Book Reviews
This book is likely to prompt conversations with friends that start with, "Hey, have you ever wondered why people... ?... A cross between Cosmopolitan and Scientific American... an insightful and amusing read.
Associated Press
Jena Pincott may have performed a kind of public service in compiling in easy, brief form the findings from recent studies on sex and stuff. But before we answer the title question—Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?—we'll give you the breaking news. You know how grim the economy is? Everyone should be depressed, right? But it seems that in hard times men prefer women who are slightly older, heavier, taller and have large waists.
Sherryl Connelly - NY Daily News
Why do we find some people beautiful and others not? And is there anything we can do to make ourselves more attractive? In her fascinating new book, Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?, American science journalist Jena Pincott collates scores of academic studies to reveal what really makes us attractive to the opposite sex.
Daily Mail (UK) (via Huffington Post)
Pincott's breezy little book examines...queries about love and romance while supplying answers based on the latest scientific findings. The witty New York City author ponders such burning questions as, "Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac?" and, "Why do men love big breasts?" Reading just one page of this charmer is as impossible as eating one potato chip.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
[An}informative and amusing book...The short answers are judiciously packed with information culled from hundreds of peer-reviewed studies. All of it is relayed in a light, engaging tone....Open up the doors to some fascinating research.
Weekly Standard
In these playfully written scientific anecdotes, Pincott argues that desire is strongly rooted in evolutionary biases and consults a variety of studies—some familiar, others cutting-edge—to reveal the extent to which hormones dictate human behavior. Even idle ogling is a serious endeavor: humans constantly rate each other for levels of attractiveness, a signifier of male and female hormones. When women are ovulating, estrogen rebuilds the female face, making lips fuller and skin smoother; Pincott cites studies showing that strippers earned twice as much during the fertile phase of their cycles as when they had their periods, while those taking birth control earned significantly less money throughout. The book also has the scoop about whether penis size matters (it does), how the post-orgasm rush of oxytocin promotes bonding and why women are tempted to cheat during certain times of the month. It ends with a look at the neuroscience of love, which despite all the jostling and jousting of dating and mating, appears to be very much alive when measured by MRI studies of passionate couples.
Publishers Weekly
Former science editor Pincott explores the science of attraction based on the latest scientific studies in biology, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and the cognitive sciences. Organizing the text into three sections ("Behaviors," "Bodies," and "Brains"), she answers around 100 questions we've all wondered about or asked: What makes a face good-looking? Why do some men smell better to you than others? How might your mom's and dad's ages influence your attractions to older faces? The studies themselves are intriguing, and sometimes it is simply hard to believe that anyone has actually examined, for instance, a "low digit ratio" (which involves which finger is longer-your ring finger or your index finger-and is related to how much prenatal exposure a person has had to the hormone testosterone). It becomes obvious that we are aware of only a small part of what drives our choices when it comes to choosing whom to marry or with whom we have a sexual relationship. What's not quite so obvious is how this information can be used by those looking for a soul mate. This book puts together a tremendous amount of potentially useful information in a well-written, entertaining, and easy-to-understand format. Recommended for all public libraries.
Mary E. Jones - Library Journal