Digging deep into the dark side of human behavior, The Moral Animal says things we may not like to hear, such as the fact that men will hustle, betray, and lie in order to spread their genes, and that women will do the same to ensure the protection of their offspring. But Wright also explores such areas as evolution of cooperative behavior and altruism, from chimpanzee group dynamics and sexuality to computer-simulated models. Whether or not you find the theories and research valid, the book does the important job of making you think about humankind and our own society in a new light.

Nate Grover