Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray

A contemporary classic about love now completely revised and updated.

From love at first sight and infidelity to hook-up culture and "slow love," Dr. Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist and "renowned expert on the science of love" (Scientific American) , explains it all in this thoroughly revised classic on the evolution and future of human sex, romance, and partnership. Examining marriage and divorce in 58 societies and adultery in 42 cultures, she argues that we are returning to patterns of business, sex, and love that echo our ancient past . . . and she is optimistic about our future

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"Is romantic love a creation of troubadours and poets, or has it deep evolutionary roots? Is the seven-year itch really the four-year itch? Does true love betray itself in a brain scanner? With the eyes of an anthropologist and the voice of a poet, Helen Fisher lays bare the many worlds and ages of erotic love. And she knows whereof she speaks."
-- Richard Dawkins

"For journalists around the world, Helen Fisher has been the go-to authority on love and heartache since the first edition of Anatomy of Love. No one else knows the human heart so well -- or explains it with such wit and style."
-- John Tierney, coauthor of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

"This book is a marvel. I eagerly read everything Helen Fisher writes. She is a national treasure. So illuminating!"
-- John Gottman, author of the revised Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

"Our conversations with Helen Fisher were crucial to understanding the current romantic climate. This revised version of Anatomy of Love is a great read for anyone interested in understanding love and romance. Also, Helen was kind enough to blurb our book, so we'd be real dicks not to do the same for her. Luckily, her work is fantastic and no moral dilemma has been posed."
-- Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg, authors of Modern Romance

"Fisher weaves a persuasive and consistently surprising new explanation of the roots of human marriage, sex, and love. Her account cuts more deeply than the ordinary literature on human sexuality."
-- Edward O. Wilson

"A natural history filled with entertaining and informative anecdotes and narratives that offer context and background. . . . Highly recommended to readers interested in human sexuality."
-- Library Journal

"Much has changed in the landscape of love and dating since the first edition of anthropologist Fisher's Anatomy of Love was published over 20 years ago . . . [and Fisher] presents plenty of new data. . . . The recent success of comedian Aziz Ansari and sociologist Eric Klinenberg's Modern Romance (2015) suggests readers might be looking for further, more serious reading on the topic: Fisher's book and its hundreds upon hundreds of cited sources won't disappoint them."
-- BOOKLIST FROM THE BACK COVER
"Captivates the reader, answers all those puzzling questions that caused your mother (or priest or guidance counselor or gym teacher) to blame God and/or hormones....Her prediction of a more open and egalitarian order provides a compelling--and hopeful--vision for the future."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Love at first sight...the copulatory gaze...dinner dates...jealousy... intimacy... homesexuality...infidelity...Dr.Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History, explains it all in this four-million-year history of the human species. She demystifies much about romance and pairing that we tend to believe is willfull or just plain careless. She offers new explanations for why men and women fall in love, marry, and divorce, and discusses the future of sex in a way that will surprise you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen Fisher , a biological anthropologist, is the author of five internationally selling books, including Why We Love and Why Him? Why Her? A Senior Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute, a member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies at Rutgers University, and the chief scientific advisor to Match.com, Fisher is a frequent national and international speaker. Her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people; and she lives in New York City. Read more Continue reading Read less