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Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation
A sex guide for all living things and a hilarious natural history in the form of letters to and answers from the preeminent sexpert in all creation.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation is a unique guidebook to sex. It reveals, for example, when necrophilia is acceptable and who should commit bestiality with whom. It discloses the best time to have a sex change, how to have a virgin birth, and when to eat your lover. It also advises on more mundane matters -- such as male pregnancy and the joys of a detachable penis.
Entertaining, funny, and marvelously illuminating, the book comprises letters from all creatures worried about their bizarre sex lives to the wise Dr. Tatiana, the only sex columnist in creation with a prodigious knowledge of evolutionary biology. Fusing natural history with advice to the lovelorn, blending wit and rigor, she is able to reassure her anxious correspondents that although the acts they describe might sound appalling and unnatural, they are all perfectly normal -- so long as you are not a human. In the process, she explains the science behind it all, from Darwin's theory of sexual selection to why sexual reproduction exists at all. Applying human standards to the natural world, in the end she reveals the wonders of both.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation is a unique guidebook to sex. It reveals, for example, when necrophilia is acceptable and who should commit bestiality with whom. It discloses the best time to have a sex change, how to have a virgin birth, and when to eat your lover. It also advises on more mundane matters -- such as male pregnancy and the joys of a detachable penis.
Entertaining, funny, and marvelously illuminating, the book comprises letters from all creatures worried about their bizarre sex lives to the wise Dr. Tatiana, the only sex columnist in creation with a prodigious knowledge of evolutionary biology. Fusing natural history with advice to the lovelorn, blending wit and rigor, she is able to reassure her anxious correspondents that although the acts they describe might sound appalling and unnatural, they are all perfectly normal -- so long as you are not a human. In the process, she explains the science behind it all, from Darwin's theory of sexual selection to why sexual reproduction exists at all. Applying human standards to the natural world, in the end she reveals the wonders of both.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published August 14, 2002
261 people are currently reading
4,677 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Judson
22books43followersOlivia Judson (born 1970) is an evolutionary biologist at Imperial College London. Judson, who is the daughter of science historian Horace Freeland Judson, was a pupil of W.D. Hamilton. She graduated from Stanford University, gained a doctorate from Oxford, and worked for some time as a journalist before becoming a research fellow at Imperial College London.
She has written one book, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. Written in the style of a sex-advice column to animals, the book details the variety of sexual practices in the natural world and provides the reader with an overview of the evolutionary biology of sex. The book was a critical success and an international best-seller and was nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2003.
-Wikipedia
She has written one book, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. Written in the style of a sex-advice column to animals, the book details the variety of sexual practices in the natural world and provides the reader with an overview of the evolutionary biology of sex. The book was a critical success and an international best-seller and was nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2003.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 369 reviews
August 2, 2015
He comes home, just a little late, to a quiet house. As he opens the door, he can smell the Chinese takeout she had mentioned in her text message.
Dropping his bag, he turns into the dining room and stops short. Spread across the table, mixed in with the takeout cartons, are dozens of academic journals, along with notepads full of scrawled handwriting and hastily drawn figures. But what his eyes linger over are other things, like the empty caulking gun, the bathing cap, several rubber spatulas. And duct tape—of course, there's always duct tape. Lying on the floor are several large trash bags, some glistening with an oily sheen.
At the far end of the table he sees that his wife is smiling up at him with that childlike enthusiasm that so charmed him, years ago. The rest of the world is still enamored of his beautiful and brilliant wife, the famous animal sex researcher and journalist, and her impish grin. He alone understands there are burdens to bear that go along with genius.
"Hem. Uhm�ahem�", he starts to greet her, to ask how her day has been, but he is also trying gauge his risk, and consider whether he has any escape from her... enthusiasms. "—how are you?" He coughs, and spots the food, "Is the Chinese still hot?"
"Oh. No, but we can reheat it. But I was thinking of doing something special with it", her eyebrows rising. Considering the possibilities, he is astonished at the innocence of her smirk.
Hastily, he takes a half step back. "Oh, no—that's fine—I'm not very hungry, really". Thank goodness for the snacks at that afternoon meeting. He coughs again, a carefully measured cough, "I'm thinking of heading to bed early. There's a cold going around, and I want to curl up under the blankets. Maybe read for a bit."
"Oh, that's probably a good idea." She steps to him and hugs him warmly, "maybe a hot bath first?"
He almost shudders. He knows the dangers of the tub on an evening like this. He glances at the table. Is that buried under the bungee cords? He hasn't been in the jacuzzi since that night, months ago...
"No, uh, I'm not really feeling sick. Just a bit preemptive."
She smiles up at him. "As your personal doctor, I endorse that heartily. But reading in bed is a bad habit, you know." Giggling, she flicks off the dining room lights and takes his hand. "I've got a much better idea."
He briefly winces, suddenly trapped. Struggles for an excuse... anything.
But he's cut off. She leads him up the stairs, smiling over her shoulder. "I know exactly how to make sure you get a good night's sleep. I learned a trick from a tropical spider mite that I've been studying all afternoon." Too late, he spots the folded graph paper in her other hand and whimpers.
� � � �
Dropping his bag, he turns into the dining room and stops short. Spread across the table, mixed in with the takeout cartons, are dozens of academic journals, along with notepads full of scrawled handwriting and hastily drawn figures. But what his eyes linger over are other things, like the empty caulking gun, the bathing cap, several rubber spatulas. And duct tape—of course, there's always duct tape. Lying on the floor are several large trash bags, some glistening with an oily sheen.
At the far end of the table he sees that his wife is smiling up at him with that childlike enthusiasm that so charmed him, years ago. The rest of the world is still enamored of his beautiful and brilliant wife, the famous animal sex researcher and journalist, and her impish grin. He alone understands there are burdens to bear that go along with genius.
