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Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex [Hardcover]

Olivia Judson
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Aug 14 2002
A sex guide for all living things and a hilarious natural history in the form of letters to and answers from the preeminent sexpert in all creation.

Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation is a unique guidebook to sex. It reveals, for example, when necrophilia is acceptable and who should commit bestiality with whom. It discloses the best time to have a sex change, how to have a virgin birth, and when to eat your lover. It also advises on more mundane matters -- such as male pregnancy and the joys of a detachable penis.

Entertaining, funny, and marvelously illuminating, the book comprises letters from all creatures worried about their bizarre sex lives to the wise Dr. Tatiana, the only sex columnist in creation with a prodigious knowledge of evolutionary biology. Fusing natural history with advice to the lovelorn, blending wit and rigor, she is able to reassure her anxious correspondents that although the acts they describe might sound appalling and unnatural, they are all perfectly normal -- so long as you are not a human. In the process, she explains the science behind it all, from Darwin's theory of sexual selection to why sexual reproduction exists at all. Applying human standards to the natural world, in the end she reveals the wonders of both.

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From Amazon

Finally, a how-to guide, in the guise of a Q&A advice column, for marching, flying, or slithering into the battle of the sexes, whatever your species. In this entertaining and informative book, evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson presents "letters" from sexually frustrated animals, birds, and insects who ask "Dr. Tatiana" to explain some sexual oddity. For example, "Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?" Each question leads Dr. T. into a fascinating explanation about the sex life of this species, sprinkled with sprightly stories about other species with similar attributes or behavior.

You'll learn why one stick-insect copulation lasts for 10 weeks (to prevent other males from gaining access to the fertile female) and why the black-winged damselfly's penis has bristles (to scrape out his rival's sperm). You'll learn that male and female orangutans masturbate with sex toys fashioned from leaves and twigs, that slugs are hermaphrodites with penises on their heads, and that females in more than 80 species eat their lovers before, during, or after sex. You'll also ponder human sexuality when you learn that "monogamy is one of the most deviant behaviors in biology" (although jackdaws, chinstrap penguins, California mice, and some termites swear by it) and "natural selection, it seems, often smiles on strumpets."

Highly recommended--you'll read this through just for the fun of it and have plenty of odd facts with which to dazzle your dinner companions. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

Those looking for prurient prose may be better off browsing their local adult bookstore, but readers intrigued by the bizarre facts surrounding animal whoopee (and really, who isn't?) should pay a visit to Dr. Tatiana, the alter ego of evolutionary biologist and journalist Judson. While her wryly salacious tone makes animal mating habits and evolutionary biology pretty racy, the book still reads more like a textbook than the Kama Sutra. Judson uses a tongue-in-cheek advice column format through much of the book, forging letters from dung flies, iguanas, sagebrush crickets and rodents ("Like, what's the deal? I'm a sleek young California mouse and am so in heat.") to explore reproductive biology. The device can be grating, and purists appalled by anthropomorphism may find themselves cringing as Judson chastises a male splendid fairy wren for philandering, while pronouncing his paddle crab counterpart a "gentleman." Still, Judson gets high marks for her copiously researched data. Perhaps most compelling is her chapter entitled "Aphrodisiacs, Love Potions, and Other Recipes From Cupid's Kitchen," in which the roots of animal homosexuality are examined. The reader will undoubtedly come away with reams of fascinating factoids, such as the nauseating dining habits of tropical cockroaches during copulation, and the pregnancies of the male seahorse and his cousin, the pipefish.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, interesting and informative! Nov 2 2010
By moxe
Format:Paperback
It's a great read, especially for anyone with an interest in biology, evolution, animals or of course, sex. It's also written in a way that is accessible for those without a scientific background.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared for bugs, lots of bugs May 19 2004
Format:Paperback
This book is fairly easy to read and imparts a lot of trivial knowledge in a fun format.

I was a little disappointed on two points. First, that almost all of the subjects in the book are bugs. I'm sure mammals and reptiles have interesting sex lives, habits, and behaviors so let's hear about them. It's hard to tell if the research was focused on bugs, or if bugs are that much more interesting than the rest of us animals.

Secondly, each section seems to follow a familiar pattern as far as writing style: light, medium, and extremely dense. Once the author makes her point (answering the question) the writing gets rather dense and it's difficult to finish the topic completely.

Otherwise the book delivers as it promises.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of info bundled into fun reading Dec 8 2003
Format:Hardcover
Since there have been so many extremely well written and elaborate reviews posted already, I'll keep mine short and sweet: this book is a riot. If you've every wondered just "how do they do it, and why do they do it they way they do it?", and I don't mean your neighbors, then this is a must read. Sure, there are oodles of subject-specific text books on the market, some of which require a masters degree in English to understand, but every so often there comes along a true gem such as this little book. Combining in-depth knowledge with entertaining and original writing is an art, and Olivia Judson is a master in both fields. Enjoy!
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars never mind the cloth, feel the width
A fine read on evolutionary biology.
That Judson has used the macro mechanics of sex to both illustrate some of the more current hows of the theory of natural selection and to... Read more
Published on Oct 18 2003 by A Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Informative Reading on an Important Topic
Having trouble getting your teenagers to read? They might willingly read this. They will learn a lot about a subject that is near and dear to their hearts; and perhaps they will... Read more
Published on July 17 2003 by Kent Lion
5.0 out of 5 stars The time has come, the Doctor said, to talk of many things
It is not often that I give the same book to friends regardless of their general interest in biology. I have been doling this one out left and right for months now. Read more
Published on July 14 2003 by Profligate Nature
5.0 out of 5 stars Birds do it, Bees do it
Sex. We love to talk about it but not think too much about it. Judson opens the world to us of the different permutations and methods of sexual contact in the world, and why. Read more
Published on Jan 7 2003 by J. J. Kwashnak
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, learned a lot, made me think
My thoughts about this book are best served by examples:
1. the newly matured male elephant is sexually frustrated for 20 years. Why? Read more
Published on Dec 14 2002 by lanoitan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sex Education and Therapy - In One Single Dose !
Whether the reader is a newcomer or season ticket holder with regards the comparative sex behaviour literature, this volume will surely prove itself to be both tremendously... Read more
Published on Oct 7 2002 by Anthony R. Dickinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Romp Through the Animal Sexual Battleground
We live in a very kinky world. Promiscuity, genitalia issues and sexual insecurities are severe problems that affect most of the planet's creatures. Read more
Published on Oct 5 2002 by "ecobeetle"
4.0 out of 5 stars fun but inadequate to its task
First, let me state unequivocally that this is an immensely enjoyable book. Creating an alter ego, Dr, Tatiana, who's a sex advice columnist to the animal world, Olivia Judson... Read more
Published on Oct 1 2002 by Orrin C. Judd
5.0 out of 5 stars A VERY Distorted Mirror. A Mirror Nonetheless.
This extraordinary book can be read at many levels: humor, sexology, general science, evolutionary biology, and it is amazingly successful in all its various layers; some of the... Read more
Published on Sep 15 2002 by Fernando Melendez
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Ruth meets Steven Jay Gould meets Gary Larson
What an amazing world! This book is filled with some of the strangest behavior I have ever read about. Read more
Published on Sep 11 2002 by Alan Peterson
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