Mother Nature (Paperback)

Sarah Hrdy

ISBN 10: 0345408934 / ISBN 13: 9780345408938

Published by Random House USA Inc, New York, 2000

About this Item

Paperback. [A] magisterial survey of childbearing through the ages . . . It wams the heart to witness the fierce loyalty this sophisticated feminist professor of anthropology . . . bears towards her paleolithic sisters.San Francisco ChronicleMaternal instinctthe all-consuming, utterly selfless love that mothers lavish on their childrenhas long been assumed to be an innate, indeed defining element of a womans nature. But is it? In this provocative, groundbreaking book, renowned anthropologist (and mother) Sarah Blaffer Hrdy shares a radical new vision of motherhood and its crucial role in human evolution.Hrdy strips away stereotypes and gender-biased myths to demonstrate that traditional views of maternal behavior are essentially wishful thinking codified as objective observation. As Hrdy argues, far from being selfless, successful primate mothers have always combined nurturing with ambition, mother love with sexual love, ambivalence with devotion. In fact all mothers, in the struggle to guarantee both their own survival and that of their offspring, deal nimbly with competing demands and conflicting strategies.In her nuanced, stunningly original interpretation of the relationships between mothers and fathers, mothers and babies, and mothers and their social groups, Hrdy offers not only a revolutionary new meaning to motherhood but an important new understanding of human evolution. Written with grace and clarity, suffused with the wisdom of a long and distinguished career, Mother Nature is a profound contribution to our understanding of who we are as a speciesand why we have become this way. In this interpretation of the relationships between mothers and fathers, mothers and babies, and mothers and their social group, Hrdy offers a revolutionary new meaning to motherhood, and an important new understanding of human evolution. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780345408938

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mother Nature (Paperback)
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0345408934
• ISBN 13: 9780345408938
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

“[A] magisterial survey of childbearing through the ages . . . It wams the heart to witness the fierce loyalty this sophisticated feminist professor of anthropology . . . bears towards her paleolithic sisters.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Maternal instinct—the all-consuming, utterly selfless love that mothers lavish on their children—has long been assumed to be an innate, indeed defining element of a woman’s nature. But is it? In this provocative, groundbreaking book, renowned anthropologist (and mother) Sarah Blaffer Hrdy shares a radical new vision of motherhood and its crucial role in human evolution.

Hrdy strips away stereotypes and gender-biased myths to demonstrate that traditional views of maternal behavior are essentially wishful thinking codified as objective observation. As Hrdy argues, far from being “selfless,” successful primate mothers have always combined nurturing with ambition, mother love with sexual love, ambivalence with devotion. In fact all mothers, in the struggle to guarantee both their own survival and that of their offspring, deal nimbly with competing demands and conflicting strategies.

In her nuanced, stunningly original interpretation of the relationships between mothers and fathers, mothers and babies, and mothers and their social groups, Hrdy offers not only a revolutionary new meaning to motherhood but an important new understanding of human evolution. Written with grace and clarity, suffused with the wisdom of a long and distinguished career, Mother Nature is a profound contribution to our understanding of who we are as a species—and why we have become this way.

About the Author

Sarah Blaffer Hrdy is an emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California at Davis and a fellow of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The author of three previous books, including The Woman That Never Evolved, she lives in Northern California.