"Hem. Uhm�ahem�", he starts to greet her, to ask how her day has been, but he is also trying gauge his risk, and consider whether he has any escape from her... enthusiasms. "—how are you?" He coughs, and spots the food, "Is the Chinese still hot?"
"Oh. No, but we can reheat it. But I was thinking of doing something special with it", her eyebrows rising. Considering the possibilities, he is astonished at the innocence of her smirk.
Hastily, he takes a half step back. "Oh, no—that's fine—I'm not very hungry, really". Thank goodness for the snacks at that afternoon meeting. He coughs again, a carefully measured cough, "I'm thinking of heading to bed early. There's a cold going around, and I want to curl up under the blankets. Maybe read for a bit."
"Oh, that's probably a good idea." She steps to him and hugs him warmly, "maybe a hot bath first?"
He almost shudders. He knows the dangers of the tub on an evening like this. He glances at the table. Is that buried under the bungee cords? He hasn't been in the jacuzzi since that night, months ago...
"No, uh, I'm not really feeling sick. Just a bit preemptive."
She smiles up at him. "As your personal doctor, I endorse that heartily. But reading in bed is a bad habit, you know." Giggling, she flicks off the dining room lights and takes his hand. "I've got a much better idea."
He briefly winces, suddenly trapped. Struggles for an excuse... anything.
But he's cut off. She leads him up the stairs, smiling over her shoulder. "I know exactly how to make sure you get a good night's sleep. I learned a trick from a tropical spider mite that I've been studying all afternoon." Too late, he spots the folded graph paper in her other hand and whimpers.
� � � �
May 4, 2013
2.5 stars.
Sigh. This is the kind of book that I really want to like. It is jam-packed full of information about reproduction, biology, life cycles, etc. throughout all kinds of life forms (with an emphasis on insects, it seems). What's more: the references are extensive; every "column" has its own section in back where she cites each claim's source. I was impressed with the documentation and with the wealth of knowledge.
So why only 2.5 stars? There are a couple of reasons:
1. The format concept. It's written like an advice column in Cosmo or something. But the "answers" ramble on and on and she'll make disparate points in one "answer," it doesn't seem to gel together for me. Also it's a lot of the same kind of stuff over and over, and while there was some truly fascinating things in here, I feel like I'm going to forget most of this information within a week. There was nothing to make the separate pieces of information stick in my head, with few exceptions (which had more to do with shocking reality of things--like in the spotted hyena's case--than with her writing). I've read other books and articles that deal with similar topics and the writers manage to make the information novel enough and different enough to stay in my memory.
2. The tone of the book. Because it's written like a Cosmo column, the persistent "I'm super cool and sassy" delivery distracted me and got old pretty quickly. In this vein: she uses the word "slut," wonders if rape in the animal kingdom is really the result of females "asking for it," constantly uses the words "girls" and "boys" to describe mature animals engaging in reproductive sex... She anthropomorphizes a lot a lot a lot (which I don't have an issue with in itself, really, it just seems to make things more confusing in this case). She seems to think "radical feminists" hate men and want to destroy them. Which I found odd, since she's apparently a pretty smart scientist (degrees from Stanford, Oxford) and the vast majority of her acknowledgements go to males; you'd think she'd know better than anyone the challenges women face in the sciences. But maybe that's exactly the problem--maybe in order to make it that far she's had to ingratiate herself or something. Who knows? I don't. But I do know I didn't appreciate that aspect of it.
Sigh. This is the kind of book that I really want to like. It is jam-packed full of information about reproduction, biology, life cycles, etc. throughout all kinds of life forms (with an emphasis on insects, it seems). What's more: the references are extensive; every "column" has its own section in back where she cites each claim's source. I was impressed with the documentation and with the wealth of knowledge.
So why only 2.5 stars? There are a couple of reasons:
1. The format concept. It's written like an advice column in Cosmo or something. But the "answers" ramble on and on and she'll make disparate points in one "answer," it doesn't seem to gel together for me. Also it's a lot of the same kind of stuff over and over, and while there was some truly fascinating things in here, I feel like I'm going to forget most of this information within a week. There was nothing to make the separate pieces of information stick in my head, with few exceptions (which had more to do with shocking reality of things--like in the spotted hyena's case--than with her writing). I've read other books and articles that deal with similar topics and the writers manage to make the information novel enough and different enough to stay in my memory.
2. The tone of the book. Because it's written like a Cosmo column, the persistent "I'm super cool and sassy" delivery distracted me and got old pretty quickly. In this vein: she uses the word "slut," wonders if rape in the animal kingdom is really the result of females "asking for it," constantly uses the words "girls" and "boys" to describe mature animals engaging in reproductive sex... She anthropomorphizes a lot a lot a lot (which I don't have an issue with in itself, really, it just seems to make things more confusing in this case). She seems to think "radical feminists" hate men and want to destroy them. Which I found odd, since she's apparently a pretty smart scientist (degrees from Stanford, Oxford) and the vast majority of her acknowledgements go to males; you'd think she'd know better than anyone the challenges women face in the sciences. But maybe that's exactly the problem--maybe in order to make it that far she's had to ingratiate herself or something. Who knows? I don't. But I do know I didn't appreciate that aspect of it.
April 10, 2010
This exuberantly brilliant book never fails to remind me of one of the more obvious puzzles surrounding those who subscribe to strict creationism. You know, the people who actually believe that the Lord created the universe according to the seven-day timetable laid out in Genesis. Quite apart from the convoluted mental processes needed to accommodate such inconvenient evidence as the entire fossil record, (remember, these people would have us believe that humans and dinosaurs coexisted, Flintstone-like, in some kind of post-Genesis theme park), why would anyone choose such a parched, unimaginative view of the natural world when the reality is so much more glorious? Whether or not one believes in the existence of a divine entity at the back of it all, the fact is that the magnificent variation and huge diversity of evolutionary survival strategies that are explained by Darwin’s theory imply a universe that is infinitely more fascinating than the simplistic view of the strict creationists.
