The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature | 
so-soI gave the book a three because I know the man is brilliant. I heard him on multiple podcasts. I certainly find his discussions interesting. This book was just too much like a text book. And long. I found myself skipping sections and wanting a summary. If you are really interested in the subject, go for it. If you‘re a casual reader. Drink lots of coffee.
pickVery interesting account of findings in the evolution of human psychology and an attempt to apply them to presuppositions behind arguments about social issues
"Today no respectable public figure in the United States, Britain, or Western Europe can casually insult women or sling around invidious stereotypes of other races or ethnic groups."
The view from 2002
pickMore on evolutionary psychology
The moral, then, is that familiar categories of behaviour - marriage customs, food taboos, folk superstitions, and so on - certainly do vary across cultures and have to be learned, but the deeper mechanisms of mental computation that generate them may be universal and innate. People may dress differently, but they may all strive to flaunt their status via their appearance.
