February 2006    

Monkeyluv: and other essays on our lives as animals Author: Robert M. Sapolsky Publisher: Scribner $24.00 Cloth (209 p.) ISBN: 0743260155 B&T         YBP Robert Sapolsky starts off this collection of previously published essays with one entitled "Nature or Nurture: 'The 50 most beautiful people' in the world assess the source of their good looks" to illustrate the main theme of this collection; the answer to the nature versus nurture question is: it's both. Sapolsky's style throughout is feisty yet informative, and makes for good leisure reading for the amateur armchair neurobiologist interested in a variety of topics from conception ("The Genetic War Between Men and Women"-- which comes with the warning: "This essay does not make pleasant wedding-night reading.") to death ("Why We Want Their Bodies Back") and all the vagaries of life experience in-between. Perhaps because of the original intended audience such as the popular magazine Men's Health, the language gets a little too cute at times, but this lack is more than made up for by the obvious knowledge which backs up the essays and the notes and further reading which mark the end of each chapter. All in all, Sapolsky aptly demonstrates our animal instincts and couches our actions in scientific terms which can comfort the most neurotic of us. Recommended for all general collections and leisure reading rooms. -- Aileen G.R. Chute Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.