Olivia Judson’s “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation� provides a comprehensive, hugely readable, account of one of evolution’s most important aspects � sexual selection. Dr. Judson has chosen a particularly delightful conceit to enlighten and entertain her readers � the book is structured as a series of letters and answers, spanning the entire natural world, to the eponymous “agony aunt� of the title, Dr. Tatiana. From the opening letter from a golden potto in the Gabon who wonders why her boyfriend’s penis is covered in enormous spines to the scandalized primate in the Ivory Coast complaining about the slutty behavior of the female chimpanzees in the neighborhood, the vignettes presented in this book are informative, wide-ranging, hilariously funny � in a single word, awesome.
The book’s thirteen chapters are divided into three main sections:
Part I: Let Slip the Whores of War
1. A Sketch of the Battlefield
2. The Expense is Damnable
3. Fruits of Knowledge
4. Swords or Pistols
5. How to Win Even if You’re a Loser
Part II: The Evolution of Depravity
6. How to Make Love to a Cannibal
7. Crimes of Passion
8. Hell Hath no Fury
9. Aphrodisiacs, Love Potions, and Other Recipes from Cupid’s Kitchen
10. Till Death Do us Part
Part III: Are Men Necessary? Usually, But Not Always
11. The Fornications of Kings
12. Eve’s Testicles
13. Wholly Virgin
This is definitely on my top 5 list of science books published within the last decade. It is funny, imaginative, informative and hugely entertaining.
So much so that one is forced to break out the most repulsive of reviewer cliches - Dr Judson's accomplishment represents a true tour de force.
Olivia Judson’s “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation� provides a comprehensive, hugely readable, account of one of evolution’s most important aspects � sexual selection. Dr. Judson has chosen a particularly delightful conceit to enlighten and entertain her readers � the book is structured as a series of letters and answers, spanning the entire natural world, to the eponymous “agony aunt� of the title, Dr. Tatiana. From the opening letter from a golden potto in the Gabon who wonders why her boyfriend’s penis is covered in enormous spines to the scandalized primate in the Ivory Coast complaining about the slutty behavior of the female chimpanzees in the neighborhood, the vignettes presented in this book are informative, wide-ranging, hilariously funny � in a single word, awesome.
The book’s thirteen chapters are divided into three main sections:
Part I: Let Slip the Whores of War
1. A Sketch of the Battlefield
2. The Expense is Damnable
3. Fruits of Knowledge
4. Swords or Pistols
5. How to Win Even if You’re a Loser
Part II: The Evolution of Depravity
6. How to Make Love to a Cannibal
7. Crimes of Passion
8. Hell Hath no Fury
9. Aphrodisiacs, Love Potions, and Other Recipes from Cupid’s Kitchen
10. Till Death Do us Part
Part III: Are Men Necessary? Usually, But Not Always
11. The Fornications of Kings
12. Eve’s Testicles
13. Wholly Virgin
This is definitely on my top 5 list of science books published within the last decade. It is funny, imaginative, informative and hugely entertaining.
So much so that one is forced to break out the most repulsive of reviewer cliches - Dr Judson's accomplishment represents a true tour de force.
May 13, 2018
Evrimsel biyolojinin sex! başlığı altında her canlının "çoğalma" güdüsünün mizah tabanlı anlatısı olmuş.
Mektupların/ Anlatıların bir süre aynileşmeye başladığı biraz da yazıldığı coğrafyanın mizah kültürünün bilinmemesiyle sıkıcı hale gelmeye başlıyor.
Kütüphanede "değişik türler" kategorisinde yeri olabilir.
June 18, 2010
Judson's stylistic conceit -- various species writing to an advice column about their sex lives -- is clever and well-done, although it does get tired upon repetition. Her prose is lively and entertaining, remarkably so for what often boils down to biological studies of insects. What I really found invaluable about this book was her insistence that people look at real science rather than a few pseudo-scientific ideas that support various social standpoints. I wish I'd had this back when I lived in the Midwest and constantly had people telling me that women had to stay home with the kids because of "biological design." Buy this book and use it to hit people who try to tell you their bullshit bigotry is supported by scientific research.
February 10, 2021
Слегка неловкий нонфикшн про особенности сексуального поведения бактерий, животных и насекомых. Там, где National Geographic и прочий Дэвид Аттенборо � всё очень клево. Там, где проекция жучьей ебли на человеческий опыт � немножко кринж.
Во всем виновата стилистика: текст оформлен в виде ответов на письма “читателей� в журнал СПИД-Инфо. Ну там, типа, «привет, я � клещ Валера и меня тянет к своей сестре, это нормально?» и дальше глава об особенностях инцеста паукообразных с пассажами а-ля «все норм, у тебя мало рецессивных генов, можешь смело зажиматься в углу со своей кузиной. но ВОТ У ЛЮДЕЙ...».
В общем, содержание � вышак, а вот с формой очень бiдося.
Во всем виновата стилистика: текст оформлен в виде ответов на письма “читателей� в журнал СПИД-Инфо. Ну там, типа, «привет, я � клещ Валера и меня тянет к своей сестре, это нормально?» и дальше глава об особенностях инцеста паукообразных с пассажами а-ля «все норм, у тебя мало рецессивных генов, можешь смело зажиматься в углу со своей кузиной. но ВОТ У ЛЮДЕЙ...».
