In this changing world of what is deemed socially and politically "correct," polygamy is perhaps the last great taboo. Over the course of the last thousand years, monogamy-at least in name-has been the default setting for coupledom and procreation. And yet, throughout history, there have been inklings that "one-man, one-woman" may not be the most natural state-of-being for humans. The recent Ashley Madison "cheaters website" hacking, coupled with the high divorce rate of the last half-century, provide more than enough evidence to convince even a hopeless romantic that monogamy, and the institution of marriage which props it up, is doomed to be a bygone remnant of a more socially conservative past.

Esteemed writer and evolutionary biologist David P. Barash tackles this uncomfortable finding: that humans are actually biologically and anthropologically more inclined toward polygamy. With years of research in the field to back up this argument, Barash presents hundreds of anecdotes from both evolutionary biology and human history that guide the reader through the societal impacts of monogamy and polygamy--some expected (sexual behavior) and others unexpected (the most successful models of parenting). Despite this natural inclination of humanity, Barash is reassuring throughout this fascinating read in his resolution that "biology is not destiny."