The Essay should be over: Mean Genes: From Sex To Money To Food: Taming Our Primal Instincts 2nd Edition by Terry Burnham

Your essay should about 1500 words in order to fully reflect and answer the outlined points below, (that is about 3 double-spaced typed pages). Do NOT go over 2000 words, or 4 double spaced pages, or I will deduct points. Use pictures, figures, etc. as you see fit. Do not go over the word limit.

ESSAYS SHOULD ADDRESS EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: (you may have other additions, but please be sure to hit on all the points outlined below)

A.) What book did you choose (including title and author) and why? What type of book is this (science classic, popular science, etc.) and how do you know this is this type of book? What audience is your book targeting?

B.) Do a bit of background reading about the author of your book. Was your author a scientist? If so, what kind? What do you think the main motivation was for him/her writing the book?

C.) Spend one paragraph summarizing the overall content of the book, or selections from your book if appropriate.

Reflect on the evolutionary implications of your read. In other words, what is the broader evolutionary context under which your reading falls?

D.)Now think of some specific examples from your book that relate to evolution, highlighting specific evolutionary concepts that you learned from our class (2-3 examples will suffice).

E.) DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF BOOK YOU READ

IF YOUR BOOK IS A SCIENCE CLASSIC (e.g. Selfish Gene), reflect on why this is the case. What is it about this book that makes it a classic and what important contributions did it make to afford it this important

class of literature? Do you agree that this book should be a classic? Why or why not? Explain under an evolutionary context.

F.) IF YOUR BOOK IS A POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK (e.g. Why Women Have Sex), reflect on what you think the overall contribution of this book might be, and why. Do you think this book is written for the layperson, or for scientists? Explain. Why is this book of the class of “popular science?” Does your book have a direct evolutionary theme? Explain. Reflect on whether you think this book makes and important contribution to the literature, or not.

G.) IF YOUR BOOK IS A CLASSIC IN LITERATURE (e.g. Brave New World). Reflect on why you think this book was on my reading list for a class in evolution. What was the writing style like? Was it easy or difficult to read and understand? Why is this book considered a classic in literature? Do you agree that it is worthy of this rank? Reflect on some of the evolutionary themes/applications that are evident in this book. Were they intentional by the author? Is this book important for society? Reflect.

H.) IF YOUR BOOK IS A TEXT-STYLE BOOK (e.g. Sociobiology). Reflect more on the overall content of the book and what you learned. What are the evolutionary implications of your book – explain a few. Reflect on the overall academic content of this book/selections and the evolutionary themes that relate to our class.

I.) Summarize what you learned from reading this book? Would you have ever read this book had you not done this assignment? Are you glad that you did? Apathetic? [hopefully not, but if so, explain].

J.) Do you think that this book is important? Why or why not?

Did you enjoy your book? Why or why not. Reflect intelligently and from an academic perspective.