В общем, содержание � вышак, а вот с формой очень бiдося.
August 28, 2008
This is an excellent book about the the sexual habits of life (not just humans, but all life), examined from an evolutionary perspective. The material is whimsically presented as a collection of sex advice columns from Dr. Tatiana: think Dr. Ruth giving advice to insects and fish, reptiles and mammals. An example of a “letter� from one of her readers, early in the book:
“Dear Dr. Tatiana,
My boyfriend is the handsomest golden potto I ever saw. He's got beautiful golden fur on his back, creamy white fur on his belly, he smells delicious, and he has ever such dainty hands and feet. There's just one thing. Please Dr. Tatiana, why is his penis covered with enormous spines?�
Most of the book is focused on animal sexual behavior, but plants and even bacteria are both also touched on. In a remarkable way, the book deanthropomorphizes sex by first anthropomorphizing it, a tricky task to be sure. The writing is humorous, ribald, and highly intelligent. A wide range of topics and behaviors are covered, including such wide ranging mysteries as complex genitalia, promiscuity in both males and females, sperm competition, asexuality, cannibalism of mates, the strange and rare situation of monogamy, hermaphroditism, homosexuality, and incest. And while most of the book is focused on non-human sexual behavior, humans are not left out, with many of the chapters applying some of the factors to human sex and reproduction.
Having heard the author (Olivia Judson, a science writer/journalist with a PhD in evolutionary biology from Stanford) speak about the book a few months ago, I must admit that I also "read" the book in her British accent, something which may have added an extra touch of atmosphere. There is definitely a British sense of humor underlying much of the book.
Highly recommended!
“Dear Dr. Tatiana,
My boyfriend is the handsomest golden potto I ever saw. He's got beautiful golden fur on his back, creamy white fur on his belly, he smells delicious, and he has ever such dainty hands and feet. There's just one thing. Please Dr. Tatiana, why is his penis covered with enormous spines?�
Most of the book is focused on animal sexual behavior, but plants and even bacteria are both also touched on. In a remarkable way, the book deanthropomorphizes sex by first anthropomorphizing it, a tricky task to be sure. The writing is humorous, ribald, and highly intelligent. A wide range of topics and behaviors are covered, including such wide ranging mysteries as complex genitalia, promiscuity in both males and females, sperm competition, asexuality, cannibalism of mates, the strange and rare situation of monogamy, hermaphroditism, homosexuality, and incest. And while most of the book is focused on non-human sexual behavior, humans are not left out, with many of the chapters applying some of the factors to human sex and reproduction.
Having heard the author (Olivia Judson, a science writer/journalist with a PhD in evolutionary biology from Stanford) speak about the book a few months ago, I must admit that I also "read" the book in her British accent, something which may have added an extra touch of atmosphere. There is definitely a British sense of humor underlying much of the book.
Highly recommended!
November 26, 2012
If I tell you that this is a book about science, zoology, and aspects of evolution - some of you may immediately tune out and rush to click on to another page. Well then, it's a book about the sex lives of various creatures - oh let me just make it easier and give you some quotes, so you can see what sorts of questions Dr. Tatiana receives, and some of her answers. This will give you a better idea how the book is both humorous and completely weird. Not to mention hard to categorize.
And you now get the idea of what's going on in Piqued in Darien's ear. There are some details I cut purely for reasons of space - because the details and examples of various matings is what makes the book so fascinating.
Another example, this is part of an answer to a male stickleback whose eggs were stolen. Dr Tatiana brings up the male bowerbird, which also the gender that does the nest building, and has to deal with rivals messing with their nests.:
This example in particular so interested me that if someone had asked me (just after I'd read the page) to join an expedition to observe and take notes on bowerbirds over the next decade I would have probably signed on. (Especially if I'd managed to forget how many poisonous things are frolicking around Australia.) The book is full of such unique examples, pointing out similarities between species and theorizing as to why such behaviors and traits had helped species succeed in the big race to procreate.
I do have to add that the chapter on the praying mantis' habit of eating her husband is grim yet amusing. That would be Chapter 6: How to Make Love to a Cannibal. Because it's not just the mantis that tends to do this.
So this is science with a sense of humor, albeit sometimes a dark humor. There are end notes and a long bibliography should you want to find out more about any particular creature. (I'm trying not to look and find more to read about the bowerbird - I already have a huge To Read stack.) This is also a great book to pick up, read a chapter or two, and put down. I must admit that I've reread it a few times - but then I'm a bit of a zoology geek.
Pg. 176, from Chapter 11: The Fornications of Kings, in "Part III: Are Men Necessary? Usually, But Not Always."
"Dear Dr. Tatiana,
I'm a true armyworm moth, and I've gone deaf in one ear. I've read this is from having too much sex. Trouble is, I'm (sob) still a virgin. So what's happening to me?
---Piqued in Darien
Be assured, you have nothing to worry about. It's just that your inner ear is now hosting a torrid, incestuous orgy. ...What happened is that one evening when you stopped to sip nectar from a flower, a mite scrambled up your tongue as if it were a ladder. When she reached your face, she crawled through the tangle of your scales and hairs to the outer caverns of your ears... Then she stepped up to the delicate membrane...that screens off the inner ear from the outer ear, and she pierced it. In doing so, she destroyed forever your ability to hear with that ear.
After settling and and perhaps taking a light supper of - I'm afraid - your blood, she started to lay her eggs, about eighty in all. A couple of days later, the eggs hatched... First to emerge were the males of the brood; then came all their sisters. The males grew up faster than their sisters, prepared one of the innermost galleries of your ear as a bedchamber, carried their sister brides thence..."
And you now get the idea of what's going on in Piqued in Darien's ear. There are some details I cut purely for reasons of space - because the details and examples of various matings is what makes the book so fascinating.
