Sex and Friendship in Baboons [Paperback]

Barbara B. Smuts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0674802756 | ISBN-13: 978-0674802759

This work analyzes male-female relationships outside the context of mating in a troop of wild baboons. Barbara Smuts used long-term friendships between males and females, documented over a two-year period, to show how social interactions between members of friendly pairs differed from those of other troop mates, Her findings, now enhanced by 15 years of field studies, suggest that the evolution of male reproductive strategies in baboons can only be understood by considering the relationship between sex and friendship: female baboons prefer to mate with males who have previously engaged in friendly interaction with them and their offspring. Smuts suggests that female choice may promote male investment in other species, and she explores the relevance of her findings for the evolution of male-female relationships in humans.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the first edition:
[Smuts] provides the reader with a vivid description of her own mental processes in carrying out the project--from the formulation of the initial questions, to the design of the data collection protocol, to the objective definition of friendship, to the moments when she gained insights from particular incidents in the field and used them to create or refine hypotheses, and finally to the analysis and interpretation [conveying] to the reader both the richness of everyday exchanges between male and female baboons and a feel for the intellectual experience of fieldwork. (C. M. Berman Animal Behaviour )

From the Back Cover

Praise for the first edition:[Smuts] provides the reader with a vivid description of her own mental processes in carrying out the project-from the formulation of the initial questions, to the design of the data collection protocol, to the objective definition of friendship, to the moments when she gained insights from particular incidents in the field and used them to create or refine hypotheses, and finally to the analysis and interpretation [conveying] to the reader both the richness of everyday exchanges between male and female baboons and a feel for the intellectual experience of fieldwork.-C. M. Berman, Animal Behavior

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (December 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674802756
• ISBN-13: 978-0674802759
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,979,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent July 19, 2001

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

In this marvelous book Smuts draws from years of painstaking field research in which she followed around a flange of chacma baboons in the Mateti Game Park in Zimbabwe. Her findings inspired the plot of When Harry Met Sally.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The only guide December 11, 2002

By magellan HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Despite the title, I'd prefer to have sex and friendship outside of a baboon, but for those brave enough to try, this book is an indispensable guide.

As the great Groucho Marx once said, "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, of course, it's too dark to read." And I might add--sex and friendship too.