Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved listening to this book. The author (also the narrator) does an incredible job taking a look at every difference between male and female bodies and explaining the current scientific knowledge about when and why these differences came about. Bohannon tackles some of the current received wisdom and explains ways in which these hypothesis fall apart. Usually the culprit is folks taking our current situation and trying to explain back rather than going in the actual direction of evolution.

Other things that make this book work really well for me. Unlike other similar books, this wasn’t written by a journalist who’s into science. It was written by a scientist who was then able to take their experience and knowledge to learn about other topics they aren’t an expert in. The author is honest about their biases – or at least what they would prefer the answer to be – before they dig into topics that may end up with information that disagrees with their bias. The book is written in a nice, conversational tone, but doesn’t dumb down the topics.

I think men should read this book to have a better understanding of the differences in our bodies and where they came from. I think women should read this book to understand the science behind what they already know are the differences in their bodies. And, anyone who is a science fan (especially evolutionary science) should enjoy the heck out of this book.



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