Primal Love: Reclaiming Our Instincts for Lasting Passion

Gillette (The King Within), therapist and men's-movement facilitator, here takes the reader on an odyssey back to humans' ancestral origins to trace the evolutionary roots behind relationship troubles. Rather than being ``neurotic,'' he argues, these problems stem from an imperfect fusing of the three levels of human primate development: jungle time, savannah time and civilization. According to Gillette, men and women differ because of their different ``wiring'' needed to promote survival prior to civilization. For example, during savannah time, women became more emotional and ``dependent'' to ensure men's protection of themselves and their unweaned young from grasslands predators. For men, the need for ``variety'' was necessary to ensure the impregnation of many females to expand the gene pool. Civilization has forced humans to suppress their animal desires, however, resulting in strife between the sexes. Using questionnaires and creative imagery, Gillette suggests that by accepting ``the animal within,'' men and women can have more harmonious, exciting and sensual relationships while remaining ``civilized.'' (Feb.)