Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
by Olivia Judson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Olivia JudsonEdition: Paperback
Published: 2003-05-01
ISBN: 0805063323
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
Book Review: Very amusing and informative
Summary: 5 Stars
Dr. Tatiana writes an advice column for members of all species and organisms that wish to write to her. She specializes in answering their questions about sex and dispensing sound advice.
For example, a yellow dung fly wants to know how to make its sperm more attractive; a fig wasp wonders why all the males she knows bite each other in half; an elephant is worried because its penis has turned green; a mother manatee frets because her son appears to prefer other males.
It turns out that homosexuality is common in the animal world, that femals are mostly promiscuous and that monogomy is exceedingly rare in nature, (she calls it one of the most deviant behaviors in biology) and that the battle of the sexes is real and can be brutal (and the females often win).
This book is a breezy read. Tatiana is a witty raconteur with an apparently inexhaustible font of knowledge about the weird and wonderful world of sex. The point of existence, she maintains, is to survive and reproduce. Genetic mutations and behavioral modifications that confer an advantage in pursuing these goals will flourish. Species that do not adapt will die out.
Though written in a jokey way, this is a serious book. It provides a wonderful picture of the sheer vast variation of the natural world and the dynamic pace of evolution.
Perfect for the teen interested in science (and sex) and for all curious adults.
For more about me and my book The Nazi Hunter: A Novel, (where the sex is tastefully done) go to www.alanelsner.com.
Summary of Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
Finally, a how-to guide, in the guise of a Q&A advice column, for marching, flying, or slithering into the battle of the sexes, whatever your species. In this entertaining and informative book, evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson presents "letters" from sexually frustrated animals, birds, and insects who ask "Dr. Tatiana" to explain some sexual oddity. For example, "Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?" Each question leads Dr. T. into a fascinating explanation about the sex life of this species, sprinkled with sprightly stories about other species with similar attributes or behavior.You'll learn why one stick-insect copulation lasts for 10 weeks (to prevent other males from gaining access to the fertile female) and why the black-winged damselfly's penis has bristles (to scrape out his rival's sperm). You'll learn that male and female orangutans masturbate with sex toys fashioned from leaves and twigs, that slugs are hermaphrodites with penises on their heads, and that females in more than 80 species eat their lovers before, during, or after sex. You'll also ponder human sexuality when you learn that "monogamy is one of the most deviant behaviors in biology" (although jackdaws, chinstrap penguins, California mice, and some termites swear by it) and "natural selection, it seems, often smiles on strumpets."
Highly recommended--you'll read this through just for the fun of it and have plenty of odd facts with which to dazzle your dinner companions. --Joan Price
“Delightful . . . Easy to understand and hard to resist, it’s sex education at its prime—accurate, comprehensive, and hilarious.” —Newsweek
An uproarious and authoritative natural history in the form of letters to and answers from the preeminent sexpert in all creation, this bestselling guidebook to sex reveals, for example, when necrophilia is acceptable, how to have a virgin birth, and when to eat your lover. It also advises on more mundane matters—such as male pregnancy and the joys of a detachable penis.
At once entertaining and wise, Dr. Tatiana (a.k.a. Olivia Judson) fuses natural history with advice to the lovelorn, blends wit and rigor, and reassures her anxious correspondents that although the acts they describe might sound appalling and unnatural, they are all perfectly normal—so long as you are not a human. In the process, she explains the science behind it all, from Darwin’s theory of sexual selection to why sexual reproduction exists at all. By applying human standards to the natural world, in the end she reveals the wonders of both.
An uproarious and authoritative natural history in the form of letters to and answers from the preeminent sexpert in all creation, this bestselling guidebook to sex reveals, for example, when necrophilia is acceptable, how to have a virgin birth, and when to eat your lover. It also advises on more mundane matters—such as male pregnancy and the joys of a detachable penis.
At once entertaining and wise, Dr. Tatiana (a.k.a. Olivia Judson) fuses natural history with advice to the lovelorn, blends wit and rigor, and reassures her anxious correspondents that although the acts they describe might sound appalling and unnatural, they are all perfectly normal—so long as you are not a human. In the process, she explains the science behind it all, from Darwin’s theory of sexual selection to why sexual reproduction exists at all. By applying human standards to the natural world, in the end she reveals the wonders of both.
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