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The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Rousseau was not the first, nor even the most naive..." (more)
Key Phrases: tangled wing, own morphine, New York, United States, Harvard University (more...)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"How wonderful to have a new Tangled Wing which incorporates the rich findings made in the last twenty years in the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology. We find the same graceful writing as in the original classic and the same facility to clarify complex issues and to come to stimulating conclusions."--Ernst Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
-- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 736 pages
Publisher: W. H. Freeman; Rev Sub edition (January 17, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0716746026
ISBN-13: 978-0716746027
Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #597,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
Rousseau was not the first, nor even the most naive. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tangled wing, own morphine

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Harvard University, Oxford University, Kung San, Basic Books, New Guinea, University of Chicago, Cambridge University, Marjorie Shostak, Robert Sapolsky, Free Press, Jerome Kagan, Paul Ekman, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Scientific American, Walle Nauta, Blue Drifter, Margaret Mead, Nobel Prize, Princeton University, South American, Antonio Damasio, Barbara Smuts, John Bowlby

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

Return to Nisa by Marjorie Shostak on 9 pages
The Descent of Man (Penguin Classics) by Charles Darwin on 5 pages
Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species by Sarah Hrdy on 5 pages
Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison on page 351, page 508, and Back Matter
The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness by Antonio R. Damasio on page 181, page 502, and Back Matter

See all 100 books this book cites

76 books cite this book:

Cultivating Common Ground by Daniel S. Hanson on page 58, and Back Matter
The Ethical Primate by Mary Midgley on page 134, and Back Matter
The Good Father: On Men, Masculinity, and Life in the Family by Mark O'Connell in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
The Heart of Judgment: Practical Wisdom, Neuroscience, and Narrative by Leslie Paul Thiele on page 85, and Back Matter
Unsettled: An Anthropology of the Jews by Melvin Konner in Front Matter, and Back Matter

See all 76 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Becoming a Doctor by Melvin Konner

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Customer Reviews

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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, November 28, 2004

By	Peter Flom (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit (Paperback)

If you read only one book about human behavior, this should be it. If you read many books about human behavior, this should be one of them. Prof. Konner is wise, he is erudite, he is literate, and he is humane. Rather than take one-sided positions or air only politically correct view, Konner synthesizes a huge amount of information and comes to sensible conclusions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, May 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit (Paperback)

This is one of the best books on the subject I have ever read. While some of the technical material may become dated (or may have already become so) the overall tone and sense of the book are of enduring value. Briefly, Konner describes the way that our biology affects and constrains our spirit. The book is free of extremist positions, and has a great deal of wisdom in it

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential guide to human existence..with a preachy ending, August 21, 2007

By	Gordon C. McCarter (Albany, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit (Paperback)

I don't know how I managed to miss this one for so long (there was an earlier edition from the 1980's; this one is completely updated). Konner is a physician and anthropologist. He wrote this as an attempt "to show what an integration (of evolutionary psychology into the whole of social and behavioral sciences) might look like." It consists of an in-depth survey of the literature on the "science of human nature," and research into the biology of human "frailties" such as fear, lust, and love. He provides a very useful perspective as a cultural (?) anthropologist with great knowledge of the hunter-gatherer way of life and an understanding of the varieties of cultural expression. He frequently waxes poetic and uses substantial references to literature and the arts, of which I sometimes missed the point and which was prone to cause me to become distracted from the primary narrative as well. But give him credit for trying. Also, many chapters seemed to have no internal structure and felt like a random list of findings relevant to a subject. But I was extremely impressed with the impeccable referencing (accessed online), especially his personal recommendations for further reading.

What piqued me the most was his conclusion and final...tirade? His penultimate chapter starts with a tour of the dazzling new world created by the sequencing of the human genome but suddenly veers into a thorough and absolutely fact-based litany of why we are headed toward a Malthusian disaster if business continues as usual. He even updates Barrington Moore, Jr.'s targeting of "the attractive upper middle class mother, driving a station wagon full of happy sunburned children" (now it's an SUV and the kids are sunscreened) as the ultimate culprit in causing human misery. Several months ago I would have huzzah-ed him on and said "amen!" Now I'm not so sure of the utility of this exercise. I was actually personally offended by his statement that, "the deepest circle of hell certainly must be reserved for...'techno-optimists'." Such fools (as I) only have such hope because our homes are not yet "overwhelmed by floods, squatter populations, mafias, food shortages, electric grid failures, or epidemics."

For all the clear exposition of the causes of our potential annihilation he leaves a very scant image of our route toward salvation. Has he no imagination? Or is it just non-"academic" or Pollyanna-ish to try to envision how a successful human world might look? He only says, "It's a no-brainer: reduce population, reduce consumption, reduce pollution. That's it. Difficult? Too bad. Be grateful it's still possible. Ayres call it `God's last offer.' Take it or leave it." I think one could write a whole book in response to that....

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on Human Behavior
As a previous student of Dr. Konner and a student of Neuroscience and Psychology, I must say that over the years I have read many, many books on human behavior and this is the... Read more

Published on September 3, 2007 by mich2586

5.0 out of 5 stars Number one on my list
If I were asked to recommend only one book for everyone in the world to read, this would be the one. Read more

Published on May 26, 2007 by Jak Kornfilt

5.0 out of 5 stars Substance delievered...
I also reccomend, even more highly, Darwinian Happiness by Bjorn Grinde to gain critical knowledge of understanding your genes and improving overall quality of ife.

Published on June 13, 2004 by Brent Sykes

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite science book ever
Dr. Konner is just an awesome professor, with a great hilarious sense of humor and an intriguing way of wording things. Read more

Published on April 18, 2004 by emorykid

5.0 out of 5 stars an tentative review...
I've only just begun to read this book and I want to clear up a possible misunderstanding about it. This edition is a rewritten version of the earlier book by the same title... Read more

Published on October 1, 2003 by selfconscious

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Although somewhat repetative at times, this book is, overall, enlightening. Evidence from a broad range of scientific disciplines is displayed clearly, and the relationships and... Read more

Published on September 3, 2001 by jkp85

5.0 out of 5 stars I have read this book three times.....
I have read this book three times and am still find it just as thought provoking as the first time..It seems more relevant every day....in changing times...

Published on August 23, 1998

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