Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking -- the purely biological side of parenting
Review: I bought this book while pregnant with my daughter. Granted, I'm a scientifically-minded person. But I found it strangely comforting and thought-provoking to understand which behaviors are common across primates and which behaviors are socially driven. Some of it was of the forehead-slapping, that's-so-obvious-now-that-you-say-it variety such as her discussions of teenagers refusing to do their chores regardless of species. Some of it was more troubling, particularly sections concerning parents in extremely difficult situations and the resultant impact on their children.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: I found this to be a transforming book, one which consolidated disparate and conflicting lines of theory and research. As a developmental psychologist working in the area of family development, I felt that Hrdy managed to coherently (and in an entertaining and readable fashion, contrary to what some may think) pull together issues about motherhood, coparenting, social support, and context effects into an overriding argument for individual adaptiveness into multiple contexts, with eventual effects on reproductive fitness. Some of Hrdy's theses, however, may anger readers who mistake explanation for justification. This book will be an integral part of future seminars on family, parenting, and motherhood.
Rating: 
Summary: A good piece of feminist theory
Review: I have to confess, I've only gotten about 100 pages into the book, I am starting to choke on it, and I can't go any further. Hrdy definitely has an agenda and she seems to want to sledgehammer the square facts into round holes. I am sure there is lots to be learned about human behaviour from langur monkeys but any great leaps should be done carefully and with a great deal of caution. Hrdy takes it on faith that monkey behaviour can easily be extrapolated into human behavior. I love debunking, but only when it is supported by solid facts and good logic. Hrdy proposes that females want to provide quality care for infants and children whereas the males are looking for quantity. She then moves to the primate world and uses examples of monkey infanticide, etc to provide an evolutionary justification to support her thesis. She says that maternal self sacrifice is rare except in older mothers. Not being a primatologist, I have to take that on faith. The work comes off as if primatology was a branch of feminist theory. The facts seem to have been sought out to support a preconceived gameplan. So far she hasn't been too keen on pointing out exceptions to her examples. It's so cut and dry as she presents here case that it leaves me uneasy. Aren't their primatology peers that disagree with her? In good books of this nature one can often detect an internal argument going on, so far none here. The subject of the book is one that could be interesting but the internal dogmatics get in the way. Had it been advertised as a good piece of feminist theory, I might have been kinder to it. As science it is suspect.
Rating: 
Summary: Evolutionary Psychology with a Feminist Slant
Review: I liked this book. Books such as Pinker's How the Mind Works and Ridley's Origins of Virtue cover some of the same ground, but Hrdy focuses on some issues that are more from a woman's point of view. It is a welcome addition to what is out there. Everyone has a worldview that informs their interpretation of the evidence. Ridley seems to have a libertarian take on human evolution. Stephen Jay Gould seems to come at things from a more leftist angle. With Daniel Dennett, you get memes; with Pinker, you get a great critique of memes. Hrdy's ideas are often just as speculative as the next theorist's, but her more feminist take is refreshing. For example, the idea that perhaps the childcare offered by grandmothers has had an impact on the human lifespan is reasonably well argued and as plausible as man the hunter. She is not as gifted a writer as Pinker, but the book reads well and the perspective is worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Mother Nature--
Review: I recently attended one of lectures during Sarah Hrdy's book tour, and I was captivated! Sarah's writing and lecture style enabled this weekend anthropologist to easily understand complex issues on human nature. Sarah's breadth of knowledge, combined with her extensive studies around the world, makes for a very interested read. If animal behavior and human nature interest you, you will definitely want to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A mother of a book
Review: In a word - terrific. Hrdy shows how one can write a book from a feminist perspective and also maintain a hard-headed scientific approach. The science is accurate and cutting edge, the scope impressive, and the writing superb. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Acknowledgeing Alternative Lives
Review: It was not the main point of the book, but it impressed me deeply that Hrdy could theorize, toward the end of her book, the existence of alternative lives, lives suppressed by our own. Ever since I experienced two abortions within six months, I have known the flesh and blood truth that abortions can allow human life to come into existence as surely as pregnancy can thwart it. That second fetal life could never have come into being without that first abortion. Finally, I have read a book that explains the ancient heritage of my fierce love for my children and why I have always known the concept of unconditional love to be a fiction. An incredible book. Just what I have longed for all these years I've read every anthropology book I could get my hands on.
Rating:
Summary: Factual, yet personal
Review: It's odd that some reviewers see this as an example of a feminist ignoring and bending facts to support feminist theory. I thought the author presented quite strong criticisms of feminism (for example, feminist claims that nursing is a socially constructed activity). In addition, one of the main points I took away from the book was decidedly UN-feminist: that male humans have been genetically selected to be LESS inclined to care for children than women are, because they can't be certain that any given child is really theirs. In contrast, since a woman knows that her child really is her child, she is MORE biologically inclined to care for it (depending on the circumstances, as Hrdy goes into at length). It did seem that Hrdy was herself not pleased with this conclusion, but discussed the issue at length nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Mother Nature
Review: Ms. Hrdy's book should be required reading for all parents and alloparents. She uses inter-species and inter-temporal comparisons in a refreshing look at parents and infants. Mother Nature was written for a general audience, but is densely packed with scientific references.
Rating:
Summary: BUYER BEWARE
Review: Please BEWARE that Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has two books that appear to be different ones, but are actually the same book! These are "Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species" and "Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection." Although they have different TITLES, covers, and ISBN numbers, they are the same book.
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