Books by Subject
Natural
Selection
Reviews
Amazon.com
Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection
should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being. In it, Hrdy reveals
the motivations behind some of our most primal and hotly contested behavioral
patterns--those concerning gender roles, mate choice, sex, reproduction, and
parenting--and the ideas and institutions that have grown up around them. She unblinkingly
examines and illuminates such difficult subjects as control of reproductive rights,
infanticide, "mother love," and maternal ambition with its ever-contested
companions: child care and the limits of maternal responsibility. Without ever denying
personal accountability, she points out that many of the patterns of abuse and neglect
that we see in cultures around the world (including, of course, our own) are neither
unpredictable nor maladaptive in evolutionary terms. "Mother" Nature, as she
points out, is not particularly concerned with what we call "morality." The
philosophical and political implications of our own deeply-rooted behaviors are for us to
determine--which can be done all the better with the kind of understanding gleaned from
this exhaustive work.
Hrdy's passion for this material is evident, and she is deeply aware of the
personal stake she has here as a woman, a mother, and a professional. This highly
accomplished author relies on her own extensive research background as well as the works
of others in multiple disciplines (anthropology, primatology, sociobiology, psychology,
and even literature). Despite the exhaustive documentation given to her conclusions (as
witness the 140-plus-page notes and bibliography sections), the book unfolds in an
exceptionally lucid, readable, and often humorous manner. It is a truly compelling read,
highly recommended. --Katherine Ferguson
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Natural Selection in Human Populations: The
Measurement of Ongoing Genetic Evolution in Contemporary Societies.
By Carl J. Bajema
Hardcover
Krieger Publishing Company, June 1977
ISBN:0882754769
Sorry, publisher is out of stock