Ratings3
Average rating3.7
WOMAN explores the essence of what it means to be female. In mapping the inner woman - from organs to orgasms - Natalie Angier presents an extraordinary new vision of the female body as an evolutionary masterpiece. 'Anyone living in or near a female body should read this book' - Gloria Steinem 'Women have long been regarded as slaves to biology and evolution, prisoners in a hormonal swamp. But now, some of the sacred tenets of evolutionary psychology . . . have come under fresh challenge. As the century turns, it could be Goodbye women's lib; hello female liberation! . . . WOMAN is a delicious cocktail of estrogen and amphetamine designed to pump up the ovaries as well as the cerebral cortex' - Barbara Ehrenreich, Time magazine 'Drawing on science, literature and history, Angier provides valuable insight into the power of hormones, breast milk and the all-important clitoris. A must for every woman's bookshelf' - Woman's Journal
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is an interesting read. Very informative. Not entirely my cup of tea (hence the 3 stars), but it's not a bad book.
Would definitely recommend to friends. I skimmed through a couple of chapters because they bored me (a chapter about how hormones work and the final chapter).
This book is really informative about how your body works when pregnant/breastfeeding, the different releases of hormones through your body that make you bond with the new baby instead of wanting to get rid of it (I must be lacking in that hormone because I do not want any babies. I like cats better), it's informative about why certain areas of women's bodies are more likely to get cancer (the uterus/breasts), and how we tend to stroke each other/pets at the same rate (40 strokes per minute).
The parts I was interested in were well-written and easy to read. The parts I didn't much care about were kind of a bore. To be honest, though, this book was more entertaining than my 8th grade science education about the human body and more informative (although, you should take into account that in 8th grade, I was an ignoramous who didn't believe knowing how my menstrual cycle worked would have any bearing on my life).
Woman is a close look at our
womanly bodies. I wasn't
expecting to like this book,
but Angier is mesmerizing.
Recommended.