具体描述
Males are promiscuous and ferociously competitive. Females—both human and of other species—are naturally monogamous. That at least is what the study of sexual behavior after Darwin assumed, perhaps because it was written by men. Only in recent years has this version of events been challenged. Females, it has become clear, are remarkably promiscuous and have evolved an astonishing array of strategies, employed both before and after copulation, to determine exactly who will father their offspring.
Tim Birkhead reveals a wonderful world in which males and females vie with each other as they strive to maximize their reproductive success. Both sexes have evolved staggeringly sophisticated ways to get what they want—often at the expense of the other. He introduces us to fish whose first encounter locks them together for life in a perpetual sexual embrace; hermaphrodites who "joust" with their reproductive organs, each trying to inseminate the other without being inseminated; and tiny flies whose seminal fluid is so toxic that it not only destroys the sperm of rival males but eventually kills the female. He explores the long and tortuous road leading to our current state of knowledge, from Aristotle’s observations on chickens, to the first successful artificial insemination in the seventeenth century, to today’s ingenious molecular markers for assigning paternity. And he shows how much human behavior—from the wife-sharing habits of Inuit hunters to Charlie Chaplin’s paternity case—is influenced by sperm competition.
Lucidly written and lavishly illustrated, with a wealth of fascinating detail and vivid examples, Promiscuity is the ultimate guide to the battle of the sexes.
作者简介
Tim Birkhead is Professor of Behavioral Ecology at the University of Sheffield.
目录信息
Preface
1. Competition, Choice and Sexual Conflict
2. Paternity and Protection
3. Genitalia
4. Sperm, Ejaculates and Ova
5. Copulation, Insemination and Fertilization
6. Mechanisms of Sperm Competition and Sperm Choice
7. The Benefits of Polyandry
References
Bibliography
Appendix: Species mentioned in the text
Index
· · · · · · (收起)
读后感
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用户评价
这本小说简直是文字的盛宴，作者的叙事功力高超得令人咋舌。它并没有给我带来什么惊心动魄的冒险，反而像是一场在细腻情感迷宫中缓慢而优雅的漫步。情节的推进极其克制，每一个转折都像是精心计算过的，恰到好处地撩拨着读者的好奇心，却从不轻易满足。我尤其欣赏作者对人物内心世界的深度挖掘，那种潜藏在日常对话和微小动作之下的暗流涌动，被描绘得淋漓尽致。我仿佛能透过文字，触摸到角色们的每一次犹豫、每一次渴望。这本书的节奏把握得非常好，时而悠长舒缓，像夏日午后慵懒的微风拂过皮肤；时而又在不经意间投下一枚深水炸弹，让你猛地惊醒，开始反思自己对人际关系中“界限”的传统认知。读完合上书页时，留下的不是故事的结局，而是一种挥之不去的氛围感，一种对人性和复杂情感的深刻共鸣。它更像是一面镜子，映照出我们每个人在亲密关系中那些说不出口的、矛盾的、甚至有些混乱的真实想法。
评分这本书给我留下的最深刻印象是其对“时间感”的颠覆性处理。故事的线性时间感被不断打碎、重组，过去、现在和那些尚未发生的可能性交织在一起，形成了一种复调式的叙事效果。它不是那种一口气就能读完的畅快之作，反而更像是一件需要反复把玩、在不同光线下观察的艺术品。我特别喜欢作者对于场景的转场设计，常常是从一个极度私密的心灵场景，瞬间跳跃到一个广阔而疏离的公共空间，这种巨大的视角转换，有效地强化了人物的孤独感和疏离感。书中几乎没有传统意义上的“反派”或“英雄”，每个人都带着各自的复杂性与局限性存在着，他们的行为逻辑清晰可循，却又常常与主流期待相悖。这本书成功地描绘了一种现代都市生活中，人们在追求情感深度与保持自我完整性之间的永恒拉锯战，读完后，心中久久不能平静，思考良多。
评分如果说文学作品有其独特的“气味”，那么这本书散发出的就是一种混合了陈旧书页的墨香与雨后泥土的清新气息，复杂而迷人。它的结构极其松散，却又暗藏着精妙的内在逻辑，如同一个由无数细小珠子串联起来的项链，你得耐心沿着线索才能看到整体的华美。我花了很长时间才适应这种娓娓道来的叙事方式，它拒绝提供即时的快感，而是要求读者投入时间和心力去“品尝”。书中的场景描绘极为写实，尤其是对城市中那些被忽略的角落——比如深夜的咖啡馆、老旧公寓的走廊——那种光影的变幻和声音的层次感，都被捕捉得异常精准。我时常会停下来，反复阅读某几句话，不是因为它们有多么深刻的哲理，而是因为那种语言的密度和准确性，让人叹为观止。这本书成功地避开了所有老套的情节设置，它探讨的更多是关于“存在”和“连接”的哲学命题，只是用极其日常和去戏剧化的方式呈现出来，显得格外真实可信。
评分这是一部极其内敛、极其注重细节描摹的小说，它没有宏大的历史背景，也没有惊天动地的阴谋诡计，它的战场完全架设在人物的内心世界和他们之间微妙的互动场域上。作者的笔触如同摄影师手中的微距镜头，聚焦于那些最容易被我们忽略的瞬间：指尖的颤抖、眼神的短暂交错、一句未完成的问候。整本书的基调是沉静的，带着一丝不易察觉的忧郁底色，但这种忧郁并非消极，反而像是对生命复杂性和无常性的一种温柔接纳。阅读过程中，我感受到一种强烈的代入感，仿佛我不再是旁观者，而是成为了这个情感网络中的一个节点。书中对于环境的描述也十分到位，每一个空间，无论是光线昏暗的书房，还是熙熙攘攘的街道，都带有明确的情感指向性，成为角色心境的延伸。它更像是一部“关系研究”，探讨的不是简单的爱与不爱，而是关系是如何形成、如何演变，以及个体如何在这些关系中重新定义自我边界的艰辛过程。
评分坦白讲，这本书一开始读起来有些费劲，它的语言风格极其考究，甚至可以说是有些“咬文嚼字”，对于习惯了快节奏阅读的读者来说，可能会感到一丝压力。然而，一旦你沉下心来，开始跟随作者独特的韵律前行，你会发现其中蕴含着巨大的能量。它探讨的主题非常微妙，关乎个体如何在既定的社会规范下，定义和实践自己的情感自由。没有激烈的冲突爆发，一切都在一种近乎冷峻的客观叙述中展开，这种冷静反而制造出一种更强大的张力。作者似乎对人性中的那种“灰色地带”有着近乎迷恋的关注，不作道德评判，只是忠实地记录和呈现。书中的人物对话，更是精彩绝伦，充满了言外之意和未尽之意，每一次交流都像是一场高智商的交锋，你得自己去解读那些被刻意留白的句子。总而言之，这是一部需要读者投入“心力”去共同完成的作品，它提供的远超故事本身，是一种智力上的挑战与满足。
评分This book would be highly informative, in terms of sexual selection (or more specifically, sperm competition,) for non-majors in EEB, and it is also a delight to read.
评分This book would be highly informative, in terms of sexual selection (or more specifically, sperm competition,) for non-majors in EEB, and it is also a delight to read.
评分This book would be highly informative, in terms of sexual selection (or more specifically, sperm competition,) for non-majors in EEB, and it is also a delight to read.
评分This book would be highly informative, in terms of sexual selection (or more specifically, sperm competition,) for non-majors in EEB, and it is also a delight to read.
评分This book would be highly informative, in terms of sexual selection (or more specifically, sperm competition,) for non-majors in EEB, and it is also a delight to read.
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