Intimate Behaviour: A Zoologist's Classic Study of Human Intimacy

By Desmond Morris

Book Overview

Twenty-five years after it first caused a splash in the scientific and literary worlds, Intimate Behavior is still one of the best chronicles of human intimacy. With a masterful and entertaining eye, Desmond Morris, bestselling author of The Naked Ape and The Human Zoo, analyzes the roots of human intimacy, from the handshake through the twelve stages that people pass through on their way to the total sexual embrace. Morris contends that the months just before and after birth are when the seeds of intimacy are planted and are critical to development. From the loving attention of the mother, the child learns and responds with intimate gestures of his or her own. He argues that human adults follow certain patterns of intimate behaviour that are based on these infant experiences for their entire lives. In addition to sexual intimacy, Morris discussed social intimacy, intimacy substitutes, object intimacy, and self-intimacy. Complete with a new preface by the author, Intimate Behavior is a provocative view of humans need to touch and to be touched, to love and to be loved. At a crucial moment, a gentle embrace can still do more good than a thousand earnest discussions. Despite all our social and technological advances, the primeval body language of love still remains the most potent force we have for the expression of feelings of comfort and caring. Desmond Morris, from his new Preface

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568361637
• ISBN13: 9781568361635
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Kodansha Globe
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.6" x 0.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Understand Sexual Attraction

An old book dealing with a contemporary, old problem. Morris gives easy to understand observations that each reader can relate to one moves through this book. Even though the book is old the information is timeless. People have not changed in their basic nature even though some want to think we are enlightened and better than those generations before us.

Anthrology view of Us

I like the writings of Desmond Morris because he takes the discipline of a scientist and applies it to looking at us. He is as objective with this lens as he would be looking at other mammals. This approach cuts through some of a subjective opinions and cherished ideas about who we are and how we function. Yet at the same time, he is honoring of what we are and points to things that can help us relate to each other more healthily and more naturally. This book is no exception. My favorite of his is PEOPLE WATCHING which seems to summarize much of what he says in other books and also shows a lot with pictures.

Extraordinary

I am new to Morris' general work but I am thourougly impressed. So far I have read this book and The Naked Ape. This book lags in certain parts, but he consistently gives detailed attention to all aspects of human intimacy - the sections Sexual Intimacy, alone (at least) are worth reading as he couragously attends to a very difficult subject of love and sex in very practical ways. His thinking on this front is well stated and offers doorways for the thinking man to manifest new ways forward for the sepcies.

A masterpiece in the study of man

Morris uses his same method of detachment and logic as that found in The Naked Ape and creates a modern guide to understanding the intimate behavior of the human animal. His philosphy is extremly simple due to the strong sense of logic that creates its foundation. Morris's work is destined to be a landmark within the future of psychology

Understand The Human Animal Intimately..Read This Book.

Dr. Morris has written his most important document inside the pages of this book. It seems as if he matured after writing "The Naked Ape" and decided to condense all of the important points in his masterpiece and make it quick informative reading as "intimate Behaviour". When it was written, Morris was the head Zoologist at the London Zoo. His understanding of the human animal will answer all of the "why?" questions that your parents couldn't answer. This book should be mandatory high school reading and if it were so, speaking would be at a minimum and body language and gesturing would reign supreme.