Olivia Judson

This is the only biology non-fiction book I have found so fascinating that I read it while walking (nearly fell down the stairs) on the loo (no comment) and in the bath (my Kobo heroically risking death by drowning).

The conceit of various creatures writing to the wise Dr Tatiana for advice on their bizarre sex lives gives the book a certain verve and amusement value that, for example, my university texts did not have. The facts and theories, however, are just as good.

Judson (or Dr Tatiana) has obviously picked on the weirder reaches of sexual behaviour, just as I suspect the agony-aunt columns in newspapers do, but her discussion places each of these behaviours in its evolutionary place. Nobody's sexual conduct is bizarre for the sake of it (except maybe Homo sapiens, but that's a different book) - there is a reason why heads get bitten off, penises are covered in spines, and some organisms change sex, and Dr Tatiana explains the evolutionary logic behind each. She even briefly considers the evolutionary value of homosexuality: it has persisted in many species, so what is it for?

Apart from the sheer fascination, the thing that I most valued about this book was the comprehensive list of references. It's one thing to be interesting - it's quite another to provide the material to allow the interested reader to go and find more detail should they wish to do so.

I would recommend this book not only for anyone interested in the evolutionary biology of sex and wanting an overview of the landscape, as it were, but also anyone who is contemplating writing a science-fiction book involving aliens.… (plus d'informations)