Dr Sapolsky is a neuroendocrinologist who has spent a portion of every year in Africa, observing primate behaviour, for the past two decades. He is also an engaging writer - or, to quote the great Oliver Sacks, "one of the best science writers of our time", and he should know.
In this collection of essays Sapolsky discusses primate and human behaviour (often tying both together), and the biological whys of what we do. From hard-wired biological contributions to sexual orientation ("How big's yours?") and the impact of puberty on the composition of primate groups ("The young and the reckless"), through how age affects social positioning ("The graying of the troop") and the loss of identity ("The dissolution of ego boundaries and the fit of my father's shirt"), to the innate desire to gossip and to witness accidents ("Primate peekaboo") to obsessive-compulsivity as a key component of religion ("Circling the blanket for God"), every chapter is challenging, thought provoking and accessible.
While reading the final chapter ("Circling the blanket") my memory was irritatingly itched by the half-remembered plot of an SF novel I read about ten years ago that I thought tied Sapolsky's discussion of OCD and religious scrupulousness together beautifully - and then he referenced Orson Scott Card's Xenocide himself, which was an amazing moment for me, because I am indeed that sad! In fact I want to write to Dr Sapolsky and tell him about another novel (The House of Stairs by William Sleator) that explores conditioning superstitious behaviour in a group of teens.
I've read a couple of Sapolsky's other collections (expect reviews of rereads of A Primate's Memoir, Monkeyluv, and Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers in the coming months), and he never fails to deliver. - Alex
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