Another example, this is part of an answer to a male stickleback whose eggs were stolen. Dr Tatiana brings up the male bowerbird, which also the gender that does the nest building, and has to deal with rivals messing with their nests.:
page 73, from Chapter 4: Swords or Pistols, in Part 1, Let Slip the Whores of War!
"...Because they are quite big, bowerbirds are easily able to monopolize fruit trees, scattering smaller birds out of their way. Thus, like aristocrats everywhere, most of these birds have lots of free time. And so, naturally, they have a hobby. It's art.
Male bowerbirds spent weeks building and decorating elaborate "bowers." Depending on the species, the bower could be anything from a clearing strewn artfully with leaves to huts more than four meters (thirteen feet) wide or towers more than three meters (ten feet) high, woven out of sticks, painted with juice from crushed fruits, and decorated with flowers, mushrooms, feathers, snakeskins, snail shells, butterfly wings, beetle heads - or anything else that catches the artist's eye. One scientist nearly had his camera stolen by a bowerbird who wanted to add it to his decor; another almost lost his socks. Artistic styles differ greatly among populations - even populations of the same species - so that whereas flowers might be fashionable in one area, beetle wings will be all the rage in the next. Moreover, this is no random collection of junk: the objects are selected and placed with great care...
Why do they do this? To impress girls, of course. Females come to the bowers to mate. And one way to make your bower look even better than a rival's is to resort to theft and vandalism. Yes, I'm afraid that bowerbirds are not above foul play to further their own ends. Stealing is rife. Rare or fashionable objects vanish from one bower only to appear in another. And some bowers are regularly vandalized or completely destroyed."
This example in particular so interested me that if someone had asked me (just after I'd read the page) to join an expedition to observe and take notes on bowerbirds over the next decade I would have probably signed on. (Especially if I'd managed to forget how many poisonous things are frolicking around Australia.) The book is full of such unique examples, pointing out similarities between species and theorizing as to why such behaviors and traits had helped species succeed in the big race to procreate.
I do have to add that the chapter on the praying mantis' habit of eating her husband is grim yet amusing. That would be Chapter 6: How to Make Love to a Cannibal. Because it's not just the mantis that tends to do this.
So this is science with a sense of humor, albeit sometimes a dark humor. There are end notes and a long bibliography should you want to find out more about any particular creature. (I'm trying not to look and find more to read about the bowerbird - I already have a huge To Read stack.) This is also a great book to pick up, read a chapter or two, and put down. I must admit that I've reread it a few times - but then I'm a bit of a zoology geek.
December 2, 2015
I believe everyone has something in their sex life that others would think is a little kinky. Some of us worry about that. But I know the perfect solution to reduce that worry. Read Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice for All Creation. You will quickly discover that, based on the wide variety of sex practiced in the animal kingdom, you are not really all that kinky. Well, at least you don't bite off the head of your lover....I hope.
That's my advice for today. What did you expect? Masters and Johnson?
That's my advice for today. What did you expect? Masters and Johnson?
June 21, 2010
Non-Fiction. Dr. Tatiana is the Dr. Ruth of the animal kingdom, that much is fictional, but the advice she gives is all fact, or, at the very least, theory.
This is evolutionary biology framed like a relationship column. Dr. Tatiana takes letters from the birds, the bees, and the stick insects and advises them on their difficult love lives. It's a great way to get information across and the book is structured well, one topic easily leading to another. Judson never gets too technical and covers a lot of different sexual and reproductive practices, even dipping into the plant world from time to time. The book also has an index, author's notes, and an extensive bibliography, making it a good resource to find specific information, or to find further reading on the subject.
The problem comes when Judson takes the conversational tone of an advice columnist and applies it to animals; it's almost as if she forgets that her readers are still human. She makes a lot of bad word choices. She repeatedly uses the word "slut" and its synonyms in ways that could be considered negative. She uses "cripple" and "imbecile" and there are entire chapters on forced sexual activity ("rape") and incest. At times, reading this was very much like being poked in the eye.
I do love the way she repeatedly uses "sexy" to describe the myriad characteristics that animals find attractive; it's a good reminder that everyone has different things that turn them on, and overall her message seems to be one of acceptance for those of different genders, sexual practices, or lack of sexual practices, but the problematic language undermines that attitude.
Three stars, would have gotten four if not for the consistently poor word choices; it took away a lot of my enjoyment of the book.
This is evolutionary biology framed like a relationship column. Dr. Tatiana takes letters from the birds, the bees, and the stick insects and advises them on their difficult love lives. It's a great way to get information across and the book is structured well, one topic easily leading to another. Judson never gets too technical and covers a lot of different sexual and reproductive practices, even dipping into the plant world from time to time. The book also has an index, author's notes, and an extensive bibliography, making it a good resource to find specific information, or to find further reading on the subject.
The problem comes when Judson takes the conversational tone of an advice columnist and applies it to animals; it's almost as if she forgets that her readers are still human. She makes a lot of bad word choices. She repeatedly uses the word "slut" and its synonyms in ways that could be considered negative. She uses "cripple" and "imbecile" and there are entire chapters on forced sexual activity ("rape") and incest. At times, reading this was very much like being poked in the eye.
I do love the way she repeatedly uses "sexy" to describe the myriad characteristics that animals find attractive; it's a good reminder that everyone has different things that turn them on, and overall her message seems to be one of acceptance for those of different genders, sexual practices, or lack of sexual practices, but the problematic language undermines that attitude.
Three stars, would have gotten four if not for the consistently poor word choices; it took away a lot of my enjoyment of the book.
