Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women (Hardcover)

~ Joe Quirk (Author)
Key Phrases: sapiens females, sapiens males, wife strategy, Mother Nature, San Francisco, Bitching Gene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wild Kingdom meets Dr. Ruth in Quirk's bawdy guide to species reproduction and the differences between men and women. Each topical chapter compares romantic relationships to sociological, biological, anthropological or zoological findings, all related in Quirk's off-the-cuff prose. The easy reading can be attributed to the fact that Quirk isn't a scientist, but a fiction writer with an interest in science and a knack for finding humor in explaining why people act the way they do. Chapter titles like "Why You're So Horny" and "Why You Like Spielberg more than T.S. Eliot" set the tone for Quirk's revelations on the purpose of body hair ("It's to stink ... Now we know why the French are so sexy"); promiscuity in the animal kingdom ("the faithful sex looks drab, and the slutty sex looks fab"); and art ("I look at Michelangelo's ceiling, and I see a gay man's erotic fantasies"). Men, Quirk writes, are "sperm spreaders" bent on spraying their worthless sperm as frequently and widely as possible, while women are "womb carriers" competing against one another to land the best sperm to fertilize a precious egg. Granted, Quirk's book is far from breaking new scientific ground, but his humorous touch (not to mention the chapter on penguin prostitution) make for a readable and off-beat treatise.
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Review

Sacramento Book Review, September 2008
“It’s Not You, It’s Biology is an excellent book for anyone who’s been in a relationship, currently in one, or considering starting to visit the dating scene.”

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (May 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762426802
• ISBN-13: 978-0762426805
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #498,329 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Genius, May 27, 2007

By	the wizard of uz (Studio City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

The best book on sexual evolutionary biology. Why both men and women seem to be on different planets. Hm... is there a catchier title?
Perhaps, but not a better book.

Unfortunately, despite his extensive bibliography, Joe Quirk (What the blazes kind of name is that for a scientific researcher? ) does not have a Phd. Neither is he buddies with Oprah, so I doubt this will top the besteller list.

Never mind. I've suffered through many academese imbued evolutionary snoozefests texts. This one will keep you wide awake, I promise.

What Quirk has is brilliance, and (gasp!) an ability to write. He must have had some alpha ancestors during the pleistocene era that could spin some awesome tales by the campfire.

Among The Table of Contents we find such gems as:

Chapter 9: The Jerk Gene
Chapter 12: Why Women are Coy, Men Clueless
Chapter 26: Free Love Causes War

And, for a smaple paragraph:

" Men are attracted to nubility and health. Women are attracted to nobility and wealth. Both want intelligence, kindness, and opulence.
Both want a good sense of humor. They'll need it. "


As will the reader.
An easy 5 stars.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally an answer to the lame Mars Venus book, June 11, 2006

By	M. Finnern (San Mateo, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Finally an answer to the lame stereotypes / conclusions based on anecdotal evidence of Men are from Mars ...
Give me the scientific facts and package it in a funny easy to read fashion. That's exactly what Joe did with this book.
On every other page it is like: Oh wow, that makes sense, or I never thought of it from a gene perspective. Very interesting.
Check it out, Mark.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and educating!, April 2, 2006

By	C. Budesilich (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one of the best examples of grounding real biological insight into the often humorous and more often confusing interations between the sexes. I found myself not being able to put it down, and people on my plane thought I was a little crazy for laughing so much.

A definate read!