T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us
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- Create Date：2022-09-03 09:53:41
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- Author：Carole Hooven
- ISBN：1788402936
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Summary
Testosterone: Misunderstood。 Mythologized。 Controversial。
A Harvard evolutionary biologist debunks the myths and cultural stereotypes surrounding testosterone and reveals its far-reaching effects on gender and sexuality， sports， relationships， and many more aspects of our everyday lives。
The biological source of virility and masculinity has inspired fascination， investigation， and controversy since antiquity。 From the eunuchs in the royal courts of ancient China to the booming market for “elixirs” of youth in nineteenth-century Europe， humans have been obsessed with identifying and manipulating what we now know as testosterone。 And the trends show no signs of slowing down—the modern market for testosterone supplements is booming。 Thanks to this history and the methods of modern science， today we have a rich body of research about testosterone’s effects in both men and women。
The science is clear: testosterone is a major， invisible player in our relationships， sex lives， athletic abilities， childhood play， gender transitions， parenting roles， violent crime， and so much more。 But there is still a lot of pushback to the idea that it does， in fact， cause sex differences and significantly influence behavior。
Carole Hooven argues in T that acknowledging testosterone as a potent force in society doesn’t reinforce stifling gender norms or patriarchal values。 Testosterone and evolution work together to produce a huge variety of human behavior， and that includes a multitude of ways to be masculine or feminine。 Understanding the science sheds light on how we work and relate to one another， how we express anger and love， and how we can fight bias and problematic behavior to build a more fair society。
A Harvard evolutionary biologist debunks the myths and cultural stereotypes surrounding testosterone and reveals its far-reaching effects on gender and sexuality， sports， relationships， and many more aspects of our everyday lives。
The biological source of virility and masculinity has inspired fascination， investigation， and controversy since antiquity。 From the eunuchs in the royal courts of ancient China to the booming market for “elixirs” of youth in nineteenth-century Europe， humans have been obsessed with identifying and manipulating what we now know as testosterone。 And the trends show no signs of slowing down—the modern market for testosterone supplements is booming。 Thanks to this history and the methods of modern science， today we have a rich body of research about testosterone’s effects in both men and women。
The science is clear: testosterone is a major， invisible player in our relationships， sex lives， athletic abilities， childhood play， gender transitions， parenting roles， violent crime， and so much more。 But there is still a lot of pushback to the idea that it does， in fact， cause sex differences and significantly influence behavior。
Carole Hooven argues in T that acknowledging testosterone as a potent force in society doesn’t reinforce stifling gender norms or patriarchal values。 Testosterone and evolution work together to produce a huge variety of human behavior， and that includes a multitude of ways to be masculine or feminine。 Understanding the science sheds light on how we work and relate to one another， how we express anger and love， and how we can fight bias and problematic behavior to build a more fair society。
Reviews
Justin Price
，
“What makes a person？ Is it nurture or is it nature？ Is it both？ And if it is both， in what proportion is it both？” These have been questions that have plagued society for quite some time。 And for good reason。 If the behavior of an individual is purely influenced by nurture， then some believe that simply shifting the culture would fix all the ills of society such as sexism。 It is feared that if an individual's behavior is purely or even partly determined by nature， all negative or antisocial beh “What makes a person？ Is it nurture or is it nature？ Is it both？ And if it is both， in what proportion is it both？” These have been questions that have plagued society for quite some time。 And for good reason。 If the behavior of an individual is purely influenced by nurture， then some believe that simply shifting the culture would fix all the ills of society such as sexism。 It is feared that if an individual's behavior is purely or even partly determined by nature， all negative or antisocial behavior will be excused。 Holding people accountable for their actions and misdeeds become nigh impossible in their view if said actions have a biological component or cause。 But as the book T: The story of Testosterone explains， this does not have to be an accurate fear。 That even if biology plays a large role in the formation of a person’s personality， it does not have to be destiny and the person is still the ultimate decider of their life choices。 