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Tag Archives: anthropology
The Goodness Paradox
The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution © 2019 Richard Wrangham 400 pages The Goodness Paradox cannot help but be fascinating, for it seeks to address one of the most pressing questions of human … Continue reading
Why is Sex Fun?
Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality © 1997 Jared Diamond 172 pages Why is Sex Fun is a provocatively titled, slim volume on the evolution of human sexuality. Diamond never addresses the titular question, though, instead evaluating … Continue reading
Of Neanderthals and dogs and extinction level events
Time for science short rounds! Last week I read The Invaders, a much-anticipated work about how dogs gave humans a competitive edge over their neanderthal cousins. This brief book posits that human beings function like invasive species, and after establishing … Continue reading
Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind443 pages© 2014 Yuval Noah Harari In Sapiens, Yuval Harari presents a natural history of the human race from its flowering across Eurasia to a worried reflection on the prospects of of technohumanism. The book’s … Continue reading
The Ugly Little Boy
The Ugly Little Boy© 1991 Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg. Based on the 1958 short story by Asimov.290 How would you like to babysit a Neanderthal? Granted, Edith Fellowes didn’t realize that was the job description. She knew she’d be … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science fiction
Tagged anthropology, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, science fiction
4 Comments
TBR: And Then There was One
Dear readers, we approach the end for the To be Read Takedown Challenge! Richard Francis’ Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World proved disappointing, not because of the quality of content but the focus thereof. Although Domesticated sells itself as a … Continue reading
Posted in science
Tagged animal domestication, anthropology, biology, evolution, science, TBR Takedown Challenge
2 Comments
Demonic Males
Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence© 1996 Dale Peterson and Richard Wrangham350 pages Why is the world run by violent men? Demonic Males argues that human males are by violent by nature, a trait we share with … Continue reading
Posted in science
Tagged anthropology, evolution, gangs tribes and parties, Of Boys and Men, primates, science
7 Comments
The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers
The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers© 2000 Daniel Wolf372 pages Ever wonder what it’s like to ride with a biker gang? They held a certain fascination for Daniel Wolf, who decided to turn a local gang into an anthropological … Continue reading
The World Until Yesterday
The World Until Yesterday© 2012 Jared Diamond481 pages Earth has been the province of mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, and for most of the time he has transversed it in small tribal groups, … Continue reading
Why We Buy
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping© 1997, 2008 Paco UnderhillSimon and Schuster320 pages No book on marketing, Why We Buy is an introduction to the novel field of retail anthropology. Young Paco Underhill was once an urban studies student assigned … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged anthropology, business, commerce, goods/services, marketing
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