Sex and War
How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World
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Narrated by:
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Dennis Holland
About this listen
Human beings have been battling one another since time immemorial. But why war and terrorism? Why are men almost always the killers, and why are war and sex so inextricably linked? Why do we kill members of our own species intentionally, when few other animals do so?
Sex and War traces the cultural and biological evolution of warfare from its prehuman origins through to our own times. In the spirit of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Potts and Hayden pull together insights from history, archaeology, psychology and biology to produce a clarifying new understanding of human history and current events.
Combining exhaustive research and rich personal experience, Sex and War shows that war, terrorism, slavery, and the subjugation of women have common roots deep in our biological history. Evolution is not destiny, however, and the authors, with the crucial contributions of Martha Campbell, show how relatively simple strategies can help the biology of peace win out over the biology of war. In doing so, they lay out a rational roadmap to make war less likely in the future, and less brutal when it does occur.
©2008 Malcom Potts and Thomas Hayden (P)2010 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In The Science of Good and Evil, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores how humans evolved from social primates into moral primates, how and why morality motivates the human animal, and how the foundation of moral principles can be built upon empirical evidence. Along the way he explains the implications of scientific findings for fate and free will, the existence of pure good and pure evil, and the development of early moral sentiments among the first humans.
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Read by author
- By Gregory A. Townsend on 04-16-23
By: Michael Shermer
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Why?
- Explaining the Holocaust
- By: Peter Hayes
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite the outpouring of books, movies, museums, memorials, and courses devoted to the Holocaust, a coherent explanation of why such ghastly carnage erupted from the heart of civilized Europe in the 20th century still seems elusive even 70 years later. Numerous theories have sprouted in an attempt to console ourselves and to point the blame in emotionally satisfying directions - yet none of them are fully convincing.
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Outstanding book! A must read
- By Pierre on 11-13-21
By: Peter Hayes
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Black Earth
- The Holocaust as History and Warning
- By: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on untapped sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think and thus all the more terrifying.
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Tough book but worth it!
- By Amazon customer on 11-20-15
By: Timothy Snyder
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The End Is Always Near
- Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
- By: Dan Carlin
- Narrated by: Dan Carlin
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In The End Is Always Near, Dan Carlin looks at questions and historical events that force us to consider what sounds like fantasy; that we might suffer the same fate that all previous eras did. Will our world ever become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore? The questions themselves are both philosophical and like something out of The Twilight Zone.
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Hardcore Histories Greatest Hits
- By Steven Glover on 10-31-19
By: Dan Carlin
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War: How Conflict Shaped Us
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control?
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Horrible choice of narrator derails this book
- By Steve Winnett on 02-25-21
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The Case for Israel
- By: Alan M. Dershowitz
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan M. Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel. In this audiobook, he presents an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Dershowitz takes a close look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. He accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts.
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Excellent
- By Marcus James on 06-14-18
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The Return of Marco Polo's World
- War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-First Century
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent and military embed for The Atlantic, as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America's role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; and more.
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Essays on the Region of the Silk Road
- By Jeff Beardsley on 05-19-18
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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Rise of ISIS
- A Threat We Can't Ignore
- By: Jay Sekulow
- Narrated by: Jay Sekulow
- Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Rise of ISIS gives a better understanding of the modern face of terror, and provides an overview of the laws of war and war crimes. These laws differentiate between the guilty and innocent, and explain why the US military and the Israeli Defense Forces are often limited in their defensive measures. The authors’ firsthand experience, including multiple appearances before the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court at The Hague, along with direct contact battling jihadists during operation Iraqi Freedom lends insight into this important geopolitical issue.
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Good view on ISIS and Hamas
- By JST on 01-06-15
By: Jay Sekulow
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The Human Swarm
- How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall
- By: Mark W. Moffett
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology, and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity - and what it will take to sustain them.
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Worthless
- By Richard on 11-24-19
By: Mark W. Moffett
What listeners say about Sex and War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Craig C.
- 08-26-11
New Perspective
It was a new perspective for me to link sex and war to evolution. It provides another avenue for hope about peace since it is no longer an evolutionary positive trait. How we overcome our caveman responses to events seems like the next step.
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2 people found this helpful
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- SNAPDRAGON
- 12-21-13
Insightful and thought provoking
The way to Peace is right in front of us, if we would only think. At the crux is women's ability to choose when and how many children she should have. This should be on every Congressman, Politician, Religious Leader's list. Actually everyone would benefit by this thoughtful presentation.