tWritten by Havard evolutionary biologist Dr。 Carole Hooven， T: The Story of Testosterone explores the rich historical research of testosterone in animals and humans。 She explores when testosterone was first discovered。 She explores how testosterone influences fetal development in animals， including humans。 She explores how testosterone influences aggression and sexual behavior in animals。 She also explores the impact testosterone or the blocking of testosterone has on people who are undergoing gender reassignment therapy。 With each exploration， she establishes the case for testosterone levels at least playing a role， if not a major role， in human behavior。 And she does so with an introspective wit that prevents the subject matter from being boring。 She uses anecdotes， interviews， and if possible her own experiences both as a professor at Havard and also as a mom with a son to illustrate how testosterone can shape behavior。 I also feel that she is fair in her criticism of those who take a strong “testosterone has no influence on human behavior” stance。 She does not insult them or they take that stance。 If anything， she does empathize with them in the sense that she acknowledges that there are a lot of issues with equality among the genders。 But as she says towards the end of the book， one cannot use bad science for a good cause。 tI also appreciate that she avoids fatalism when discussing testosterone's influence on aggression。 As she sums up in the end， having masculine feelings are not toxic nor is one toxic for having them。 It is one’s actions that matter and one do have control over their actions。 Thus， in her view to imply that masculinity can be toxic is somewhat simplistic and that people should embrace the complexity of human beings。 That while there are patterns among males， not every male will conform to that pattern just like how every female does not conform to the pattern of being a female。 I feel this sentiment is what gets lost when discussing differences among the sexes and it is nice to see it as a closing thought in a science book。 All in all， I thoroughly enjoyed the book。 。。。more
Katie
，
Really thought-provoking and interesting book。 It’s not wholly clear by the end which differences between men and women can be attributed to testosterone or socialization， but the book is exceptionally clear and good on explanations for DSDs and Caster Semenya’s case。
Bill Rodriguez
，
Great read and a lot of great information。
Surya
，
If you can stick through the early grind， you will get to a well written book - or do you get habituated to it？
Anne
，
This was chosen for some reason by my bipartisan book club。 I never read sciency books， so it was good for me in that respect， although I couldn't really evaluate the author's claims because of my lack of background。 People in the book group thought she made too much of animal studies on the effects of testosterone。 This was chosen for some reason by my bipartisan book club。 I never read sciency books， so it was good for me in that respect， although I couldn't really evaluate the author's claims because of my lack of background。 People in the book group thought she made too much of animal studies on the effects of testosterone。 。。。more
Jess Woods
，
Fascinating！ There’s a lot we assume we already know but， naturally， that’s only half the story。 While T can never excuse poor behaviour， it’s definitely important to understand it’s role！
Gustavo Paniagua Serrano
，
**Español**La autora explica con mucha claridad la influencia de la testosterona en diversos ámbitos de la fisiología y el comportamiento， lo cual está respaldado con sólida evidencia científica。 El lenguaje metafórico hace bastante comprensible las ideas， incluso para personas no familiarizadas con el lenguaje técnico biológico。Un aspecto que me llamó mucho la atención， y que lo logré conectar con la psicología， es la base evolutiva de las diferencias entre el comportamiento de machos y hembras **Español**La autora explica con mucha claridad la influencia de la testosterona en diversos ámbitos de la fisiología y el comportamiento， lo cual está respaldado con sólida evidencia científica。 El lenguaje metafórico hace bastante comprensible las ideas， incluso para personas no familiarizadas con el lenguaje técnico biológico。Un aspecto que me llamó mucho la atención， y que lo logré conectar con la psicología， es la base evolutiva de las diferencias entre el comportamiento de machos y hembras: los machos desean transmitir sus genes， por lo que es adaptativa una mayor libido， fuerza física y competitividad; mientras que las hembras deben proteger y criar a su descendencia， por lo que es adaptativa la conservación de energía y la vinculación a largo plazo。Aun poniendo el énfasis en los aspectos biológicos， Hooven no deja de lado la importancia del ambiente en la expresión de las conductas asociadas a cada sexo。Creo que es un libro que vale la pena leer para comprender mejor las bases biológicas de las diferencias entre sexos， así como también provee de argumentos para las discusiones sobre el tema de género。