In "Evolutionary Psychology -- The New Science of Mind," David M. Buss delivers a comprehensive, well-detailed, and illustrative presentation of evolved psychological mechanisms that have become universal across the human species while detailing the biology necessary to understand evolutionary theory and how it applies to human psychology. Organizationally-sound, the textbook reads like a novel, clearly providing theoretical and empirical information requisite for a fundamental understanding of Evolutionary Psychology. Buss' volume is essential reading for students of Evolutionary Psychology and very suitable reading for those of us interested in why we are the way we are. For more advanced readers, "The Adapted Mind," edited by Barkow, Cosmides, and Tooby is an ideal choice.

By working from the premises of Tooby & Cosmides' Integrated Causal Model, David Buss has done an outstanding job of making accessible not only the complex historical development of evolutionary psychology, but also inclusive fitness theory, specific evolutionary hypotheses and specific predictions derived from these hypotheses. Furthermore, Buss is comprehensive, balanced and precise when asserting theories and empirical substantiation from other major thinkers, viz., Trivers, Pinker, Bloom, Ridley, Symons, Williams, Mayr, Plomin, DeFries, etc.

Professor Buss has taken upon himself the formidable challenge of producing the first evolutionary psychology textbook, a milestone that is long overdue. In his endeavor he has succeeded magnificently. In 411 pages he manages a sterling job of covering the most important topics in evolutionary psychology, bringing to bear the most up to date literature in a simple to read yet academically compelling format. He begins with a complete and intelligent introduction to both evolutionary theory and the events leading to the development of an evolutionary psychology. Thereafter, he covers broad branches of human behavior - kin relations, cooperative relationships, warfare, aggression, status-seeking, parenting and, of course, human mating strategies. This last topic is covered in several different chapters and highlights the author¹s own valuable, ground-breaking work done in the area. His book provides a miraculous combination of both utterly fascinating and effortless reading, rare qualities in textbooks.No review can be complete without mention of a few blemishes, however minor and in this case it is particularly tempting to simply omit them entirely. However, Dr. Buss occasionally relies heavily, too heavily perhaps, on secondary or general sources of information (i.e., Dawkins, de Waal, Pinker) when more research oriented sources are available. No doubt this stems, at least in part, from the fact that there is simply not as much primary literature on the subject as one could hope for (at least where humans are concerned). This will undoubtedly be improved by the time the next edition rolls off the press. Too, one would greatly hope that future editions of this text might include a section on foraging/hunting and food adaptations since they are so fundamental to survival and because so many other primate species display overt and well-studied feeding adaptations.However, such minor details are utterly dwarfed by the magnitude, importance and quality of this work. The breadth, depth and timeliness of this textbook cannot be overstated. If you are planning on teaching an undergraduate course on evolutionary psychology or are simply interested in learning more about the subject, this is, without question, the most authoritative and comprehensive vehicle available, eclipsing even the extraordinary Adapted Mind.

'Dangerous Passion' written by David Buss is a nicely accessible work for the layperson interested in the topic of human sexual jealousy spun with a sociobiological take. Written to emphasize the 'battle of the sexes' in mating behavior, its central message fits in nicely with the goal of writing somewhat sensationalized popular science.

What is this message? It's that the fairly socially taboo emotion of jealousy is actually a desirable trait, perfectly natural, and proven to have been an evolutionary adaptation.

So what's new? Such an assertion has been a foregone conclusion amongst biologists for many, many years. Rather than a simple emotion that can be suppressed or un-learned (a lame, naive notion often posited by some members of the super-liberal new-age set), jealousy is actually an instinct. Like many other instincts, it has been selected for and gradually honed over the eons of mankind's development. Buss gets this point across in the book very adeptly.

Ultimately, however, this book slightly disappoints the reader who is seeking something a bit meatier, something that is able to proceed past that which has already been covered many, many times by many other books on human socio-sexual behavior. Rather than trying to be so much a cursory lesson on Sociobiology 101 with a rehash of all the new theories thrown in, 'Dangerous Passion' could have focused more on integrating sociobiological concepts with detailed observations and field work. When it does do this, it does it quite well. Particularly fascinating was the measured correlation between the likelihood of infidelity and the 'mate value' of different partners.

Still, I like how Buss cleanly gets his often-forgotten message across. I'd give it four stars as an introductory work; if Buss had just further explored similar findings and gone out on a limb more with the specifics of mating strategy, I would have given this book five stars.

