it was nothing like what I had expected to read. Although many may also think this is going to be fun learning about sex this book goes beyond humans just having sex for pleasure and compares our sex lives and patterns to other animals and species.
The book starts...more The book I read was Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality. I first chose this book because of its title. It seemed like a fun, and interesting topic for a college student to read. But as I started reading the book I realized it was nothing like what I had expected to read. Although many may also think this is going to be fun learning about sex this book goes beyond humans just having sex for pleasure and compares our sex lives and patterns to other animals and species.
The book starts off talking about other animals’ sex lives. It points out that all other animals have sex strictly for one reason: to reproduce. Most females only have sex when they are fertile simply for the reason; males just are not attracted to them when they aren’t fertile. If they are not fertile they simply have no interest on having sex together. Humans are different however. We are fertile at all times but that is not the only reason we choose to have sex. While many women do have sex to reproduce, most men and women choose to have sex more for just pleasure and for fun. It is a perfectly normal and natural part of our lives, but our need to have sex for pleasure sets us aside from most other animals.
Most animals do not stay in a family like humans do. They have their young, and in most animal species, only one of the parents will take care of the newborns. In most cases this is the mother, but in very few species such as, some birds, some fish and some amphibian species that care for the eggs while it is the female that leaves and does not choose to care for her young. This can be compared to humans because in most cases there is not just one parent caring for the children. In most families there is a mother and a father caring for the child and it goes beyond that having grandparents, siblings, and friends that help take care of the young. This book just makes you think about how could we be the only species that has multiple people taking care of our young?
And have you ever wondered what men are good for? This book goes through talking about how women just seem to always being doing more than their husbands do due to different economic roles. The author of this book takes you through the hunting and gathering societies Ache and Hanza to show how men cared more about showing off than actually making sure they were providing for their wife and all their children. There has been studies done on American couples today where both parents are working, and even so the women still tend to put in twice as much work as their husbands do on doing daily responsibilities.
As you read this book you can also question why we are the only animals that enjoy sex, why we have so many caregivers in our lives, and really what is your man good for…you know you really deserve more credit for all your hard work!
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Oct 20, 2010 Emily C. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was fascinating and so engaging and easy to read for a book based in biology. In it, Jared Diamond brings up numerous facts about human sexuality that we all take for granted. Humans have sex for fun whether or not they are fertile, at any time of the month or year. Human females experience a distinct decline and then abrupt stop in fertility around middle age. Women usually have little idea of when they might be ovulating (unless they are using some form of modern technology to tell t...more

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May 16, 2009 Jens rated it 3 of 5 stars

You get the feeling reading this that the author has a fair amount of potential. He promises a lot, and sort of delivers. The most interesting bit for me was about why there might be selection pressure for menopause. (This may be disturbing for some to read.) Basically, for most of recent evolutionary history, as a woman gets older, childbirth is more likely to kill her. Because human children are helpless for so long, this will likely kill some of her children too, if she's given birth at all r...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Alison Buck rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thought-provoking across the board and convincing in some places, Diamond makes a evolutionary biology argument that posits part of human distinctiveness arises from our unusual reproductive characteristics: concealed ovulation, recreational sex, and female menopause. Diamond's meditations on how menopause may have been selected for and why men don't breastfeed their children were compelling and carefully argued. When he ventured into the territory of human social arrangements; however, Diamond...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Stacey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, science, nonfiction, 2011-challenge

Jared Diamond logically argues and reasonably concludes that the evolution of humans has had direct implications for the development of our current culture, in terms of sex practices and sexuality. He demonstrates the interconnectedness these things with the physical traits and characteristics determined by genes, which have evolved over time. His comparisons to other species are enlightening, and his refutations of the most valid objections to his theories are logical, even though sometimes the...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Lucas Wiman rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was pretty interesting. However, I found a number of his explanations of the evolution of human behavior very unconvincing, since he seemed to play hard and loose with consistency. In some chapters early hominids were very monogamous, so promiscuity could have no effect on the evolution of anything. In others, he cites evidence that humans were not very monogamous and uses that to explain the evolution of various things. (Eg when asked about who the biological father of their children could...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biology, social-studies

I REALLY wanted to give this book 4 stars, but I couldn't quite do it. It comes so close, but there are enough problems with it that I can only give it three. Mainly- it's too vague, and short! What is there is all good- but it's conclusions are muddled. The title of this book- Why Is Sex fun? Is barely addressed- I almost felt like it was missing chapters, or sections or something. It was really good- just... incomplete? I love Jared Diamond, and I hate not being able to like this book more- bu...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Natella rated it 4 of 5 stars

My rating is actually 4.5 of 5 stars.

A book looking into how human sex differs so much from other animals, and how it may have evolved to get there.

