Overview

How better than to mark the 150th anniversary of Darwin's book on human evolution than by challenging his theory with an updated version which instead places the female species at the centre of the theory. Sexual selection may have created us, but by refusing to take a good hard look at ourselves and our impact on the planet, we may be granting natural selection the power to eliminate us. A fascinating book which is both controversial and entertaining and which will deepen your understanding of human evolution like you would never have imagined. Heather deepens our understanding of human evolution by including genetic discoveries that were unavailable in 1871 when Darwin wrote The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. She offers an updated version of the theory by viewing the courtship dance through a female lens. Darwin was correct in acknowledging that sexual selection is driven by female choice, but he was seriously mistaken in granting a female no active influence and depicting her as passively succumbing to the charms of the triumphant male who had bested another in a competition to win her favour or to the one who had tickled her fancy with his feathers. In the process of her doctoral research, Heather analysed hundreds of hours of tape-recorded interviews in which women identified the traits that made specific men in their lives sexually and reproductively attractive. Their insights help us make sense of recent studies that leave researchers scratching their heads when the species they study don't appear to be playing by the rules, according to Darwin. We are in the midst of two immediate existential crises-climate change and growing economic inequality-caused by human behaviour. If we are to be successful in addressing these challenges, Remoff argues that we need to come to terms with the double-edged sword at the heart of all that makes us special. Who are we? What selection pressures forged our species specific traits? Of all the trillions of species that have ever existed on this planet only one, Homo sapiens, has mastered language, the art of symbolic communication. Did female passions play a role in triggering our way with words? Absolutely. Our choice of reproductive partners shaped not only language ability but also many of the other traits that define us today.

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Remoff's tour de force was inspired by the realisation that the Darwinian theory of evolution needed scrutiny from the female's perspective. Darwin's thesis rests on what she argues is a deeply flawed theory of human evolution. ... Starting with the analysis of sex and the sins of our fathers, we are led to awkward questions. Ours is a bountiful world - so why is there so much poverty? Empathy is ingrained in our personalities - so why is there so much conflict? ... Nature is generous - so why do we abuse our habitats? We all come from the same biological stock - so why do we victimise people of a different colour? --Fred Harrison, author of an extensive range of books, including Power in the Land, Boom Bust, Rent Unmasked, Ricardo's Law

Author Information

Anthropologist Heather Remoff has a passion for evolutionary theory. An analysis of data generated by her doctoral research on the role of female choice in human courtship decisions, convinced her that neither she nor Charles Darwin knew nearly enough about economics. Heather spent the next forty years involved in research, writing, and economic activism. The more she learned, the more she became convinced that the failure of modern biologists to reconsider Darwin's work in light of recent genetic discoveries and female behaviour, has left us with a deeply flawed theory of human evolution. Heather's books and articles have been reviewed in numerous publications including People, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New Republic. Excerpts have appeared in Glamour, Chatelaine, New Woman, and More. Feature articles on Heather's first book, Sexual Choice, appeared in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The National Inquirer. Recently, her letter was published in the New York Times. She has appeared on dozens of radio and TV talk shows including Today, Donahue, and The Merv Griffin Show and was featured as an expert on the evolution of mating behaviour in Alpha Male, the Learning Channel's 2002 documentary. She re-enacted scenes from her memoir, February Light, in The Discovery Channel's 2002 documentary, Pet Love. Heather enjoys hiking and cross-country skiing. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, where the proximity to Harvard, Radcliffe, and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology enables her to attend a variety of exciting public lectures that keep her current on recent scientific breakthroughs. Heather Remoff has a B.A. in sociology from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in sociology from The University of Missouri at Kansas City and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation provided support for Heather's doctoral research.

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