**English**The author explains very clearly the influence of testosterone in various areas of physiology and behavior， which is supported by solid scientific evidence。 The metaphorical language makes the ideas quite understandable， even for people unfamiliar with technical biological language。One aspect that really caught my attention， and that I was able to connect with psychology， is the evolutionary basis for the differences between male and female behavior: males want to pass on their genes， so higher libido， physical strength and competitiveness are adaptive; while females must protect and nurture their offspring， so energy conservation and long-term bonding are adaptive。While emphasizing the biological aspects， Hooven does not neglect the importance of the environment in the expression of behaviors associated with each sex。I think it is a book worth reading to better understand the biological basis of sex differences， as well as to provide arguments for discussions on gender。 。。。more
Ietrio
，
This is not ”the story” of a chemical substance。 This is some pompous navel gazing from someone who is smart because a committee gave him a diploma。And no， a hormone does not dominate。And ”divide us” is bad only from the point of view of a Hitler， or a Stalin。Worse， the lives of people is affected in many ways by old White men who have almost no testosterone。Now back to work you serf， Hooven wants to hire some more nephews， and he needs more taxes from you。
Justin
，
A good introduction and survey of research on the subject written for the lay reader / non-specialist。 The last chapters of the text are padded with too many touchy-feely， cutesy， navel-gazing personal anecdotes， however。 While intended to serve the dual purpose of a） putting a human face on the subject and （unfortunately） b） of shielding the author from the sorts of rabid anti-science critics liable to froth at the mouth when confronted with science that contradicts their personal agendas， ulti A good introduction and survey of research on the subject written for the lay reader / non-specialist。 The last chapters of the text are padded with too many touchy-feely， cutesy， navel-gazing personal anecdotes， however。 While intended to serve the dual purpose of a） putting a human face on the subject and （unfortunately） b） of shielding the author from the sorts of rabid anti-science critics liable to froth at the mouth when confronted with science that contradicts their personal agendas， ultimately this serves as a distraction from the business at hand， no matter how well-intentioned。 。。。more
Mikaela
，
Well researched and well supported。
Strange Weather
，
This book frustrated me to no end， and didn’t deserve to be a book-length text， a commonality among popularized science books。 What I wanted could likely have been distilled into a bulleted list: the impact of testosterone on average human males with some statistics， along with citations of studies where I could go for further reading。 The value added would have been the quick lit review of the area for readers who aren’t evolutionary biologists。The book quickly descended to what what I didn’t w This book frustrated me to no end， and didn’t deserve to be a book-length text， a commonality among popularized science books。 What I wanted could likely have been distilled into a bulleted list: the impact of testosterone on average human males with some statistics， along with citations of studies where I could go for further reading。 The value added would have been the quick lit review of the area for readers who aren’t evolutionary biologists。The book quickly descended to what what I didn’t want:-emotional reactions to modern ideological and political mandates （I get it; I’m a woman， but ugh）-extended chocolate chip cookie metaphors that imagine the reader is in middle school -descriptions of rare intersex casesWhy were these things there？ Because the author needed content enough for a whole book。 As a former science writer and current social scientist， this should have been a blog post。 This book happened with either the encouragement of a literary agent relegated to pumping out pop sci or an author who doesn’t know how to speak to general interest。 Either way， yikes。 I’ll go to the literature myself instead of spending more time with this。 DNF。 。。。more
Anna Keating
，
Hearing her interviews about the book was even better than reading it。 She gives great tape。 It's a bit of a slog for a non scientist at times， but still worthwhile if you're trying to understand the people in your life。 Hearing her interviews about the book was even better than reading it。 She gives great tape。 It's a bit of a slog for a non scientist at times， but still worthwhile if you're trying to understand the people in your life。 。。。more
Kim
，
Slow audiobook reader necessitated 1。45x， but the book itself was fantastic， full of great science and made easy to understand。 I was excited just to learn about testosterone， but the amount of information on congenital adrenal hyperplasia made it even more interesting！ Highly recommend。
