I have read the first five chapters of The Evolution of Desire, which roughly cover the first half of the book. What is in it for the reader? Human mating is a realm filled with clichés, and the world is saturated with loud and often false information on this topic. For that reason, it is essential to gain a realistic understanding of the true character of human mating.

Probably the first five chapters contain the most essential information in the book. They provide honest descriptions of what traits women desire in a mate and how these desires emerged in ancestral environments. Likewise, they explain what traits men desire in women and how these preferences also developed under ancestral conditions. The reader learns that the other sex is shaped in its mate-choice mechanisms and inner experience to desire certain types of partners and particular experiences with them.

In addition, the book shows that both sexes are designed to engage in affairs under certain circumstances. It explains why short-term mating strategies exist at all and shows that men and women approach these strategies differently and seek different outcomes when applying them.

Finally, Chapter 5 takes a deeper look at how men and women compete for desirable mates of the opposite sex. This competition occurs through signaling the possession of desired traits and through the denigration of rivals. Here again, different traits are signaled and different traits are targeted for effective derogation.

Cutting through the noise and going straight to the reality of human mating, this book can be very helpful for anyone who wants to take a serious look at the science of human mating. The remaining chapters will be reviewed in a second review, followed by a final review on this blog.