Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women
by Anne Moir, David Jessel
List Price:
Our Price: $9.00
You Save: $9.00 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.25 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Anne Moir, David JesselEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-08-01
ISBN: 0385311834
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Delta
Book Reviews of Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women
Book Review: People fear the truth of this book!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in truth. However, it does not necessarily contain a pleasant truth (neither to men nor women). The amount of fear stemming from this book is not to be unexpected. It does, after all, deal with one of the most controversial subjects you can find. Just reading over the reviews here after reading the book for yourself will reveal the amount of paranoia associated with the knowledge contained.
Many people are trying to break down the validity of this book by claiming it to be a pseudo-scientific product of sexism. I quote from one reader:
"There was once, in Germany, an incredible number of evidences suporting how physiologies of the pure race and "others" were different. In the USA, science, "inspired" by that time period and that time's politics, attempted to show how blacks (and immigrants and all others who were not a member of upper-middle class heterosexual male group) were inferior."
First of all, these so-called scientific attempts at justifying the superiority of one race over another were conducted during a time of hatred and oppression with support from the general population. In Germany, scientists were even commissioned by the government to create these falsehoods. To compare this book (which was reluctantly written by a geneticist living in times of a feminist uproar with the goal of shedding some research in a dark area) with that kind of racist-inspired nonsense, is ludicrous. This is the type of fear you find from readers who cannot accept this book's overall message: that men and women actually think and behave differently.
If this book was inspired by a period, then this book would be a direct pseudo-scientific attempt at justifying feminist ideals because this is precisely what Anne Moir was surrounded by at the time she began her research. Well, this is absolutely not the case. If the book is sexist, which sex does it incriminate against and why? No one can answer this question with agreeably because the author had no intent of showing one sex to be superior to the other.
This book was written by a woman with the intent of seeking truth. While there are attempts to put forth some logical interpretations based on the research, this book has, at its core, many fundamental truths supported by compelling, scientific evidence. This book is not perfect; a lot of it is just an open discussion, but to deny it as simply a biased product of sexism only serves to strengthen the book to people who actually read it with an open mind.
You can practically see after the first 10 pages or so how much the author wanted to repress some of the research because of the controversy it would create (or perhaps simply her own personal fear of what it would mean), but the evidence speaks for itself.
One thing people really need to keep in mind is that the book is about generalities, and it is examining men and women in terms of actual *biological differences*. Lots of reviewers here are trying to refute the validity of the book because they don't share all the traits associated with their sex. This book is focusing from the nature side of the argument, not the nurture side! There are tons of sociological effects that affect the way a person turns out. I would venture to say that the differences between a grown man and woman have more to do with sociology than biology (though you can't refute the fact that men and women are actually built differently). This book is not about that. Of course a typical woman can become superior to men at mathematical reasoning. Of course a typical man can become superior to women at judging other people's character. This book is about the real, biological differences between a man and a woman - the type of differences that will still exist even if you strip away all social barriers.
Another example of the irrational attempts to put this book down comes from one reviewer who claimed that this book attributed the discovery of America to Columbus:
"The authors wrote that Columbus discovered America. This is known to be false. Columbus did not discover America as Native Americans were already living on this continent as every person knows. To not clarify or change that statement in the book makes all other given information questionable. If the authors can't get the facts of history correct, then how can we be expected to trust in the rest of the book."
I don't wish to put people down, but in defense of the book, that person needs to read more carefully. The book reads, "[...] Rather as Columbus might have regarded his discovery of America as something of an irrelevance [...]" That makes no claim that Columbus discovered America! I'm not even going to go through the trouble of trying to explain the difference because I think the person is well aware of this. I think that such a person will read this book with spite and will look for the first thing that will allow him or her to put it down. Quibbling over a historical statement from a geneticist, especially when taken out of context, is evidence of the kind of close-minded mentality that will unfortunately keep this book's message from ever being accepted by the general population.
Summary of Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women
Why can't a woman be more like a man? What is this thing called "feminine intuition"? Why are men better at reading maps, and women at other people's characters? The answers lie in the basic biological differences between the male and female brain, which, say the authors, make it impossible for the sexes to share equal emotional or intellectual qualities.Psychology & Counseling Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Psychology & Counseling Books
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Valuesby Robert M. Pirsig
Harper Perennial; Published: 2000-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.23
Price in other shops:
Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers (4th Edition)by E. Fuller Torrey
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2001-05-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers and Providersby E. Fuller Torrey
Perennial; Published: 1995-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.68
Price in other shops:
The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millenniumby Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Harper Perennial; Published: 1994-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.65
Price in other shops:
How People Changeby Allen Wheelis
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 1975-07-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.47
Price in other shops:
Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleepby Jodi A. Mindell
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2005-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.33
Price in other shops:
Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation and Guilt to Manipulate Youby Susan Forward, Donna Frazier, Susan Frazier
Harpercollins; Published: 1997-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops:
Obedience to Authority: An Experimental Viewby Stanley Milgram
Harpercollins; Published: 1974-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $532.97
My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderersby Helen Morrison, Harold Goldberg
William Morrow; Published: 2004-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Stressby Jeffrey P.; Davidson, Jeff Davidson
Macmillan Distribution; Published: 1996; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.33
Similar Books and other products
Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forgetby Marianne J. Legato M.D. FACP, Laura Tucker
Rodale Books; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.70
Price in other shops:
Women Men Love, Women Men Leave: What Makes Men Want to Commit?by Connell Cowan, Melvyn Kinder
Signet; Published: 1988-05-03; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.15
Price in other shops:
Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Womenby Deborah Blum
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1998-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.34
Price in other shops:
The Female Brainby Louann Brizendine M.D.
Broadway; Published: 2006-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.53
Price in other shops:
His Brain, Her Brain: How Divinely Designed Differences Can Strengthen Your Marriageby Walt and Barb Larimore
Zondervan; Published: 2008-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.18
Price in other shops:
Human Sexuality, Third Editionby Simon Levay, Janice I. Baldwin
Sinauer Associates, Inc.; Published: 2008-12-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $54.49
Price in other shops:
Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Strayby Helen Fisher
Ballantine Books; Published: 1994-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
Why Men Fall Out of Love: What Every Woman Needs to Understandby Michael French
Ballantine Books; Published: 2007-03-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.08
Price in other shops:
The Female Brainby Louann Brizendine
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2007-08-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.48
Price in other shops:
The Male Brainby Louann Brizendine M.D.
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2011-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops: