It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large ego must be in want of a woman to cut him down ...

' Adam & Eve & Pinch Me went down to the river to bathe Adam & Eve were drowned. Who was saved?' This old nursery rhyme is a favourite of Jerry Leach (if that is the name he is using at the time), a handsome ne'er do well, who sponges off women. Five women, unknown to each other, are his willing victims. One he even married once & abandoned, while promising to marry another. But, with the cruel irony he would be the first to recognize in that nursery rhyme, Jerry, almost accidentally, becomes the victim of one of his female prey. ' Minty Knox sees ghosts. & because this is Rendell territory, we know this will not be a supernatural thriller but rather an exploration of what happens when personal delusions collide with reality-With her usual deft touch, Ruth Rendell pulls the strands of her story together, weaving a taut & terrifying narrative which reminds us that nothing we do is without consequence, nor are those consequences ever within our control.' Val Mc Dermid, Daily Express ...

' Adam & Eve & Pinch Me went down to the river to bathe Adam & Eve were drowned. Who was saved?' This old nursery rhyme is a favourite of Jerry Leach (if that is the name he is using at the time), a handsome ne'er do well, who sponges off women. Five women, unknown to each other, are his willing victims. One he even married once & abandoned, while promising to marry another. But, with the cruel irony he would be the first to recognize in that nursery rhyme, Jerry, almost accidentally, becomes the victim of one of his female prey. ' Minty Knox sees ghosts. & because this is Rendell territory, we know this will not be a supernatural thriller but rather an exploration of what happens when personal delusions collide with reality-With her usual deft touch, Ruth Rendell pulls the strands of her story together, weaving a taut & terrifying narrative which reminds us that nothing we do is without consequence, nor are those consequences ever within our control.' Val Mc Dermid, Daily Express ...

Genetically speaking, the only difference between men & women is that where women have two X chromosomes, men have one X & one Y. It is surprising that one chromosome difference out of our total of forty-six can have such an important consequence, but it does. Is this relatively small genetic variance really sufficient to explain the huge differences between the sexes, not just the physical but the psychological, social, even cultural?

Drawing on his own work at the forefront of modern genetics & the exciting theories of evolutionary biology, Bryan Sykes explores the mysteries of the science of sex & gender, & takes a scientific look at what makes men tick. He addresses the most basic issues of why there are only two sexes in humans &, even, why there is sex at all. He also raises more far-reaching questions, such as: Is there a genetic cause for men

...

Genetically speaking, the only difference between men & women is that where women have two X chromosomes, men have one X & one Y. It is surprising that one chromosome difference out of our total of forty-six can have such an important consequence, but it does. Is this relatively small genetic variance really sufficient to explain the huge differences between the sexes, not just the physical but the psychological, social, even cultural?

Drawing on his own work at the forefront of modern genetics & the exciting theories of evolutionary biology, Bryan Sykes explores the mysteries of the science of sex & gender, & takes a scientific look at what makes men tick. He addresses the most basic issues of why there are only two sexes in humans &, even, why there is sex at all. He also raises more far-reaching questions, such as: Is there a genetic cause for men

...

The world of Calvino is a world of fable, but he uses its mechanisms to focus with unerring precision on human reality. Nature in these stories has a magical quality in the flight of a crow, the iridescent track of a snail, the sideways leap of a stray cat
- but the magic can encompass both enchantment & terror.
...

This collection of playful, deadly febles is populated with waifs & strays, a gluttonous thief & a mischievous gardener. The grimly comic story The Argentine Ant moved Gore Vidal to declare 'if this is not a masterpiece of twentieth-century prose writing, I cannot think of anything better'. ...