Carlo
，
Overdrive book
Markus
，
Great book by a Harvard biological anthropologist。 Highly relevant to today’s discourse on extremely triggering topics。 Recommended to anyone interested in studying human behavior， male-female differences， gender identity and sexual orientation。Testosterone has some negative effects that we should be worried about but most of these are anachronous since our lives are not in danger in social situations anymore。 Some that apply today are that with high testosterone our sex drive is higher which mi Great book by a Harvard biological anthropologist。 Highly relevant to today’s discourse on extremely triggering topics。 Recommended to anyone interested in studying human behavior， male-female differences， gender identity and sexual orientation。Testosterone has some negative effects that we should be worried about but most of these are anachronous since our lives are not in danger in social situations anymore。 Some that apply today are that with high testosterone our sex drive is higher which might prevent us from focusing on other areas of our lives and as parents might make it harder to focus on our family。 In prehistoric times lowered testosterone kept us alive as it made us more docile and thus unwilling to challenge any dangerous tribe chiefs。 Today though， our brain still monitors our social situation and regulates testosterone accordingly。 So for instance if one rarely socializes out of their comfortable inner circle and as a rule backs down from opportunities to change that situation， their testosterone will probably be lowered。 And vice versa。 This is one of the reasons why T varies a lot among human males。Some other things of relevancy would be testosterone's effect on gender identity as compared to other factors such as socialization。 Great example would be studies done by a US endocrinologist in the 1970s of boys with 5-ARD deficiency that have been raised as girls in African villages， with female looking genitals。 As puberty hits and testosterone starts building up， they start to develop as men instead， with male genitals and concurrently start to identify as men。 This is in a situation where gender identification is not a taboo and no one really cares whom one identifies as。 In such case testosterone （and other sex hormones） takes the primary role while socialization and child-rearing practices appears to have no effect on gender identity。 T has an effect on social behavior， aggression， sexual behavior and physical development such as muscle growth， bone density and so on。 The fact that trendy scientists are attempting to deny these basic facts is a sign that individual ability to think is much more important than repeating “trusted， scientific” sources ad nausea。 。。。more
Caleb Anderson
，
Reality matters and this book describes the reality of Testosterone。 Fantastic read if your wondering about how T effects the body。
Colin Thomas
，
Another very interesting book on the science of sex， gender， and testosterone。 This one in the opposite camp of “Testosterone Rex，” arguing that testosterone generates important sex differences in embryonic development and puberty that do impact male bodies and behavior。 It’s arguments and evidence are all fairly compelling， if a little heavy on non-human research。 I also really appreciated （and was drawn to this book in the first place because of） Hooven’s well-adjusted， progressive and compass Another very interesting book on the science of sex， gender， and testosterone。 This one in the opposite camp of “Testosterone Rex，” arguing that testosterone generates important sex differences in embryonic development and puberty that do impact male bodies and behavior。 It’s arguments and evidence are all fairly compelling， if a little heavy on non-human research。 I also really appreciated （and was drawn to this book in the first place because of） Hooven’s well-adjusted， progressive and compassionate approach to this topic。 Many people who might agree with her core scientific conclusions use those conclusions to justify their own bigotry。 Hooven argues well against such bigotry in this book。 My only critique is the heavy use of rat and non-human mammal behavior to illustrate points that I don’t think track perfectly onto humans。 I’m sure someone who firmly believes the role of testosterone in gendered behavior to be overblown would be able to raise many compelling counter arguments to those in this book。 。。。more
Thurston
，
I've read very few books as challenging and thought-provoking as this。 If you want to understand the impact of a single hormone on behavior across cultures and species， I would highly recommend this book！ I've read very few books as challenging and thought-provoking as this。 If you want to understand the impact of a single hormone on behavior across cultures and species， I would highly recommend this book！ 。。。more
Ifedayo Kuye
，