Diamond looks at many oddities of human nature when trying to answer his grand question- why is sex fun? Some things he examines are: lack of lactation in males, menopause, concealed ovulation, and how humans tend to have sex in private. Diamond’s writing style is rather witty and easy to read. This book only contains theoretical answers to the ques...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

Before he explored the factors involved in the growth (Guns, Germs, and Steel) and collapse (Collapse) of human societies, Professor Diamond published this neat little inquiry into the evolution of sex in humans. Beginning with the argument that the sex life of the typical human exhibits some of the most abnormal and deviant behaviors in the animal kingdom, he then backs this up with solid examples such as our penchant for having sex in private, our apparent regard for sex as a recreational, rat...more

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May 07, 2012 Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is THE book that would get the most eyeballs while reading in public. The title is that catchy. Fortunately, I have a Kindle for such reading. The book itself was surprisingly disappointing as far as answers to my questions go. Namely, I'm curious about the specifics of the evolutionary processes for the apparati involved in the human connection. Those are not offered here, perhaps because the answers are currently speculative. However, Jared Diamond is a consistently fantastic enlightener...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Maureen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Worth reading, though many of his conclusions seem loose, unscientific and almost common-sense in retrospect. I kept finding myself thinking, "Well sure, that's an interesting and even believable theory, but where's the proof?" But I guess that's the dilemma of trying to write a science-y book for entertainment audiences; you don't want to get too deep into the research and bore everyone. Interesting ideas in any case, and I'm assuming an important alternative perspective to the "Men are from Ve...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Rory rated it 3 of 5 stars

Short and sweet. A simple overview of the evolutionary history of sexual reproduction and some peculiarities about Homo sapiens.

Diamond is a good writer and provides a comprehensive overview of the comparative anatomy and evolutionary psychology (if a little dated) of sexual reproduction across several species, with the ultimate aim to tie it back to mankind and what makes us stand out.

Some of the speculation in the final chapter (regarding male attraction to the female form and the size of male...more

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May 07, 2013 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, antropologia, letteratura-americana, saggio, scienza, sottolineatissimo

Il titolo accattivante potrebe secono me far cadere in inganno il lettore.
In questo saggio più che spiegare perchè il "sesso è divertente" si analizzano le abitudini sessuali della "razza umana" rafrontata alle altre "razze animali" e si risponde quesiti molto interessanti come ad esempio perchè l'uomo è un animale tendenzialmente monogamo, come mai le donne sono fertili e ricettive durante tutto l'arco dell'anno e per quale motivo la donna dopo una certa età entra in menopausa?
La lettura non...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, tab-a-in-slot-b

I enjoyed parts of this book. I liked the way Diamond investigated certain areas of human life, such as how males became part of the care of babies and children, and how this is reflected in certain areas of New Guinea. But in saying that, I couldn't really get myself into it. I wanted to- I did, as sexology interests me- but I felt Diamond kept veering into other directions.

However, from an anthropological standpoint, this is a good, interesting book. It doesn't all deal with why humans have se...more

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Apr 06, 2013 David Glad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: exploring-society

Relatively quick book and the funny aspect of how my direction seems to have been mainly a backgrounds direction on going through Diamond's books (Collapse, then Guns, Germs and Steel, and finally The Third Chimpanzee before getting to this book) means I got to see how the ideas would later be elaborated on before they were first introduced which made it quite interesting. Curious difference here is this book seems to have strong similarity to his Third Chimpanzee in a LOT of the passages that t...more

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Mar 31, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

When he doesn't tackle the advantages of weapons and germs, Diamond tries to explain why humans have the sex lives that we have. He tries to explain the evolutionary rationale behind menopause, concealed ovulation, breast size and general monogamy.

Any book that explains the rationale behind why men have larger penises than most other primates by stating: "I'm already so smart and superior that I don't need to devote more ounces of protoplasm to my brain, but I can instead afford the handicap of...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Laura Anthony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Once again I feel a little smarter after reading a Jared Diamond book. I now know that male lactation is possible. I also learned about phallocarps and because I had to look up pictures of phallocarps, I learned that they are also known as phallocrypts which kind of amuses me. I appreciate that Diamond lays out a bunch of theories before advancing his own giving the reader the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. My only warning would be to keep this away from your teenage boys because the...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Huma Rashid rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, animals, culture, health, history, nonfiction, science, sex, women, world

I picked this book up because it's written by Jared Diamond, and I love him and wanted to check out one of his earlier works. It deserved a 3.5, but whatever. This book ties together biology, evolution, chemistry, history, culture, and anthropology to look at sex and the passing on of genetic material. While it focuses mostly on animals, there are many interesting discussions about the dynamics of male-female relationships. I found the one about men being providers as opposed to 'show-offs' part...more

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Jul 02, 2010 David rated it 1 of 5 stars

It’s so much fun for the same reason that getting smashed is so much fun – you’re not in a normal mental state. Who in their right mind would want to stimulate a part of their body until it swells to bursting with blood, then stick it into a wet and slimy part of another person’s body and gyrate it about until some fluid is released? I think women should have had their vaginas situated on the left shoulder, with men’s penises a specially adapted forefinger. Then you could just politely and hygie...more

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Jan 16, 2010 Mel Tungate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Diamond is a great author, able to write on science topics in enjoyable not-too-technical language. His Guns Germs and Steel is a must read for any educated human.