October 5, 2008
This book is a really fun way to read about different reproductive strategies and behaviors in the animal world. Dr. Judson gives some strikingly funny examples in a "Dr. Ruth" framework, then rationally explains how the behaviors and strategies might have evolved. Unlike some other scientists writings for popular audiences, she is very good at pointing out how little we know about why or even how some of the processes work.
Most of all, though, I appreciate the way she has referenced the whole book unintrusively. A friend and I were recently berating a certain famous scientist (Jared Diamond) for writing popular books which are well written and widely read, and thus taken as gospel truths, and for which you cannot pick out specific sources - not that he didn't use them, but that it makes it hard to argue against them scientifically because you can't find the grounding of them to start with. Point aside, Olivia Judson manages to bridge the science-popular bridge by including references, not in the text, but at the end, with a nice road map for each chapter of "if you want to know more about Gorilla strategies, here's a few good papers..." which is a very gentle way to let people with the desire to know more, pursue it.
In all, this is a great book and I want more. I left off one star because it's not the most WOW inducing book for me, but it definitely is a great read.
Most of all, though, I appreciate the way she has referenced the whole book unintrusively. A friend and I were recently berating a certain famous scientist (Jared Diamond) for writing popular books which are well written and widely read, and thus taken as gospel truths, and for which you cannot pick out specific sources - not that he didn't use them, but that it makes it hard to argue against them scientifically because you can't find the grounding of them to start with. Point aside, Olivia Judson manages to bridge the science-popular bridge by including references, not in the text, but at the end, with a nice road map for each chapter of "if you want to know more about Gorilla strategies, here's a few good papers..." which is a very gentle way to let people with the desire to know more, pursue it.
In all, this is a great book and I want more. I left off one star because it's not the most WOW inducing book for me, but it definitely is a great read.
August 13, 2015
Well... I enjoyed this book very much and I probably would have given it five stars had I bought it myself. But the book was given to me by the author's father *unsigned* with the promise that she would autograph it the next time she visited. But it's not like I kept the book at his house and now she's living on another continent and seriously, it's not like I need to reread sex advice for bugs, so, Lady, you need to come sign this thing so that I can regift it to my virgin god daughters. Actually, just send me two new signed copies. I'm keeping mine.
January 3, 2023
خلال الحروب، تُقتل أعداد كبيرة من الرجال، مما يؤدي إلى انحراف نسبة الجنس لصالح النساء (أي تصبح أعداد النساء أكبر من أعداد الرجال) . لذلك، قد يتخيل المرء أن تعديل النسبة بين الجنسين سيحدث كردة فعل على الحروب. مثال على ذلك: وُلدت نسبة من الصبيان في أعقاب كل حرب عالمية مباشرة ، أكبر بكثير مما كانت عليه قبل اندلاع الأعمال العدائية. (يجب أن أؤكد أن آلية ذلك غير معروفة وأن النتيجة قد تكون مجرد مصادفة ، لكنها مع ذلك استفزازية).
.
Olivia Judson
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
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Olivia Judson
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
January 27, 2016
"The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable." � Lord Chesterfield describing sex to his son.
June 10, 2021
A witty look at the evolutionary science of sex in the animal kingdom.
May 12, 2010
While Judson lays out some fantastic natural history, she ultimately spreads herself too thin and falls short of the synthesis she hopes to deliver. Her engagement with sexual selection theory is passe; nothing new, nothing critical.
Perhaps her biggest offense is using the word "rape" to describe forced copulation, a mistake that has been argued against for several decades by feminist biologists. This most grave mistake is felt most deeply when she suggests that rape is an adaptive behavior, even in humans! Don't believe everything you read.
She makes a lot of jumps on very data-less ground and commits the ultimate crime a scientist can make by convincing her readers that something is true that we are not in a position to assess.
Although the last third of the book is a pretty fair (if not cliche) treatment of the evolution of sex, my advice to all creation is to NOT take this book as the end all be all of evolutionary biology. The story is far more interesting and mysterious than Judson would let on.
Perhaps her biggest offense is using the word "rape" to describe forced copulation, a mistake that has been argued against for several decades by feminist biologists. This most grave mistake is felt most deeply when she suggests that rape is an adaptive behavior, even in humans! Don't believe everything you read.
She makes a lot of jumps on very data-less ground and commits the ultimate crime a scientist can make by convincing her readers that something is true that we are not in a position to assess.
Although the last third of the book is a pretty fair (if not cliche) treatment of the evolution of sex, my advice to all creation is to NOT take this book as the end all be all of evolutionary biology. The story is far more interesting and mysterious than Judson would let on.
August 14, 2007
Okay, the idea is that "Dr. Tatiana" has a lonelyhearts column, in which she answers questions from the animal kingdom, like, "Dear Dr. Tatiana, I'm a female newt mite, and every time my seventeen boyfriends mate with me, sixteen die. What's up with that?" And the good doctor will couch an answer in a theory of evolutionary biology, along with many other juicy reproductive tidbits from the animal kingdom. What's not to love? I liked the facts, but got bored with the voice and gimmick. Also, I'm a wuss - can't be bothered to read about chromosomes.
Also, thanks to this book, I couldn't eat figs for a year.
Also, thanks to this book, I couldn't eat figs for a year.
May 5, 2010
Although it was entertaining, it was a bit watered down for my taste - it's primary goal seemed to be to entertain ("teehee, I'm reading about sex") rather than make a serious study of it. I found that she sometimes jumped to conclusions that didn't have much to do with what she was saying or just randomly switched subjects.
If entertainment what you're looking for, you'll like it. If you want a little more depth and want to think seriously, try "Bonk". It was fun, but I tend to get more out of more serious books that assume at least a basic grasp of evolutionary/genetic knowledge, so this one wasn't quite for me.
