The Evolution of Desire

By: David M. Buss

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question we must look into our evolutionary past, argues prominent psychologist David M. Buss. Based one of the largest studies of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from 37 cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first work to present a unified theory of human mating behavior.

Drawing on a wide range of examples of mating behavior - from lovebugs to elephant seals, from the Yanomamö tribe of Venezuela to online dating apps - Buss reveals what women want, what men want, and why their desires radically differ. Love has a central place in human sexual psychology, but conflict, competition, and manipulation also pervade human mating - something we must confront in order to control our own mating destiny.

Fully revised and updated to reflect the very latest scientific research on human mating, this classic work of evolutionary psychology explains the powerful forces that shape our most intimate desires.

©2018 David M. Buss (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Very nice book. A must read

Most of what you will hear is most probably well known to you. But her e it is based on statistics and validated. Well explained and backed up. There a re few weird facts as well, which makes the book even more vivid reading. The narrator is OK for both x1.5 & x2 speeds.

100% must read/listen

This is a must read/listen to understand MOST of the social dynamics when it comes to dating.
It's interesting to see how much is explainable by evolution.
The book only uses statistical data and studies, no opinions. The author is clearly not biassed.
He does cover some "sensitive" topics and I did see some negative reviews of people who seem to be offended by some of results even though the author did his best to adress this. If you are looking for a romanticized/fictional book about dating, this is definitely not for you.

Excellent book

Buss is a great writer and thinker. A lucid explanation of the evolutionary baggage men n women carry. It’s great society gets on men to reign in their biological drive for variety in sex partners. Economist.com had a story on how most polygamous societies also most violent and least development ...but, besides society harping on the Weinstein’s, this book highlights the baggage women have that contributes to societies ills...that seems most media keeps mum on. The best antidote is awareness, so we can work to reign these in. Highly recommend this as well as The Red Queen by Matt Ridley.

Extremely Informative, Highly Scientific

This book has been amazing! As a young adult male, I am grateful for this book to shed light on everything concerning sex, marriage, short term relationships, even cuckolding and rape. Before reading this book, I imagined men were at a disadvantage when it comes to the sexual market place because casual sex is much harder for the average man to obtain than average woman, but I have seen and understood the problems females face as well, for example, trying to find a man who can support the family, and risk of rape.

very informative!

I learned about this book through a podcast so I rushed to listen to it afterwards and was not disappointed! it will answer so many questions you might have about mating behavior and other patterns you may have noticed but not fully understood how or why it happens.

Informative

It’s packed with a lot of information, I have the audio version and I’m going to delisted to understand it better. I would recommend it to myself.

Brilliant and enligtening book

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Evolution of Desire?

Demystification of our contemporary sexual morality by exposing our dark human nature to the objective scientific analysis. Evolution and adaptation of different sexual strategies through thousands of generations in the "do or die" world made us humans not particularly nice creatures. Can we overcome our evolutionary heritage?

Any additional comments?

The way we are is result of evolutionary preference by both genders. The most interesting part in the book was the explanation of these preferences.

Engaging & knowledgeable

One of the few audiobooks I have found where the narrator does not bore me. Outside of that, this book has so much to offer. Grateful it exists & I hope more people will read it. Had I read this sooner it may have helped with some headaches.

insightful

book was insightful and eye opening. def gonna read a second time. will recommend to others.

Super interesting

I would recommend this book to someone looking to understand what motivates the behavior and decisions of the opposite sex. The premise is that men and women’s behavior has evolved to serve different mating strategies and these differences underlie our basic psychology. As a man who has been confused by women for over forty years, things now make sense. I consider this foundational knowledge for making sense of the dating world, maintaining a relationship, or just getting along in the world.