A great deal of interesting information about the sex lives of species other than humans, but for such a short book the repetition on some points was beyond annoying. I found little content that even attempted to answer the question posed in the title of the book. I wouldn't have been so disappointed had the book been accurately titled "The Strange and Unique Sex Lives of the Human Species". ( )

An easy to read and fascinating look at something that most of us take for granted. It offers insight not just into sexuality, but into the entire development of human societies and relationships. ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/22397.html...

Still no really satisfying answer to the question of why men don't lactate, except that we don't. ( )

A short, fun and illuminating book. ( )

Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Why are humans one of the few species to have sex in private? Why do humans have sex any day of the day of the year -- including when the female is pregnant, beyond her reproductive years or between her fertility cycles? Why are human females the only mammals to go through menopause? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? Why do we differ so radically in these and other important aspects of our sexuality from our closest animals and ancestors?

There is no more knowledgeable or compelling authority than Jared Diamond to answer these intriguing questions. With wit and fascinating scientific expertise, he explores the mystifying evolutionary forces that gave shape to our sexual distinctions and shows how they contributed to what it means to be uniquely human.

FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
This book speculates on the evolutionary forces that shaped the unique aspects of human sexuality: female menopause, males' role in society, having sex in private, andmost unusual of allhaving sex for fun instead of for procreation. Through comparative evolution, biologist and science author Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies, LJ 2/15/97), poses credible and thought-provoking yet entertaining factors: the lengthy period of dependency of human infants, sex for pleasure as the tie that helps bind a mother and a father together, and menopause as an evolutionary advantage that, by ending the childbearing years, allows females to pass wisdom and knowledge on to society and succeeding generations. Recommended for most libraries.Gloria Maxwell, Kansas City P.L., Kan.
Booknews
Why are we one of the few species to have sex in private? Why do human females go through menopause? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? Diamond (physiology, UCLA Medical School), author of "The Third Chimpanzee" looks at the importance of aspects of our sexuality such as recreational sex and the rarity of male lactation to our evolution, explaining how our sexuality has been as crucial as our large brains and upright posture. For general readers. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Amazon.com
Many of us pursue fitness because we want to remain attractive to partners and potential partners, and we stay healthy so we can continue to have sex with those partners. But why do people care so much about sex? This book, written by an evolutionary biologist, explains how all the weird quirks of human sexuality came to be: sex with no intention of procreation, invisible fertility, sex acts pursued in private--all common to us, but very different from most other species. Why Is Sex Fun? asks us to look at ourselves in a brand-new way, and richly rewards us for doing so.

From Library Journal
This book speculates on the evolutionary forces that shaped the unique aspects of human sexuality: female menopause, males' role in society, having sex in private, and?most unusual of all?having sex for fun instead of for procreation. Through comparative evolution, biologist and science author Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies, LJ 2/15/97), poses credible and thought-provoking yet entertaining factors: the lengthy period of dependency of human infants, sex for pleasure as the tie that helps bind a mother and a father together, and menopause as an evolutionary advantage that, by ending the childbearing years, allows females to pass wisdom and knowledge on to society and succeeding generations. Recommended for most libraries.?Gloria Maxwell, Kansas City P.L., Kan.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. ( )