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Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "She died an agonizingly slow and painful death..." (more)
Key Phrases: human menses, bride barter, cryptic ovulation, Mother Nature, African Eve, Creative Explosion (more...)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book sets out to explore why and when people evolved so far away from other mammals in several key ways, all of which Dr. Shlain ties to the biological differences between men and women. As in his excellent prior work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (which holds that there are links between the ascendancy of patriarchy and written language and the descent of matriarchal societies and goddess-based religions), some of the concepts proposed in this book might seem a bit of a stretch. And they are—whether or not they turn out to be factual. Shlain contends, for instance, that women essentially invented the concept of time due to their experience of menses. Whatever conclusions the reader comes to, the author exposes the underlying gender biases in so many scientific assumptions; the result is one of those books that cannot help but alter one's perceptions. A consistently engaging writer, Shlain traces the course of his own evolving ideas with what might be called a didactic wit: bold statements are first writ large, then Dr. Shlain reveals how he came upon them, frequently with colorful anecdotes that show these are questions he's been wrestling with for many years. It's difficult to tell whether this fascinating thinker will be viewed as the next Darwin or as a crank, but there's no denying this is an audacious work in the realm of evolutionary biology. --Mike McGonigal


From Booklist

Shlain makes brilliant use of his medical expertise in his highly original and intellectually stimulating inquiry into human sexuality and its role in the shaping of civilization that he launched so boldly in The Alphabet versus the Goddess (1998). Here he takes an evolutionary approach to solving the conundrums of misogyny and patriarchy, guiding his curious, perhaps skeptical, certainly riveted readers through well-grounded and intriguing speculations about the purpose of such seemingly impractical, even dangerous traits as bipedalism, menstruation, the perils of childbirth, and the helplessness of infants. Shlain's reflections on human nutrition and women's greater need for iron lead to a fascinating theory about courtship and hunting, which, in turn, generates the hypothesis that the evolution of language was sparked by the delicacy of sexual negotiation. And menses, this daring thinker believes, may well be the source of our perception of time and our unique ability to conceive of and plan for the future. Lucid and compelling, Shlain asks startling and crucial questions about human nature and presents truly imaginative and mind-stretching answers. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st ed edition (August 14, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670032336
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670032334
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #612,233 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Leonard Shlain
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
She died an agonizingly slow and painful death. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
human menses, bride barter, cryptic ovulation, human female orgasm, sentinel behavior, ancestral women, other female mammals, ancestral woman, reproductive physiologists, bipedal primate, social predators, hominid line, ancestral humans, anovulatory cycles
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mother Nature, African Eve, Creative Explosion, Unknown Mother, Original Choice, United States, Kung San, Nobel Prize, Jane Goodall, Jared Diamond, Michael Crawford, Oscar Wilde, South Pacific, Theory of Eights, Ice Age Europe, Lake Victoria
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Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution
83% buy the item featured on this page:
Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution 3.9 out of 5 stars (51)
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The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (Compass) 3.9 out of 5 stars (160)
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Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light (P.S.)
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Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light (P.S.) 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews
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 (24)
4 star:
 (11)
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 (5)
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 (8)
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Old Record Holder Displaced!, January 26, 2004
By Bainbridge Bob (Bainbridge Island, WA) - See all my reviews
For 25 years, "A Pattern Language" (C. Alexander, et al) has occupied first place in my "Most Human Wisdom In a Book Cover" category. Leonard Shlain's "Sex, Time, and Power" has just replaced it. Surely, even amongst the well educated, the relationship between men and women holds more misunderstanding than any other human endeavor. Dr. Shlain's insightful study sheds more light into this thorny area than the sum of all other similar books I have read. Although the writing style is personal and humerous, this book is a relatively slow read due to the sheer density of ideas presented and quantity of supporting documentation supplied. Every time I loan out this book, it proves very difficult to get back. It is a slooow read that borrowers do not want to relinquish until they have finished. After a few weeks rumination time, I find them asking me if the book is available again. Get your own copy! Anyone trying to make sense of "The Urge to Merge" will find themselves returning to this fertile well of ideas again and again.
As a related aside, attending a book store talk given by Dr. Shlain, I found him to be every bit an excellent speaker as he is an excellent writer. If given the chance to hear him speak, don't miss it!
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37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting ideas, some incorrect facts, October 21, 2004
By James G. Driscoll (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution (Paperback)
While at least one central premise of the book - that women lose iron through a variety of ways, and this binds them to men in a hunter/gatherer society, is at least new to me and stands up well to scrutiny, there were numerous other factual errors in the book, as well as completely unfounded conclusions. After spotting about the sixth obvious factual error, I was forced to start taking the rest of the book far less seriously - after all, if I could spot that many, how many had I missed?