David Buss's new book, The Dangerous Passion, explores the utterly fascinating topic of jealousy. Through a combination of captivating case studies, the results of intriguing research, and compelling insights from the field of evolutionary psychology, Buss conducts an absorbing and provocative examination of what is perhaps our darkest emotion. He is likely the most qualified person on the planet to write this book, having conducted research on jealousy for over a decade. The Dangerous Passion is an absorbing and insightful account of the crucial role jealousy plays in human relationships. Buss unlocks the secrets of jealousy, from its origins in the deep history of our species to its impact on modern relationships-good and bad. The Dangerous Passion is beautifully written and completely engaging. Anyone who has ever loved will see glimpses of themselves amid its pages. It should be required reading for scholars and anyone who desires a clearer understanding of love, loss, and the dangerous passion that binds them.

In his latest book, The Dangerous Passion, Dr. David M. Buss provides a clear and crisp overview of past and current research and thinking on jealousy, infidelity, and conflict in romantic relationships. In addition, Buss provides the reader with an introduction to the exciting new discipline of Evolutionary Psychology, and presents a powerful case for jealousy being the output of evolved mechanisms of the mind.

Buss's engaging writing style and broad coverage of a tremendous amount of fascinating research make this book an instant classic for anyone interested in relationships. Very few active researchers have the ability to descend the Ivory Tower and write in a way that sings to academics and non-academics alike. Buss is one of them.

This book should be on the shelf of anyone who studies romantic relationships, and will be delightful and informative reading for anyone who has been in a romantic relationship, is currently in a romantic relationship, or hopes to be in a romantic relationship.

This has got to be one of the most fascinating studies of human behavior and human sexuality written. Buss pulls out the dark secrets tucked away in the human psyche, such as the fact that people continue to engage in status display behavior and self-care even though they are married because they may trade up to a better quality mate. Isn't it amusing to know that when a designer label clad trophy wife strolls by other women with her husband, she is helping to signal the high status of the couple, which in turn makes her mate look attractive to potential mate poachers? That is a hilarious thought. What an intriguing book this is.

Like a reviewer below me says, this book mostly lends scientific credence to what everyone already knows: men and women generally pursue different reproductive strategies. Under evolutionary theory, this is because the two sexes have different reproductive biologies and roles. The many ramifications and implications are then explored.

This is a science book which builds the data platform for rather conventional (if often true) ideas. A minor gripe is that it relies too much on questionnaires and self-reporting (subject to lying and self-deception), though it also uses observed behavior (which is much more reliable). It's not nearly as interesting as the Bottings' book "Sex Appeal" -- in fact it's drained of much of the fascination we associate with this subject. And it's not extremely daring, so it doesn't probe to the depths like Ridley's "The Red Queen". It's less broad than Batten's "Sexual Strategies", with which it probably overlaps the most (though Batten has a distinctly feminist slant).

Still, it does a good job of making its case and laying things out clearly without pushing the idea too much farther than the data allow, though in some cases the lack of intelligent extrapolation seemed too conservative. The book is written at a level to be both readable by the neophyte in this area while also being informative to someone who's familiar with the topic. It might be a disappointment to those who want to believe in the "essential mystery" of love and attraction rather than that it's just biology. I agree with the reviewer who said we'd all probably be better off if the ideas presented in the book (or similar ones) had wider currency.

David M. Buss' Evolution of Desire is both brilliant and frustrating. The brilliance is that he has taken such a vast amount of data and managed to find some solid patterns in human mating behavior. The frustrating part is that the text borders slightly on both platitude and tautology. His main point is that males and females have different (and therefore incompatible) sexual strategies: men like variety, women like stability. This, however, has been known at least since the days of the Kinsey Report, and one might argue that it has been known for several thousand years. Buss also claims to explain sexuality by means of "evolutionary psychology." One might think that Buss is thereby challenging the behaviorists, the Skinnerians, by claiming that human behavior has a strong genetic (innate) factor, that the mind is not a tabula rasa at birth. But no, it turns out that that is not what Buss is saying. On the contrary, he believes that "human action is inexorably a mixture of both" (p. 17). Well, okay, that's fair enough. It would even be fair to say that present-day neurology is not sophisticated enough to separate the two. But if Buss is taking a stance that is neither "culture" nor "chromosome," then he is merely describing, not explaining. I am also leery of any book that ends by hitting the bull's eye with political correctness, which in 1994 (the book's pub date) was that fooling around is common and perhaps inevitable, but that a genuine and stable marriage is always the ideal (as opposed to the ten or twenty other political correctnesses of the late twentieth century). Having said all that, I do not mean to damn with faint praise by reiterating that the vast scope of his material makes the book both informative and entertaining. This book, like Matt Ridley's The Red Queen and Richard A. Posner's Sex and Reason, should by read by every serious student of human behavior.