The Evolution of Beauty is utterly fascinating. It puts forth the notion that evolution is not all due to natural selection, where every mating display is an honest signal of genetic superiority. Rather, there is a separate force at work--aesthetic evolution of mate choice--which created a lot of the ornaments and behaviors we see in the animal world today.
Prum makes his arguments via interesting narratives about birds, ducks, and humans. I found it useful to look up bird displays as he talks about them so I can see and hear for myself the complex shows that they put on. Going in, I thought I would be learning about an abstract concept, so I was surprised by how much of what I'm reading applies to our lives today, including sexual coercion, females' right to make reproductive choices, and sexual conflict between the sexes.
For such a technical topic, I found the book mostly readable and digestible. The initial two chapters were a bit slow as Prum talks about the history of evolutionary science and puts forth his views. But if you can tough it out through those, then you get to the meat of it with chapter three, and it's completely mesmerizing from there on out.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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