His The Third Chimpanzee is equally good, and a great antedote for Ann Rands books, covering much the same topics, but in a much more thorough positive manner.

Why is Sex Fun is not nearly as clearly written as Guns, and covers some of the same topics of Chimpanzee, but not nearly as well. Other authors have done a better job, in my opi...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Kathleen Brugger rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have read a number of Jared Diamond’s books and am a great fan. After reading this book I felt like the title was chosen by someone in his publisher’s marketing department. Mr. Diamond was probably chagrined by it. He’s a scientist, and he spends a lot of time discussing animal behavior and speculating about how the distinctive features of human sexuality evolved. There’s not much talk about why it’s so fun.

The basic points he discusses are: 1. Males and females have different investments in...more I have read a number of Jared Diamond’s books and am a great fan. After reading this book I felt like the title was chosen by someone in his publisher’s marketing department. Mr. Diamond was probably chagrined by it. He’s a scientist, and he spends a lot of time discussing animal behavior and speculating about how the distinctive features of human sexuality evolved. There’s not much talk about why it’s so fun.

The basic points he discusses are: 1. Males and females have different investments in reproduction and that determines their behavior—males take a few seconds to discharge semen while females have 9 months of pregnancy and years of lactation; 2. Males could breast-feed but that didn’t evolve because of that low investment, 3. Female humans conceal their ovulation for two reasons, originally to hide who the father was (new dominant males kill the offspring that aren’t theirs) then later to keep the man around to help raise children, 4. What are men good for? He struggles to find a good reason (see below), 5. Why does human menopause exist? Many other female animals are fertile in old age, and 6. Evolution of sexual body signals—breasts and big hips in women, and in men, penis size. A seventh point that he discussed in the first chapter, that humans have sex in private unlike almost all other animals, didn’t get an explanation.

I thought male sexual body signals were facial hair and low voice—not penis size. Mr. Diamond suggests that the penis has evolved as a sexual signal, like the peacock’s tail, a body part that is longer than necessary to advertise genetic strength and health. “The length of the erect penis is only about 1¼ inches in gorillas and 1½ inches in orangutans but 5 inches in humans, even though males of the two apes have much bigger bodies than men.” Why? Could it be all the positions humans have sex in? “[T]he 1½ inch penis of the male orangutan permits it to perform in a variety of positions that rival ours, and to outperform us by executing all those positions while hanging from a tree. As for the possible utility of a large penis in sustaining prolonged intercourse, orangutans top us in that regard too (mean duration fifteen minutes, versus a mere four minutes for the average American man.)” Ouch.

Then he describes what the penis would look like if men designed it, using the phallocarp of New Guinea men as an example—a penis sheath up to two feet long, four inches in diameter, brightly colored, and erect (google it!). They say they feel naked without it, even though, other than the sheath, they are completely naked.

The discussion of the importance of men was surprising. I always assumed that the male role in hunter-gatherer societies was obvious: the men hunted. A female anthropologist, Kristen Hawkes of the University of Utah, decided to test this assumption. She had people test the caloric yields of the men’s hunting catches and the women’s foraging yield in tribes in Paraguay and Tanzania.

In the Northern Ache people of Paraguay, the men hunted large animals such as peccaries and deer, and collected honey. The women pounded starch from palm trees and gathered fruits and insect larvae (in addition to caring for children). On average the man brought home nothing 25% of the time, whereas the women produced a consistent amount every day. The man’s average calorie return was 9, 634, where a woman’s was 10, 356.
You may argue that the men’s protein was more valuable than the women’s starch, but in other places women gather high-protein staples: the Kalahari San women gather mongongo nuts, and in New Guinea the women fish, and catch rats, grubs, and spiders.

Mr. Diamond asked, why don’t the men turn their energy to securing high-protein food that is easier to obtain and thus a more predictable source of nutrition? Turns out that women want to mate with men who are successful hunters, even if it doesn’t really mean that much for the overall nutrition of the group. Women today still want to be with the most powerful and successful man; it’s clearly a deeply-wired aspiration.