As a college student， I took Carole Hooven's class over 10 years ago， and it was one of the best courses I took。 Glad she turned it into a book。 Her book is a concise summary of research that explains the impact of T on male/female development and social behavior。 She marries the research with anecdotes and case studies that makes the book accessible to the average reader。 It's interesting， going over the material years later， how my views of the field of evolutionary biology have changed。 There As a college student， I took Carole Hooven's class over 10 years ago， and it was one of the best courses I took。 Glad she turned it into a book。 Her book is a concise summary of research that explains the impact of T on male/female development and social behavior。 She marries the research with anecdotes and case studies that makes the book accessible to the average reader。 It's interesting， going over the material years later， how my views of the field of evolutionary biology have changed。 There are clearly behaviors and biological differences that we have to attribute to T， but I've come to believe that socialization has a much more substantial role in shaping our behavior， especially in adulthood。 And our lives have become so disconnected from our ancestors， that it feels unnatural to place our current behaviors in an evolutionary context。 。。。more
Meagan
，
3。5
Stacey Handler
，
This is a very readable account of the hormone that 'dominates and divides us'。 Very accessible and not too sciency at all。 Lots of stories from Hoovens life and studies and she is a very good writer。 I learnt a lot I didn't know and it's not preachy at all， it just tells us what T is and what it does and how that affects males （and females） I wouldn't say I enjoyed reading it， but I learnt a lot and I'd recommend it if you have any interest at all in this area。 This is a very readable account of the hormone that 'dominates and divides us'。 Very accessible and not too sciency at all。 Lots of stories from Hoovens life and studies and she is a very good writer。 I learnt a lot I didn't know and it's not preachy at all， it just tells us what T is and what it does and how that affects males （and females） I wouldn't say I enjoyed reading it， but I learnt a lot and I'd recommend it if you have any interest at all in this area。 。。。more
Ma'Belle
，
Wow， this book was infuriating to read so much of the time， but at the same time， I'm glad I stuck with it despite wanting to figuratively throw it in the trash halfway through。 Is that my testosterone talking？ For context， I am a transgender woman with a currently testosterone-dominant system。 I have taken T blockers and I have taken estradiol for lengths of time， but ultimately had too many negative health effects combined with the social problem that no matter how much I might medically trans Wow， this book was infuriating to read so much of the time， but at the same time， I'm glad I stuck with it despite wanting to figuratively throw it in the trash halfway through。 Is that my testosterone talking？ For context， I am a transgender woman with a currently testosterone-dominant system。 I have taken T blockers and I have taken estradiol for lengths of time， but ultimately had too many negative health effects combined with the social problem that no matter how much I might medically transition， my body and gender put me in danger and most of the world will still perceive me as male or as some Subversion Other。 I'll have to come back to my own personal experience more later， either in this review or in an independent essay， but lez get back to the book itself。I listened to this book because I was looking for Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography but that title isn't currently available as an audiobook。 Although that "Unauthorized Biography" was published less than three years ago， Carole Hooven's polemic tome comes fresh on its heels and sets itself out to disprove some of the main ideas of that book， naming and quoting it several times。It's possible my initial distaste for this book was exacerbated by the author's tone of voice， especially in the first half: she sounds utterly condescending and resentful， and fails to address the Trans Question until late in the book。 This is ironic because it starts and finishes with an anecdote about the difficulty she's had in critiquing a particular lecture based purely on its argument rather than her overwhelming impression that the lecturer is an "asshole。" For me， Carole Hooven is an asshole no matter how much of her scientific data is valid。Essentially， Hooven is an essentialist when it comes to gender。 For her， a body registering more testosterone than estrogen is a man， and vice versa。 Obviously I take issue with this， but it's a problem that might have been alleviated with a prominent disclaimer about language and definitions at the preface。 I understand that it's clunky to replace every instance of "men" with either "cis men" or "bodies with testosterone-dominant systems" or "people I perceive to be male" depending on the intent。 But seriously， even if I had read this book - published in 2021 - back in 2010， it would have seemed crudely dated。