Rating: 
Summary: Falls Short
Review: This topic is extremely complex and professor Low , in my opinion, falls short of further elucidating this field. It's breadth is impressive and stimulated me to pick up the book, however, it doesn't seem to be researched comprehensively. There were several significant omissions. For example, the "group selection muddle" is only a problem for biologists who fail to understand group selection. I admit, alot of prominent biologists don't get it, however, any valid review of the topic should reference David Wilson and Elliot Sober. Also, Low should add that Charles Darwin accepted group selection as an evolutionary mechanism. Another example involves the gender and war section. Again, Low knows more about this subject than most biologists, however, the field of military psychology encompasses more than Clauswitz and Keegan.
On the positive side, I believe professor Low handles the nature-nurture question well. Several sections were informative. Unless one is an expert in this area, they will certainly learn a few new things.
Rating: 
Summary: Why Sex Matters
Review: Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior, by Bobbi Low, is a must read for ANYONE interested in animal behavior, human or otherwise. This is an in depth look through the eyes of an evolutionary biologist at why our world is the way it is, and more importantly, why we humans are the way we are. With a thesis that could be subtitled: "Sex, Power and Resources," the book is principally about the ecology of sex differences - the conditions under which we predict male and female behavior to be more, and less, alike. Low points out (chapters 1-3) that [1] we seldom actually know the genetics of any trait, and [2] mostly what we do is ask: what strategies succeed reproductively in particular environments? In chapters 4-15 she offers a tour de force of the selective pressures that have created the complex behavior of such a species as ours. The exploration of the evolutionary basis for our systems of mate selection, politics, war, cooperation, and resource accumulation make Why Sex Matters such an important book. This book is highly readable, with dozens of tales, quotes and legends that help tie it to the heart of the human condition, but its strength is in leaving myth behind and explaining behavior through the science of ecology. I found the book fascinating and will gladly place it on the same shelf as E.O.Wilson's, On Human Nature, Richard Dawkin's, The Blind Watchmaker, and Jared Diamond's, Guns, Germs & Steel. Thane Maynard, Director of Education, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
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