Overview

"When Men in Groups was first published in 1969, the New York Times daily critic titled his review ""The Disturbing Rediscovery of the Obvious."" What was so obvious was male bonding, a phrase that entered the language. The links between males in groups Tiger describes extend through many other primate species, through our evolution as hunters/gatherers, and cross-culturally. Male bonding characterizes human groups as varied as the Vatican Council, the New York Yankees, the Elks and Masons the secret societies of Sierra Leone and Kenya. The power of Tiger's book is its identification of the powerful links between men and the impact of females and families on essentially male groups. Of course, the world has changed much. But the argument of the book and its new introduction by the author suggest that a species-specific pattern of male bonding continues to be part of the human default system. Perhaps one day concrete evidence of its location will emerge from the startling work on the human genome, just as the elaborate and consequential sex differences to which Men in Groups drew such pioneering attention have already become part of the common wisdom. Meanwhile, Men in Groups remains a measured and responsible but intrepid inspection of a major aspect of human social organization and personal behavior. The book was controversial when it first appeared, and often foolishly and unduly scorned. But it has remained a fundamental contribution to the emerging synthesis between the social and natural sciences."

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9780765805980

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Reviews

The most creative contribution to the social sciences since David Riesman's The Lonely Crowd. --Robert Ardrey, Life Magazine [Tiger's] enquiry into male bonding is an important step towards the possibility of discovering a genuine human dimorphism --James Hamilton-Paterson, New Statesman The implications of Men in Groups are manifold. We should all be grateful to Dr. Tiger for drawing our attention to a neglected aspect of human behavior. --Anthony Storr, Times (London)

The implications of Men in Groups are manifold. We should all be grateful to Dr. Tiger for drawing our attention to a neglected aspect of human behavior.

Author Information

Lionel Tiger is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. He is the author of The Decline of Males, Optimism, The Pursuit of Pleasure, and, with Robin Fox, The Imperial Animal, the latter two available from Transaction.

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