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

By Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham

Book Overview

Short, sassy, and bold, Mean Genes uses a Darwinian lens to examine the issues that most deeply affect our lives: body image, money, addiction, violence, and the endless search for happiness, love, and fidelity. But Burnham and Phelan don't simply describe the connections between our genes and our behavior; they also outline steps that we can take to tame our primal instincts and so improve the quality of our lives. Why do we want (and do) so many things that are bad for us? We vow to lose those extra five pounds, put more money in the bank, and mend neglected relationships, but our attempts often end in failure. Mean Genes reveals that struggles for self-improvement are, in fact, battles against our own genes -- genes that helped our cavewoman and caveman ancestors flourish but that are selfish and out of place in the modern world. Why do we like junk food more than fruit? Why is the road to romance so rocky? Why is happiness so elusive? What drives us into debt? An investigation into the biological nature of temptation and the struggle for control, Mean Genes answers these and other fundamental questions about human nature while giving us an edge to lead more satisfying lives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465031242
• ISBN13: 9780465031245
• Release Date: October 2012
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Fiction writers take note!

If you're struggling to make your characters real, Mean Genes helps you understand their primal motivations! Mean Genes wasn't intended to be how-to book for fiction writers, but it accomplishes that goal better than anything else out there. Addiction, violence, sexual attraction, greed-its all in here-and more. Make your characters real-give them mean gene motivations.

A perfect book for a brand new century

I am 34-year old attorney and have probably read over 2000 books in my life. Hands down, Mean Genes tops the list. This book is written for me, you, virtually everyone. The most remarkable aspect of this book is that it gives you rock solid, meticulously researched data on a range of topics that will help you become a more knowledgeable member of our fascinating world. For instance, I was in Hollywood the other day and read the "homosexuality" section; I was on an LA freeway and read "road rage" when I got home; I was craving a hot Indian curry dish and I read "jalapeno peppers" in the thrill-seeking chapter. Each reading was a revelation--and goddam is it well-written, with massive dollops of humor and sassiness. At its heart, Mean Genes is a deeply responsible book. The more we understand and control our own behavior, the better we understand and can predict others' behavior. The revolutionary ideas and advice in Mean Genes will make the world a better, healthier, happier place. The authors, Jay and Terry, are perfectly qualified to write such a landmark book--dedicated, highly educated, endlessly curious, and enormously likeable. May they live long and well. Make it a point to catch them at a media event--the Mean Genes website has details.

Fun Smart Book With Insights To Our Weaknesses

Do you ever wonder why you do self destructive or illogical things? Why it is so hard to resist fatty foods, drugs or running up credit card debt? Mean Genes shows that behavior that is bad for humans in today's society of plenty, is the same behavior, refined through tens of thousands of years of evolution, which allowed our ancestors to survive and flourish as hunter-gatherers.This book is filled with interesting and amusing studies done with animals, primitive cultures and modern humans that demonstrate that people haven't evolved much in the past 5000 years. But all is not lost. Burnham and Phelan point out that humans, unlike other species, have a capacity for self-control, and more importantly the intelligence to combat our destructive instincts and biology. And while they don't place much hope in an individual's will power, the authors offer creative ways to restrain our genetic desires.Mean Genes is an intelligent, fast reading and totally enjoyable book that makes us look at ourselves as the product of the 'survival of the fittest', and helps us deal with that in today's world.

A spectacular read

Irven DeVore said it best on the back of the book--"Warning! You will not be able to put this book down! It will change your life".Mean Genes is gripping from start to finish and yes, it has changed my life. Not a day goes by that I don't find use for some of the sage advice and insight offered up by Burnham and Phelan. Mean Genes takes a universally important (and broad) topic and translates it into bite-sized portions, which are readily digestible to all readers--not to mention witty and entertaining. The authors draw from their own experiences in demonstrating ways that we can battle our own 'Mean Genes', and live happy and fulfilling lives.Mean Genes is the best book that I have read so far this year, and most certainly one of the most influential and useful books I have ever read.