Men: evolutionary and life history
Richard G Bribiescas Harvard University Press, 320pp, £18.95
"Stud, dud, thud." It is through this triumvirate of virility, senility and death that Richard Bribiescas summarises the life history of men. This book aims to redress an imbalance: while in the age of feminism much insightful work has been done on women's life history, we poor chaps have been rather overlooked. Essentially, the book asks: "What makes a man a man?" And at its heart is an attempt to find out why males, who make up 50 per cent of the population, account for 85 per cent of violent crime.
In this hunt, a substantial place is set aside for that lethal substance, testosterone. Yet Bribiescas also examines the huge problem faced by men but not women – that of parental certainty.
With no guarantees that they have fathered any offspring, men put considerably less effort into raising children than women do. As a result, surplus calories can be used to accumulate social, economic and political power – in other words, to do as they wish.
Bribiescas writes in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. Although he is an eminent scholar in his discipline, biological anthropology, his book is easily digestible by any beginner. Yet it sets out to defend an original line of thought that will be keenly debated by anyone with an interest in the field.
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