Okay， I'm going to take a breath， attempt to regulate the spike of T I'm likely experiencing due to the ways this book agitates me， and instead copypasta the notes I wrote from it while listening:I am feeling so on-guard， suspicious， and cautious while listening to this book。 Is it going to be polemical？ She’s rejecting recent scientific books that discredit biological gender essentialism， but I fear she’s creating a straw man， because I don’t know a single trans person who would claim that our hormones *only* affect our genital development。She keeps including “pugnacious” as a quality of organisms with testosterone-dominant systems。 I wondered what the precise definition is。 “eager or quick to argue， quarrel， or fight。” Yyyyyuup！ Would that character trait that I’m not so fond of diminish if I had continued with HRT？“Androgens determine our gender identity。” She says “feminist” and “accused of sexism” with condescension and disgust。Men dominate in all categories of violent crimes。 However， within intimate partnerships， in heterosexual relationships in the West， the rate of physical violence inflicted by females and males is actually about equal。 But the severity of that harm is significantly higher when committed by males。While discussing rates of murder， physical partner abuse， and rape， one major thing that occurs to me that she hasn’t mentioned is that men would experience a different sense of internal and cultural shame and likely are much less likely to report or admit to friends or officials when they have been physically or sexually abused。 No woman has been arrested or convicted of rape， she says。 I don’t believe this is due simply to estrogen vs testosterone， but by the way our culture defines rape and only believes it happens from someone with a penis to someone with a vagina （or from a man to a younger boy）。Difference between proactive aggression and indirect aggression。 （maybe around 55% in the book？）When taking T samples from Brazilian and Italian male fans during the World Cup between those teams， what if they had also measured the T of the women who were also aggressively interested in the match？ I hypothesize that spectator sports are one of the great arenas in which women are nearly as aggressive and excited as men （though there’s likely still a major gap）。“If you shot up a bunch of Buddhist monks with T， it would lead not to violence， but to random acts of kindness。” - T causes effects based on what the situation， individual， and environment call for to bring success， basically。 It doesn’t turn the meek into warriors。Scientists still don’t know *how* our brains and testes are able to generate such rapid amounts of T within minutes in response to different situations。Males （those with T） have increase in dopamine even after ejaculation when presented with a *different* potential female sex partner （in both mice and men）。 M are more likely to desire more partners than F。 But both are equally interested in forming a long-term partnership。“Men from low socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to get praise for [having relatively a lot of sexual partners]。”1 in 200 men alive today have Ghengis Khan as an ancestor because he spawned probably hundreds， and his sons were similarly promiscuous！She thinks for humans， evolutionarily it has been in our best interest for survival for a mother and father to stay home monogamously （though the male impregnating others throughout his life also fits with the strategy）。Says only non-human species that has ever been seen to include exclusively homosexual variants is sheep。Says research across diverse cultures supports the stereotype as true that gay and lesbian people tend to work in fields dominated by the other sex and to self-describe as less masculine or feminine， respectively。 （E。g。 lesbian mechanics and gay flight attendants）Long-term studies she cites suggest early life “cross-gender tendencies” can be used predictively towards adults who are homo or bisexual。CAH girls - who are exposed to a higher level of T in the womb， are much more likely to grow up and be attracted to women （“not strictly heterosexual”） - 30% vs。 gen pop ~4%CAIS girls （immune to androgens）Her continued use of “MTF” and “FTM” in particular makes me feel like this would have been dated if I had read it 12 years ago when I had first come out。Says testosterone is an important part of the equation in the general occurrence of sexual assault。In CA， “rape” requires a *penis* penetrating a vagina， not just a finger！！！ （only “sexual assault”）。 This author follows that guidance in how she describes Brock Turner。At the end， she compares being gay or trans to having malaria - i。e。 just because something might be natural doesn’t mean it’s good。Never discusses differences in traditional cultures with matriarchs in power and/or records of almost zero instances of rape， such as the Haudenosaunee or Cherokee。 。。。more
Jeremy
，
