evolution

Many books have been written regarding relationships between men and women. Some even suggest that we are of different species and it is part of a cosmic joke that we are attracted to and must rely upon one another.

If this is the kind of book you are attracted to, you will be quite disappointed in this work by talented author Leonard Shlain. As in his previous two books "Art and Physics" and "The Alphabet Vs The Goddess" Shlain presents an observation that has troubled him. After a thorough search of the literature fails to satisfy his curiosity, some kind of internal dialectic occurs and a well reasoned "what if" process is presented.

The stimulus for this story started when Shlain, as a young medical student, could not accept the casual dismissal of his question "Why is the normal hemoglobin for women less than for men?" All humans rely on oxygen dependent metabolic processes. Women require just as much oxygen carrying, iron based, hemoglobin as men. Why would nature create women to lose this essential product every month in her menses, while pregnant and also in childbirth?

That question is the basis for a well reasoned work that presents possible answers that should stimulate much further discussion and interest. Shlain, also being an exceptional educator, presents pertinent human physiology, anatomy and psychology in an understandable and yet non-patronizing manner.

While this book reads like an entertaining 'who done it' novel: the reward is not only a provocative explanation but a worth while educational process.

For 25 years, "A Pattern Language" (C. Alexander, et al) has occupied first place in my "Most Human Wisdom In a Book Cover" category. Leonard Shlain's "Sex, Time, and Power" has just replaced it. Surely, even amongst the well educated, the relationship between men and women holds more misunderstanding than any other human endeavor. Dr. Shlain's insightful study sheds more light into this thorny area than the sum of all other similar books I have read. Although the writing style is personal and humerous, this book is a relatively slow read due to the sheer density of ideas presented and quantity of supporting documentation supplied. Every time I loan out this book, it proves very difficult to get back. It is a slooow read that borrowers do not want to relinquish until they have finished. After a few weeks rumination time, I find them asking me if the book is available again. Get your own copy! Anyone trying to make sense of "The Urge to Merge" will find themselves returning to this fertile well of ideas again and again.
As a related aside, attending a book store talk given by Dr. Shlain, I found him to be every bit an excellent speaker as he is an excellent writer. If given the chance to hear him speak, don't miss it!

I heard Dr. Shlain on NPR discussing this book. Over the next month, I kept wondering about his theories and eventually bought the book. I wasn't disappointed.

The heavy hitting ideas come early and then, like some have noted, it fizzles into random speculation. For example, Chapter 17's Theory of Eights was interesting but not as powerful as the earlier theories.

It was frustrating because I felt he could have expanded his later material into more interesting chapters if he had talked with more anthropologists. For example, Chapter 20 briefly mentions Neanderthals "large, big-boned homid cousins" ... "vanished. No one knows with certainty why." and then plunges into a "this child looks like me" theory. Given his theories from Chapter 2, I expected some mention of the Neaderthal's brain size -- equal or greater tban the modern average human. I would have been more interested in his thoughts about the differences between moderns and Neaderthals and speculations about their extinction/interbreeding than I was in the thoughts of his fictitious Cro-Magnon man.

Also troubling was the lack of discussion of Polygamy when he mentioned age differences in Chapter 7. In polygamous cultures in Africa many first marriages have exactly that same age difference, with young men's first marriages being to older widowed woman. That would be a good reason for the age difference of libidos to exist, yet he seems unaware of it and shows a monogamy bias throughout.

Regardless, his main theories seem rooted in cultural materialism logic, the book's real strength. (What were the material needs that evolving women had and still have?) Also, there are many interesting facts from his medical training and ample research to support all facts presented. His weaknesses, however, were lack of anthropological training, bias towards his own lifestyle and cultural norms, and a willingness to explain EVERYTHING in one book. Overall more of a fun book than a serious evolution text but worth buying because he offers a different perspective to the evolution puzzle.