Book Reviews › Character › Birds, Sex and Beauty
Honest review · Character
Birds, Sex and Beauty
by Matt Ridley
Darwin's other theory, sexual selection, through black grouse leks and birds of paradise: beauty as a force in evolution. Ridley's 2025 return to biology.
Read it if…
you want beauty explained as evolution.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want human behavior.
Try instead: Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World →
Three things you will actually use
- Beauty is selected.
- Female choice drives.
- Darwin was right twice.
Do this first
Read the chapters on the lek.
Our verdict
Ridley on beauty.
See the book →
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