The only expertise I have in testosterone is that I'm male and therefore have experienced its effects throughout my life。 I say this to say that I don't know how right she is or wrong， but she weaves a convincing story and she teaches evolutionary biology at Harvard， so she checks my box as an expert。 All of this to say， there is plenty of controversy surrounding T。 Over the past couple decades a strong light has been shined into trans people and similar gender fluidities。 Often T has been downp The only expertise I have in testosterone is that I'm male and therefore have experienced its effects throughout my life。 I say this to say that I don't know how right she is or wrong， but she weaves a convincing story and she teaches evolutionary biology at Harvard， so she checks my box as an expert。 All of this to say， there is plenty of controversy surrounding T。 Over the past couple decades a strong light has been shined into trans people and similar gender fluidities。 Often T has been downplayed， but Hooven shows us that T is extremely important in expressing "male" traits - increased aggression， sexual libido， strength， etc。 There are three times in the life of males that T shows huge increases - prenatally， 1-2 years after birth， and at puberty。 This T， Hooven shows， masculinizes the brain。 Yes， women have testosterone， but on average a man has 10-20 times the amount that a woman has。 Yes there are exceptions， we are working on averages。 Of course there are a variety of things that lead to behavioral outcomes， T is just one of them。 But just because， for instance， males have a propensity for sexual novelty and high libido， this does not mean that since this is natural that it justifies sexual assault。 Identifying a "natural" trait is not the same as condoning it。 Hooven makes a convincing case that it is not important if something is "natural" or not。 Many people are scared to say that T masculinizes the brain。 They say society and culture are solely responsible for gender differences。 They think that if men's brains really are different that it challenges gender equality or justifies sexual assault。 But Hooven's case is that T really does make men's brains different， science is pretty clear on this， and just because people may be scared of the implications does not mean we can ignore the facts。 But just because something is natural does not mean it is good or that we should just accept any outcome。 "Whether you're born to be gay， choose to be gay， or are gay because of your upbringing has no bearing on whether it's good to be gay" （or trans or whatever）。 "Men and women， and boy and girls， are different， and that is in important ways traceable to differential exposure to androgens， starting in the womb and continuing in later life。" This book does a really good job of explaining this。 。。。more
Feisty Harriet
，
This is not what I was hoping for or looking for。 Factual and written for a non-expert， which I can appreciate。
Simon Dobson
，
Testosterone is perhaps the only hormone with a personality， one that's often blamed when violent things happen。 It's interesting to see a "biography" of it that's so grounded in the biochemistry and the limits of what's experimentally verifiable。 The fact that testosterone is entwined into so many fates of growth and development makes it a hard subject for study。One aspect that jumped out at me was the extent to which evolution creates mechanisms that are the opposite of engineered， for example Testosterone is perhaps the only hormone with a personality， one that's often blamed when violent things happen。 It's interesting to see a "biography" of it that's so grounded in the biochemistry and the limits of what's experimentally verifiable。 The fact that testosterone is entwined into so many fates of growth and development makes it a hard subject for study。One aspect that jumped out at me was the extent to which evolution creates mechanisms that are the opposite of engineered， for example having the same hormone control several systems that are to some extent in competition， or create systems that run-away without being inhibited （rather than stay quiescent without being stimulated）。 Grounding to firmly in the biochemistry is also a weakness too， though: it's a little too reductionist， a little too fast to dismiss psychology and how testosterone might affect feeling， and therefore affect behaviour indirectly beyond the strict biochemical pathways。 I can accept that psychology is a hard regime in which to do fully-grounded experiments: but that's true for all complex systems， and so its perhaps better to go looking for the general shapes of behaviour rather than focus so much on the details – and dismiss out of hand areas where these studies can't be performed。 。。。more
Bee
，
I think perhaps various researchers from the corresponding field ought to have written the relevant chapters。 Some conclusions were far reaching， sometimes there evidence was anecdotal， choice of wording in places bothered me but it’s not a bad book。
Keven Wang
，
Best science book I have read this year
Michael
，
A sensible book with a bit too much anecdotal evidence in the second part。
Madhuri
，
Wtf did I just read
Guinevere Norman
，