Mean Genes: From Sex To Money To Food: Taming Our Primal Instincts - Softcover

9780465031245: Mean Genes: From Sex To Money To Food: Taming Our Primal Instincts
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Why do we want- and why do we do- so many things that are bad for us? And how can we stop? In Mean Genes economist Terry Burnham and biologist Jay Phelan offer advice on how to conquer our own worst enemy- our survival-minded genes. Having evolved in a time of scarcity, when our ancestors struggled to survive in the wild, our genes are poorly adapted to the convenience of modern society. They compel us to overeat, spend our whole paycheck, and cheat on our spouses. But knowing how they work, Burnham and Phelan show that we can trick these "mean genes" into submission and cultivate behaviours that will help us lead better lives. A lively, humorous guide to our evolutionary heritage, Mean Genes illuminates how we can use an understanding of our biology to beat our instincts- before they beat us.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Arguing that Darwin has a lot more to tell us about ourselves than Freud, Mean Genes is high on evolution and low on inner child--"Don't trust your instincts." Hardly the standard self-help fare, to be sure. Deemed "brilliant" by none other than EO Wilson himself, the book is the work of two young Wilson disciples: Terry Burnham, an economics professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Jay Phelan, a professor of biology at UCLA.

Burnham and Phelan divide life issues into 10 categories (debt, fat, drugs, risk, greed, gender, beauty, infidelity, family, and friends and foes), and then offer up a two-step guide to better living: "Step 1 is to understand our animal nature, particularly those desires that get us into trouble and can lead to unhappiness. Step 2 is to harness this knowledge so that we can tame our primal instincts."

Needless to say, Nancy Reaganesque bromides don't fit into the Mean Genes scheme of things:

"Just say no" to drugs is the simplest way to kick a habit. Unfortunately, this obvious and low-cost approach is also the route most likely to fail. For example, only one person quits smoking for every twenty who attempt to just say no. Raw willpower seems like a great solution right up until weakness strikes and we light up a cigarette or mix a margarita.

Instead of slogans, the Mean Genes approach to overcoming drug addiction is to first recognise that "every person has strong, instinctual cravings for destructive substances". This, coupled with a thorough scientific understanding of a given drug's pleasurable effects on the brain, offers a more realistic course of action, such as finding a less harmful substitute for achieving a similar buzz.

Be it talk of weight loss, saving for retirement, or resisting the neighbour's wife, such practical, tough-love suggestions for subduing the beast within are provided throughout the book. Phelan describes how he instantly smears mayonnaise all over tempting sweets served with airline meals to keep from eating them during long flights, and Burnham writes of giving away his Internet access cable in order to free himself of a serious day-trading fixation.

The authors also rely heavily on findings from the animal world in stating their case, which makes for fascinating reading, if not always for the most readily transferable lessons to daily life. Consider, for example, certain frog species that "continue individual bouts of mating for several months. If people mated for a similar percentage of our lives, a single round of intercourse would last almost ten years." And then there's the famed black widow spider. "Shunning the more traditional chastity belt, the male breaks off his sexual organ inside the female, preventing her from ever mating again. When the act is completed, the female kills and eats the male."

Put off by all the sex and violence? Don't worry. There's also a nod to family values in the form of the Australian social spider. "Soon after giving birth to about a hundred hungry spiderlings, Mom's body literally liquefies into a pile of mushy flesh. The babies then munch on the flesh so they can start their lives with full bellies."

Mean genes indeed. --Patrick Jennings

Review:
Robert Frank, Professor of Economics, Cornell University, and author of "Luxury Fever"
"Hip, fun, and packed with attitude, "Mean Genes" is a laser-guided surgical strike in the self-control battles we fight every day. Burnham and Phelan not only unmask the devil inside us, they hand us the tools to disarm him."
"Washington Post Book World"
The "Mean Genes" message is optimistic...a self-help book for the merely average human being."

Robert Frank, Professor of Economics, Cornell University, and author of Luxury Fever
"Hip, fun, and packed with attitude, Mean Genes is a laser-guided surgical strike in the self-control battles we fight every day. Burnham and Phelan not only unmask the devil inside us, they hand us the tools to disarm him."

Washington Post Book World
The Mean Genes message is optimistic...a self-help book for the merely average human being."

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherBasic Books
  • Publication date2012
  • ISBN 10 0465031242
  • ISBN 13 9780465031245
  • BindingPaperback
  • Edition number2
  • Number of pages320
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780142000076: Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food, Taming Our Primal Instincts

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780142000076
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, 2001
Softcover

  • 9780738202303: Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food : Taming Our Primal Instincts

    Basic ..., 2000
    Hardcover

  • 9780743208468: Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food - Taming Our Primal Instincts

    Simon ..., 2001
    Hardcover

  • 9780743430098: Mean Genes: Can We Tame Our Primal Instincts?

    Pocket..., 2003
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan
Published by Hachette Book Group (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Softcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
INDOO
(Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0465031242

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 13.58
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.16
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Burnham, Terry", "Phelan, Jay"
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Soft Cover Quantity: 10
Seller:
booksXpress
(Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780465031245

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 16.99
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry; Phelan, Jay
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ebooksweb
(Bensalem, PA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ010I8Z_ns

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 18.73
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry; Phelan, Jay
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GF Books, Inc.
(Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 0465031242-2-1

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 22.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry; Phelan, Jay
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0465031242-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 22.43
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Terry Burnham
Published by Basic Books, New York (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Grand Eagle Retail
(Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Why do we want- and why do we do- so many things that are bad for us? And how can we stop? In Mean Genes economist Terry Burnham and biologist Jay Phelan offer advice on how to conquer our own worst enemy- our survival-minded genes. Having evolved in a time of scarcity, when our ancestors struggled to survive in the wild, our genes are poorly adapted to the convenience of modern society. They compel us to overeat, spend our whole paycheck, and cheat on our spouses. But knowing how they work, Burnham and Phelan show that we can trick these "mean genes" into submission and cultivate behaviours that will help us lead better lives. A lively, humorous guide to our evolutionary heritage, Mean Genes illuminates how we can use an understanding of our biology to beat our instincts- before they beat us. "Mean Genes is brilliant-well-grounded evolutionary biology, clear-eyed realism, and advice that is both practical and moral. Delightfully readable."-E.O. Wilson Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780465031245

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 22.44
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0465031242

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 19.61
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.17
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Jay Phelan, Terry Burnham
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New paperback Quantity: 5
Seller:
Blackwell's
(Oxford, OX, United Kingdom)

Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780465031245

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 19.99
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 4.50
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0465031242

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 21.65
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.37
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Burnham, Terry
Published by Basic Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0465031242 ISBN 13: 9780465031245
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0465031242

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 24.46
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.41
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book