If entertainment what you're looking for, you'll like it. If you want a little more depth and want to think seriously, try "Bonk". It was fun, but I tend to get more out of more serious books that assume at least a basic grasp of evolutionary/genetic knowledge, so this one wasn't quite for me.
November 13, 2008
This book was filled with intriguing facts about the odd mating and sex habits of insects and other animals. I liked the conceit of Dr. Tatiana receiving letters from confused critters, however I thought her answers were often too long-winded and cited too many examples. By the end of each answer, I had often forgotten what the original question was and my mind would be swimming with so many different types of creatures and behavior. It is a good primer in how evolutionary biology gets expressed in so many different ways.
May 12, 2009
A look at the sex lives of many of lifes oddities as viewed through the eyes of agony aunt Dr Tatiana. I thought some chapters carried this off better than others, but overall it was a fun way to introduce the subject of sex without any preconceptions. If you actually had any preconceptions, this book is designed to blow them away.
I found the sections on a) Hyenas and b) monogamy to be two of the most interesting. They both had something to say that I did not already know and the hyenas especially made your eyes water just reading it.
I found the sections on a) Hyenas and b) monogamy to be two of the most interesting. They both had something to say that I did not already know and the hyenas especially made your eyes water just reading it.
May 7, 2008
I LOVE this book. Written in the style of an advice-columnist for all organisms big and small, Olivia Judson-- a Stanford- and Oxford-educated PhD-- makes learning biology fun and easy. This is all about evolutionary biology as it applies to sex, and this is fascinating. The variety of ways different species interact, have sex, reproduce, eat their spouses, kill their children. . . it's fabulous. It actually made me appreciate things like sea worms and mites. Mites!!
March 2, 2009
Good bathroom reading. Works well in small snippets.
Amusing and educational; would have preferred the omission of the lectures. Just because something is normal for bugs or snails doesn't make it so for humans. And I prefer not to have thinly-disguised anti-religious screeds tacked onto otherwise enjoyable books.
Amusing and educational; would have preferred the omission of the lectures. Just because something is normal for bugs or snails doesn't make it so for humans. And I prefer not to have thinly-disguised anti-religious screeds tacked onto otherwise enjoyable books.
February 1, 2009
I can only read the advice-column format in small doses, but I *love* this book. It puts to rest the notion that we should look to nature to define what's "natchrel" as far as sexuality is concerned. Animals do some kinky shit. For maximal enjoyment, find a biology geek buddy & take turns reading the sections aloud to each other.
March 10, 2013
I'm a zoology/biology geek so I really liked this book. I sometimes pick it up and read a little bit of it every once in a while. It would be a good book to sit next to a science nerd's toilet for those particularly grueling defecating sessions.
May 20, 2017
Overall the format of this was cute for a bit but ultimately became tiresome. It did contain good information, too much per question though since the author loved tangents. I think this book would have worked better had there been more topics aside from sexual relations.
December 23, 2020
This book was so intelligently written and easily accessible as a public science piece. It fit tightly with one of my uni modules concerning Animal Behaviour, particularly in regards to sexual selection and conflict, so it was useful to me in describing, what can be quite confusing, evolutionary concepts in a very simple fashion.
Where normally I can be somewhat speciesist in preferring to study Vertebrates, this book highlighted how unfair my prejudices towards other species really are when it comes to astounding behavioural ecology.
There are some really mad adaptations in this world which are unknown to the wider world and I found the conclusive pages to be a perfect lesson to take from it all.
I really praise and admire Judson for her work on this book; her knowledge and research base for this is unmatched and I’ll be sure to use her notes and bibliography, potentially for some of my own future work.
The only thing I would comment for improvement would be for an odd difference in structure to make information more readily congested, for eg. text boxes or informative pictures, and the authors tone in some cases did trigger a few red flags in regards to true feminism, which shouldn’t be overlooked really.
But overall, this book had me giggling, whilst learning, plenty.
🦗🐙🐟🦍🦜🐿🦎🕷
Where normally I can be somewhat speciesist in preferring to study Vertebrates, this book highlighted how unfair my prejudices towards other species really are when it comes to astounding behavioural ecology.
There are some really mad adaptations in this world which are unknown to the wider world and I found the conclusive pages to be a perfect lesson to take from it all.
I really praise and admire Judson for her work on this book; her knowledge and research base for this is unmatched and I’ll be sure to use her notes and bibliography, potentially for some of my own future work.
The only thing I would comment for improvement would be for an odd difference in structure to make information more readily congested, for eg. text boxes or informative pictures, and the authors tone in some cases did trigger a few red flags in regards to true feminism, which shouldn’t be overlooked really.
But overall, this book had me giggling, whilst learning, plenty.
🦗🐙🐟🦍🦜🐿🦎🕷
December 29, 2020
Al ver este libro en el anaquel de la librería, justo al lado de los de Stephen Jay Gould, pensé que alguien se había confundido al catalogarlo. Pero al hojearlo descubrí que no, que era un estupendo libro de biología evolutiva del sexo para el que la autora había elegido un formato llamémoslo peculiar. Se trata de un consultorio radiofónico en el que animales de todas las especies exponen sus dudas y cuitas acerca de los mecanismos del sexo en diferentes especies, de la evolución que ha llevado a la diferenciación sexual, del papel de machos y hembras, de muchísimas cosas. Las explicaciones son claras y sencillas, de forma que hasta un ignorante integral en biología como yo puede seguirlas sin demasiados problemas. Está bien escrito y tiene mucha, mucha, mucha información. Leyéndolo nos enteramos de que hay especies que tienen hasta diecisiete sexos, en lugar de los dos a los que estamos acostumbrados. Hay un talk show en el que una bacteria reconoce que su especie lleva varios millones de años sin practicar el sexo, para furia e iracundia del público, que la abuchea. Aprenderemos sobre las estrategias de machos y hembras de mil especies para maximizar las posibilidades de procreación, una especie de guerra físico-química para garantizar que las hembras sólo tendrán hijos del macho que emplea estas armas, mientras los demás machos intentan romper las defensas y ser ellos los progenitores de toda la camada, al mismo tiempo que las hembras buscan aparearse con cuantos más machos mejor para garantizar la supervivencia de más desencientes... Hay muchas especies raras en cuanto a costumbres sexuales por ahí, estimados lectores. Merece la pena echarle un vistazo al libro. Mi nota: Muy interesante.
