Psychologist Geoffrey Miller takes on Darwin's long ignored theory of sexual selection and gives it new life. In this book written for the general audience he uses the theory to explain all that natural selection could not and does it in a way that is most entertaining. According to Miller, all those qualities that animals and humans possess that do not give them an obvious survival benefit will only continue in future generations if they provide a reproductive advantage. The author gives several examples from the animal world as well as the human world to explain bird song,insect dance, peacock tails,and human physical traits as well as behavior.Miller claims we are attracted to beauty, youth and energy because people possesing these qualities are more likely to be fertile and have healthier offspring. Creativity,humor,athletic ability,and intelligence were all traits selected as desirable in males by African females long ago and that is why these qualities are with us today.According to Miller, we do it all for love and those animals that perform well and/or look healthy will be judged the fittest and will most likely be chosen to pass on their genes.I found most of Miller's ideas completely plausible and believe some of them testable. However, I am curious as to why human female adornment was not mentioned more. Overall The Mating Mind is a marvelous book. It explains human behavior so obviously you will kicking yourself for not figuring it out yourself. Kimberly Caldwell Evolutionary Psychologist in the Making :)

In this extraordinary new book, "The Mating Mind: How Sexual Selection Shaped Human Nature", Dr. Geoffrey Miller manages to present an argument that is both clear to the non-specialist reader and insightful for the ones that interested in the theoretical venues opened by Darwinianism. Going back to Darwin's notion of sexual selection, Dr. Miller demonstrates how intelligence, creation, and exhuberance, among many other qualities are necessary traits for cranking up the wheel of life. With a remarkable array of examples, with superb sense of humor, "The Mating Mind" brings sexual selection and all the displays that allow femeale choice in the nature world to the foreground of our understanding of the natural and the human worlds. Now, the idea of sexual selection, not the mere survival suggested by natural selection, becomes the golden child of Darwinianism. This is a book to be read with care and enthusiasm.

Science at its best: explaining much with few assuptions. This is a book about sexual selection: how all humans show off to tell others they have good genes. Contrary to natural selection, sexual selection explains things like telling stories, playing sports, writing books, pursuing scientific careers, struggling for financial success. Women try to persuade men they are young and fertile, and men - that they are intelligent enough to provide women with needed support. That is why we buy too many cars, waste money in expensive restaurants, possess yachts not having time to enjoy them and build 1000-feet buildings to have our headquarters there. All those strange things intelectuals sweared unexplainable are easily understood. Of course, evolutionary psychology and sexual selection are still developing, and majority of hypotheses in this book are not yet well established or proved, but they simply can't be wrong. As with publishing of 'The Origin of Species' every open-minded person is struck with obviousness and power of this theory. ...Maybe not so, because as Miller admits he is only bringing us back Darwin's theory of human nature outlined in his 'The Descent of Man'. Then people were not yet ready for the truth. Are we?