The other section that was of particular interest to me, an aging woman, was the one on menopause. The current thinking in anthropology is that older women are a very important component of society, and that cessation of fertility helps increase the longevity of women. The theory goes like this: because of humans’ long childhood, and the risk of death in childbirth, a woman risking her life at 45 to have one more child wouldn’t make sense, because it would mean her existing children would lose their mother and have a lower chance of survival. Much better to stop having children and put your energy into helping your children be successful in having children. In other words, non-fertile grandmothers are a very successful survival strategy for the human race.

In addition, old women are a storehouse of knowledge for the whole tribe; old people are the “tribe’s library.” I love what Mr. Diamond says about being “postreproductive”: “No human, except a hermit, is ever truly postreproductive in the sense of being unable to benefit the survival and reproduction of other people bearing one’s genes.” Today this is less true than for pre-literate peoples, and with books and the internet we don’t think of any one person being the repository of knowledge. “We find it impossible to conceive of the overwhelming importance of elderly people in preliterate societies as repositories of information and experience.”

In conclusion, Mr. Diamond says, “That importance to society of the memories of old women is what I see as a major driving force behind the evolution of human female menopause.”
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Mar 08, 2013 Daniel Hammer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Jared Diamond is a favorite target of criticism from anthropologists. This is not because Diamond is an ornithologist who has chosen instead to write almost entirely about human behavior, which he does not himself research. Instead, it is mostly because Diamond loves to oversimplify complicated ideas and make grand statements on the world. The grand statement of this book is that we can learn a lot about human sex from observing how sex operates in the animal world. Compared to his overreaching...more Jared Diamond is a favorite target of criticism from anthropologists. This is not because Diamond is an ornithologist who has chosen instead to write almost entirely about human behavior, which he does not himself research. Instead, it is mostly because Diamond loves to oversimplify complicated ideas and make grand statements on the world. The grand statement of this book is that we can learn a lot about human sex from observing how sex operates in the animal world. Compared to his overreaching in books like Guns, Germs and Steel and his recent The World Until Yesterday, the central claim of Why Sex is Fun is not intellectually offensive and provides a lot of interesting information along the way.

This book has become a mainstay in courses on sex and evolution (which is how it found its way into my hands as well). Even at that, I could not justify using the entire book. About half of the chapters cover essential topics of sex and mating strategies: sexual dimorphism, male-male competition, female choice, concealed ovulation in humans, and the biology of attraction. It is easy to read and mostly good information. At the very least, it provides a simple introduction to these ideas. However, even the basic topic of the entire book--the concept of sexual selection--is better handled by other authors in a single chapter, such as Jerry Coyne in his book Why Evolution is True. As a book to be assigned for a course, I would recommend assigning additional supplementary materials.

This is not Diamond's best written work. His arguments are often unclear, seemingly having become victim to a writing style focused on attracting a popular audience. However, what the book lacks the most are solid connections with Diamond's stated topic--human sexuality. You learn a great deal about the animal world, but much less about humans. In the titular chapter, Why Sex is Fun, Diamond does not even answer the question he poses. He probes the topic of concealed ovulation to answer the related question of why humans have sex so frequently, but this is not the same as why sex is pleasurable. The animal world does not provide all of the answers to human sexuality, and this is not Diamond's fault. However, it is his responsibility to ruminate on and theorize about the gaps between the sexual behaviors of humans and other animals. He rarely does this. Ultimately, this is an easy to read (if not entirely well-structured) book with interesting examples that falls somewhat short of achieving what the author intended--which is to shine a brighter light on why humans have sex the way we do. (less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Kevin Cecil rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, male-author

Jared Diamond does not posses Carl Sagan's gift of enriching all he writes with a grand sense of poetic wonder; he also lacks the verve and wit of a science writer like Phil Plait. Diamond's books, however, are absolutely essential for those seeking to understand our universe and ourselves because he invariably chooses such fascinating topics. From the development of civilizations in his masterpiece GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL, to their potential decline in COLLAPSE, Diamond leaves one with a deeper...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The title is definitely a misnomer. Somebody in the publishing office clearly came up with this to try to sell books. It really should be called "The Evolution of Human Sexuality" because that's what it's about.

Nevertheless, Diamond is so good. Along with Gladwell, he's definitely my favorite author. I love his style. As he's constructing an argument, he frequently uses technical language or refers to some scientific principle that is unknown to a layperson like myself, but immediately follows...more

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About Jared Diamond

Jared Mason Diamond is an author, physiologist, evolutionary biologist and bio geographer. Dr. Diamond is also a medical researcher and professor of physiology at the UCLA School of Medicine. His book "Guns, Germs and Steel" won a Pulitzer Prize and "The Third Chimpanzee" was a best-selling award winner. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the...more

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Books by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution & Future of the Human Animal

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?

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