August 2, 2011
As I started to read this book, I was at first disappointed. I am a big fan of Olivia Judson's New York Times' columns and was looking forward to finally getting around to this. And it was written with her usual efficiency and humor so that was good. But...really...I didn't care about the sex lives of "all creation" and found myself really bored. Bummer.
But I pushed on, and as I should have expected, I was quite rewarded. The book is a fascinating compendium of creatures large and small and how evolutionary forces have crafted their unique aspects. Neither too heavy or too light, it's really a near-perfect balance of comedy and science (with the emphasis on science, of course). The only thing I found myself wishing for was a bit of insight into our human species. Perhaps the next book (which is long overdue!)?
This is, in my opinion, another instance where if you can read this book and still not believe in evolution, you need help. Because if God created all these creatures, well, then he is a bit crazy and I'm sure you don't want your god to be a crazy god.
Most fascinating factoid to me: the figs that you may eat are filled with dead, male, wasps. Enjoy!
But I pushed on, and as I should have expected, I was quite rewarded. The book is a fascinating compendium of creatures large and small and how evolutionary forces have crafted their unique aspects. Neither too heavy or too light, it's really a near-perfect balance of comedy and science (with the emphasis on science, of course). The only thing I found myself wishing for was a bit of insight into our human species. Perhaps the next book (which is long overdue!)?
This is, in my opinion, another instance where if you can read this book and still not believe in evolution, you need help. Because if God created all these creatures, well, then he is a bit crazy and I'm sure you don't want your god to be a crazy god.
Most fascinating factoid to me: the figs that you may eat are filled with dead, male, wasps. Enjoy!
May 26, 2011
As a science doctoral student, I received this book from a professor teaching a class on epigenetics and other non-Mendelian hereditary patterns. Generally, despite what others seem to think because of my current career path, I do not enjoy reading science-related books in my spare time-- that's what fiction is for! However, I gave this book a go and was so pleasantly surprised to realise that I not only enjoyed it, but actually really liked it. It explores many of the evolutionary aspects of sex and sexual behaviours in a variety of species (with the ultimate [mostly unstated] parallels to the usefulness & nature of sex in Homo sapiens) in a manner that is highly scientifically accurate but is also accessible to the general populace by structuring it as a "Dear Abby" sex advice column. Albeit some of the science cited is now outdated (the book would benefit from an updated edition!), it's definitely worth a read for anyone who has ever wondered how & why sex came about when it seems like such an inefficient reproductive strategy.
November 6, 2016
Bir evrimsel biyolog olan yazarın yarattığı Dr.Tatiana karakteri Güzin Abla'dan farksız. Dert yananların insan değil, bin bir çeşit hayvan olduğunu saymazsak tabii...
Kitabın neredeyse tamamı hayvanlar aleminden gelen kimi çarpık, kimi yürek burkan mektuplar ve Dr.Tatiana'nın cevaplarından oluşuyor.
Örnek vereyim:
"Sevgili Dr.Tatiana
Benim adım Rob, ben bir tahtakurusuyum, Xylocoris maculipennis. Şöyle bir şey duydum: Eğer dostum Fergus ile seks yaparsam, Samantha ile bir dahaki seviştiğinde benim spermimi ona iletirmiş. Harbiden mi?"
Tatiana da muzip cevaplarıyla ve bilgi bombardımanı şeklinde verdiği yüzlerce örnekle doğadaki şaşırtıcı gen aktarım ve çeşitlilik sağlama yollarını açıklıyor.
Neler yok ki... Dişisini etkilemek için kumdan kaleler yapan balıklar, yaptığı kuleleri kelebek kanatları, böcek kafaları, yılan derileriyle süsleyen sanatçı çardakkuşları, kendisinden 200000 kat büyük dişisinin burnundan içeri girip yumurta peşinde koşan erkek solucanlar ve doğadaki müthiş mekanizmalar...
Şiddetle öneriyorum.
Kitabın neredeyse tamamı hayvanlar aleminden gelen kimi çarpık, kimi yürek burkan mektuplar ve Dr.Tatiana'nın cevaplarından oluşuyor.
Örnek vereyim:
"Sevgili Dr.Tatiana
Benim adım Rob, ben bir tahtakurusuyum, Xylocoris maculipennis. Şöyle bir şey duydum: Eğer dostum Fergus ile seks yaparsam, Samantha ile bir dahaki seviştiğinde benim spermimi ona iletirmiş. Harbiden mi?"
Tatiana da muzip cevaplarıyla ve bilgi bombardımanı şeklinde verdiği yüzlerce örnekle doğadaki şaşırtıcı gen aktarım ve çeşitlilik sağlama yollarını açıklıyor.
Neler yok ki... Dişisini etkilemek için kumdan kaleler yapan balıklar, yaptığı kuleleri kelebek kanatları, böcek kafaları, yılan derileriyle süsleyen sanatçı çardakkuşları, kendisinden 200000 kat büyük dişisinin burnundan içeri girip yumurta peşinde koşan erkek solucanlar ve doğadaki müthiş mekanizmalar...
Şiddetle öneriyorum.
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