Sex at Dawn

How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships

By: Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson, Jonathan Davis, Christopher Ryan (Preface)

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science - as well as religious and cultural institutions - has maintained that men and women evolved in families in which a man's possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman's fertility and fidelity. But this narrative is collapsing. Fewer and fewer couples are getting married, and divorce rates keep climbing as adultery and flagging libido drag down even seemingly solid marriages.

How can reality be reconciled with the accepted narrative? It can't be, according to renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. While debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, they offer a bold alternative explanation in this provocative and brilliant book.

Ryan and Jetha's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes a Preface written and read by author Christopher Ryan.

©2010 Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Critic reviews

"A surprisingly non-titillating book about sex among prehistoric people makes for a terrific audio adaptation...With their straightforward approach, the narrators show professionalism and authority in this anthropological discussion of sex." ( AudioFile)

“ Sex at Dawn is the single most important book about human sexuality since Alfred Kinsey unleashed Sexual Behavior in the Human Male on the American public in 1948.” (Dan Savage)

"My favorite book of 2010...it's the only book I read this year that proved that I was badly mistaken about something." (Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!)

This book turned me on...

Sex at Dawn lays out some damned good evidence that humans are quite naturally freaky, that sex is healthy and that women are more sexually powerful than the standard narrative presents. Excellent writing, a pleasurable listen with beautiful narration.

Seriously good read

Had to buy a hard copy of this book after listening. I need to dog ear, highlight, and study the references.

Fascinating

Very well researched take on the conflict between instinct and social convention in agrarian cultures. A pean to hunter gatherers who selected our genes.

Challenges worldviews

This book was chosen for my atheist book club and my husband and I found it a fascinating listen. Though we are presently monogamous, we have found many faults with the idealistic values and standards placed on marriage and monogamy. This book, coming from both a scientific and anthropological perspective, asks questions every relationship and even society should attempt to answer. Well-written and well-read. Highly recommend.

A little slow, but VERY worth it!

Would you consider the audio edition of Sex at Dawn to be better than the print version?

Overall yes. There's a few diagrams and tables that are difficult to follow for new listeners, but it was nice to listen to the material instead of having to keep up with it.

What other book might you compare Sex at Dawn to and why?

I was directed to this book by recommendation of Dan Savage, who has also talked about The Moral Animal and Opening Up, which is what I'm reading next.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I most enjoyed the light tone and almost sarcastic points to the humor in the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't have an extreme reaction, but I feel like I understand sex a great deal more now than before I listened to this book.

Any additional comments?

This is a great book to start with if you're interested in learning about the sexual functions of relationships. Almost all of it covers heterosexual sex however.

Excellent book, narration not so great

The content of this book is excellent and captivating. Chris Ryan is an interesting man and I recommend his podcast "Tangentially Speaking"

The narrator is some seemingly digitally fabricated female voice. If this is the fault of audible.com them they should change it. I have heard Christopher Ryan say on his podcast that he himself doesn't care for the narration either.

Filled with knowledge, but could be improved

Its a book about sex, yet the author held back trying to be too professional.

Great history lesson on sex though

Must read

Excellent deep-dive into relevant anthropological questions and assumptions, effectively questioning and dissolving false and unsupported assumptions about human sexuality.

Mind blown!

Informative and entertaining without being boring. A must read for those who want a deeper understanding to human sexuality .

Eye opening

I know that I don’t know. This book has created more questions than answers for me. I don’t know how much of it true, but it definitely raises questions about things that has frustrated me so much. Why. Because I have been raised in very religious environment, and that narrative keeps on falling apart. It has it’s own place, but in area of human sexuality it has made me miserable.