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- sona
- 10-25-11
Examining the demons
I came to this book with many searing questions of my own, particularly concerning the evil men perpetrate on women. Malcolm Potts & Thomas Hayden make a clear case for the existence of such unnecessary brutality in our day, neither excusing it nor making men out to be devils. When such acts are aired out in the clarity of evolution and genetics, as well as the human psyche, the male gender gets a second chance at being understood while not being let off such behavior. The authors also make a commendable effort to picture the world led by a feminine hand, and the stability and hope that lies therein. An engaging read recommended for all, including school-age discussion.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Chris Strand
- 12-31-13
This should be one everyone s reading list
Where does Sex and War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
By far the most clarifying non fiction book I have ever read
Who was your favorite character and why?
Due to the non fiction nature of this book there is no true character- humans, chimps yes.
What does Dennis Holland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Focus and emphasis
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There is in depth explanations of oppression of women is directly related to aggression, territory and violence.
Any additional comments?
Oh what we have done to our DNA. Reproducing with the strongest, most aggressive male of the species as led us to a place in time that we have to chose not to war. I am unable to atriculate the profound experience and meaning this book has brought to me, potentially our nation and the world.
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- Garry
- 03-28-13
Enjoyable, long but interesting
Where does Sex and War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Took me longer to listen to than others but for the most part I would rate this as probably top 20
Any additional comments?
This is a good work by author and narrator. I did find this of interest and had some great fascinating moments. It is dry to listen too but worth the listen
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- Joe Duncan
- 03-17-22
Top tier. Phenomenal book.
Well-researched, sensible, and the cure for the “Noble Savage” myth. It’s a good piece to balance out Christoper Ryan’s book Sex at Dawn. The narrator did a good job. Worth the purchase price.
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- Stefan in KY
- 09-12-11
very convincing and thought-provoking hypothesis
The main hypothesis of the book is that humans evolved by selecting males that killed most successfully non-related humans from other groups ("outgroups"), while at the same time were most supportive and emphatic towards members of their own group ("ingroup"), which gave them a reproductive advantage.
This theory is well documented by hard data from biology, archeology, sociology and gives a concise picture of human behavior, which is applied to recent political events, such as the response to 9/11.
The authors promote the idea that empowering woman by allowing them to control the number of their children through access of contraceptives is the most effective way of war prevention.
Although their theory cannot be fully proven like models in physics or molecular biology, it is worth considering, as it explains so many aspects of human behavior.
One aspect that could have been investigated in more detail is "paternity fraud", where a woman gives a man the false impression that he is the father of her child. Several studies estimate this number to be around 10% (but there are studies with a higher and lower rate). This suggests that woman developed a strategy to escape strict male dominance and genetic traits underpinning this 'cheating' strategy will be in our current gene pool. Thus even if contraception reduces the number of humans on earth and their fight for resources, this world might not be as peaceful as the authors hope.
This book was very well written and narrated, enjoyed listening/reading to it and fully recommend it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sam Motes
- 11-12-13
The violent primal drive in us all
In this book the author argues that our primal instincts of violence, dominance, spirituality, and propensity to gather into in groups with hatred for all others leads killing of our own species and the drive for war. It is in our genes but the author points our how we can evolve beyond those base impulses to strive for peace.
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- BirderMame
- 06-06-14
Important and fascinating
The biological science explained here provides important insights into human behavior and offers hope that a species for whom to be combative offered an evolutionary advantage may nevertheless succeed in overcoming those innate characteristics and achieving peace.
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- Mel S.
- 06-14-15
Fascinating and well researched
A really convincing look at the evolutionary aspects of warfare and how mankind developed as one of the only species on Earth that kills others of our own species, particularly how sex and biological stimuli play into it. The book seemed well researched, and makes a lot of sense. It looked at primate, particularly chimpanzee, society, as our nearest genetic relative, and also applied it's findings to humans from early hominids to modern day warfare. There was in depth analysis of the roles sex plays in the development of war as a species, and how sex continues to play a role in current events and current wars, which applies not only to wars in third world countries where subjugation of women is a blatant affair, but to the US Iraq war and modern US events. It was really fascinating, and I appreciated that the authors, while making this case, make sure to point out that even if war is an evolutionary trait, that does not mean it is predestined or even preferential for continued species existence. Their argument is not to be used to excuse war, it is a case of understanding the root of an issue so people can determine the best way fix it. Really fascinating!
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