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Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence Hardcover – October 1, 1996

by Richard Wrangham (Author), Dale Peterson (Author)

52 customer reviews

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The author draws on the latest discoveries about human evolution to examine whether violence among men is a product of their primitive heritage, and searches for solutions to the perennial problems of war, rape, and murder.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you harbor a sneaking suspicion that men are a herd of ignoble savages, then this book is for you. Authors Wrangham and Peterson will confirm your instincts. It turns out that hyperviolent social behavior is deeply rooted in male human genes and common among our closest male primate relatives. Rapes, beatings and killings are as much a part of life among the great apes as they are among us. The authors try to conclude on some upbeat notes that ring hollow, but their science reveals much about the dark side of human nature.

From Publishers Weekly

Contradicting the common belief that chimpanzees in the wild are gentle creatures, Harvard anthropologist Wrangham and science writer Peterson have witnessed, since 1971, male African chimpanzees carry out rape, border raids, brutal beatings and warfare among rival territorial gangs. In a startling, beautifully written, riveting, provocative inquiry, they suggest that chimpanzee-like violence preceded and paved the way for human warfare?which would make modern humans the dazed survivors of a continuous, five-million-year habit of lethal aggression. They buttress their thesis with an examination of the ubiquitous rape among orangutans, gorilla infanticide and male-initiated violence and hyenas' territorial feuds, drawing parallels to the lethal raiding among the Yanomamo people of Brazil's Amazon forests and other so-called primitive tribes, as well as to modern "civilized" mass slaughter. In their analysis, patriotism ("stripped to its essence... male defense of the community") breeds aggression, yet, from an evolutionary standpoint, they reject the presumed inevitability of male violence and male dominance over women.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Hardcover: 350 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Later Printing edition (October 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0395877431
ISBN-13: 978-0747532330
ASIN: 0395690013
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 52 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #575,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #84 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Animals > Apes & Monkeys
- #3877 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Biology
- #4490 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > General

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Customer reviews

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The books was amazing it had me hooked from the opening pages

July 25, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The books was amazing it had me hooked from the opening pages. It gave valuable insight to what we are as humans and how violence is part of our inherent nature. I think using this research further evaluation is PSTD of all types should be looked at again.

2 people found this helpful

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Enough monkeying around, lets talk theory

January 21, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I originally purchased this book after reading Richard Wrangham's "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human" and was so impressed with the overall experience that i had to explore "Demonic Males." As a person interested in human evolution and how things could be possibly led to where we are now, this book immediately sparked my interest in two ways, our human evolution and its possible explanation that makes us so prone to violence. I enjoyed the authors stories of bringing in the different kinds of great apes and also other species of animals and how their culture and lifestyles effect them. How violence is expressed and tolerated amongst these different great apes. At first, this book may seem to be all doom and gloom but the book has a buildup of a possible future where we can break through the chains of violence and live peacefully amongst ourselves and others like different species of animals do. Overall, this was a fantastic read and i would encourage forward thinkers to absorb some of this material. I am definitely looking forward to reading some more of Mr. Wrangham's work.

5 people found this helpful

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This is not for evolutionary psychologists

April 4, 2001

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Critiquing this book from the vantage point of evolutionary psychology is like a present day aeronautical engineer critiquing the feasibility of DaVinci's helicopter specs. This is a popular book that makes a very important speculation about the possible origins of human violence. None of the negative reviewers mention the important and politically impartial hypothesis put forward by the authors that ape communities with abundant resources are less violent than those with limited resources. Also, there is nothing wrong with the feminist community rallying around this book. This book isn't about taking away male power, it is about mitigating all violence.

35 people found this helpful

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Well, ordering it got me mansplained by the seller

September 10, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Although, the SELLER contacted me DIRECTLY to my PERSONAL EMAIL with this note:
Hi E Laren, I am contacting you because I am curious why you decided to order the Demonic Males book. Is it assigned reading for a class? Leisure? I ask because I found Demonic Males to be best taken with a grain of salt. The author makes some compelling arguments about the origin of human violence by using comparative behavioral studies between humans and other apes in order to draw a biological connection. Please note that a complex behavior such as violence cannot be simply boiled down to biology or genetics, and that comparing human behavior and chimpanzee behavior is often times misleading. These comparisons do not tell us much about the "origins" of anything, for we did not evolve from chimps, we evolved WITH them. Also, the notion of "nature vs nurture" is false because they act together. The potential for aggression in any animal may have a root in biology, but it does not make that behavior inevitable. An individual's tendency for violence is influenced by many circumstances, not just biological ones. Environmental and cultural influences are important for stimulating aggression. Some forms of violence exist in every culture, varying in frequency depending on the society. The book makes it sound like violence in human society is inevitable, but not all societies share the same fights over power. Sorry I went on this rant, I just wanted to make sure that this book does not get taken too seriously as factual science, but rather a comparative inter-species study with very debatable ways of interpreting the "evidence." Have a good day!
Which I found to be extremely inappropriate and against Amazon's own policies for sellers. However, I have been unable to notify Amazon of this egregious violation due to their extremely unhelpful "customer 'service' ." I wrote on their facebook page and am including the seller's email here unedited in hopes that no one will ever order from them again.

11 people found this helpful

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Good Review of Ape Literature

October 7, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book may change your mind about your friends and family. It is not user friendly but rather a wake up call. If we are better it is time to prove it.

3 people found this helpful

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Wrangham nails it

January 17, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Another great book by Richard Wrangham. Wrangham translates the language of ethology for the masses to tackle an age-old question. There were a couple places where I found myself doubting Wrangham's logic, though, on the whole, it is exceptional. Couldn't put the book down!

3 people found this helpful

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James G. Dangelo

my favorite book on human evolution

December 4, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I taught evolution for two years in new york city. I have studied it all my life. This is, hands down, my favorite book on human evolution, and a close second is Wrangham's other book Cooking Fire.

One person found this helpful

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