In addition to some of the other errors cited by other reviewers here, one that stood out that hasn't been yet mentioned was the author's contention that only mammals have a functional memory (even fish have been demonstrated to have memory, as any aquarium keeper will tell you). Among the authors dubious conclusions are that ancient female humans (which he calls gynosapiens) developed a detailed sense of time before the male - which is certainly not proven, or even suggested, by any of the evidence he presents.

Overall, the book made me very frustrated. It could have been such a good, good book. Instead, it was merely somewhat interesting, and not at all credible.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Starts out OK but then devolves into mistaken fantasy, April 26, 2007
By Martian Bachelor (Feminacentric America) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution (Paperback)
Shlain is a quite knowledgable physiologist and has several interesting observations to make about the subject, especially with regard to iron metabolism and some perplexing aspects he's noted relating to humans versus other animals. This material occupies roughly the first third or 40% of the book, and it's worth reading. Interesting stuff, and potentially very important in piecing together how human evolution went.

The problems arise when the author then seeks to do this by applying evolutionary principles in building a model of how these physiological properties came about. In short, his understanding of evolution seems quite dated and just plain inapplicable -- one is tempted to be harsh and use words like 'rudimentary' or 'amateurish'. Specifically, he keeps referring to *group* selection, using terminology such as "what's good for the species", mixing it up with the more currently accepted idea that selection takes place almost exclusively at the level of the individual or its closer kin. His use of questionable concepts in the situation he's trying to come to grips with thus make his conclusions questionable (at best), and all the more so because he doesn't seem aware of his error/confusion, and thus he proceeds both boldy and blindly. He really would have benefited from teaming up with someone well-grounded in how evolution is really thought to work.

Shlain then compounds the error in the last third of the book or so by trying to create a complete scenario of human social evolution from the dim past (50-100 thousand years ago?) up through to about the invention of the first primitive nation states, but again uses grating pseudo-evolutionary sounding language about what "mother nature wants", with yet more appeals to what's good for the human species, while often confusing things by using specific hypothetical individuals as test particles in his thought experiments. I didn't find hardly any of this believable in the least, and since it's based on faulty evolutionary thinking it's almost certainly entirely wrong. Too bad, because the gloss of scientific and evolutionary credibility will cause many to take this part of the book as some definitive exposition on how it really was and draw unwarranted conclusions about human nature. One would love to see this book done right. 2 1/2 to 3 stars.
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than his preceding work, with fewer flaws and more ideas
Leonard Shlain's 1998 The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image stands as a really enlightening read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by mianfei

5.0 out of 5 stars MIND FORGING
Crystal clear, erudite, logical, surprising and entertaining writing.
Shlain is a genius. With three decades of extensive study and half a century's experience as a doctor,... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Vanessa M. Nowitzky

3.0 out of 5 stars Extremely thought provoking, but has many factual errors. Disorganized and annoying writing style.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it is extremely thought provoking and is in many ways worth the price and time spent reading it. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Barber

2.0 out of 5 stars Not well written
I felt that while this book had some interesting ideas, it was longer than it needed to be. He begins every chapter summarizing everything previous in the book and ends every... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Brandon M. Kelly

2.0 out of 5 stars one of those best sellers that was intended as such
I heard about this book from an interview with Shlain on NPR. The ideas he presents are compelling, but in places his arguments lack true depth. Read more
Published on September 13, 2007 by Sarah J. Fugate

4.0 out of 5 stars Innovative thinking for our time
I believe that to arrive at the correct answers, one needs to be asking the correct questions.

It is Shlain's ability to ask questions about how we have arrived at... Read more
Published on May 21, 2007 by G. Wendt

4.0 out of 5 stars Who knew a steak was so important?
Dr. Schlain has brought to our attention the key role of iron for women, not only for nutriton and survival, but for courtship and commitment. Read more
Published on April 19, 2007 by Arlene the Queen

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonard Schlain : a Panoramic Thinker
Leonard Schlain is a creative and panoramic thinker: very like a multi-tasking woman who must focus in the moment and simultaneously "see" the past and future. Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by Elaine T. Dolan

1.0 out of 5 stars ATTACK OF THE VENGEFUL VAGINA! Leonard Shlain confronts his arch-nemesis
Leonard Shlain's Sex, Time and Power, is a treatise for the men's "movement" that itself was created by academia and the media as part of a backlash against the challenges of... Read more
Published on December 13, 2006 by Amanda Mcswain

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite
Shlain's writing is dense with information and intense thought as well as being extremely elegant and humorous. Read more
Published on July 21, 2006 by Victoria E. Lansford

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Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution

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