“Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human” is a great “read me” title. Answer its call and you’ll get much more than your money’s worth. For $27.95, the reader benefits from a thorough education on where we came from and who we are as a species.
Once upon a time, man became man, but how? Man was not fashioned as an original, say, out of the clay of the earth and breath. Christianity does play a starring role in William Tucker’s study of monogamy, but it has a hugely supportive role that is treated later. Judaism is less supportive; Islam is self-consciously on the other side. All the major systems are looked at through monogamy. However, Mr. Tucker’s starting point is the land of Darwin, anthropology and specifically the work of Owen Lovejoy.
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