Baby Wars

Why is a baby's cry such a stressful sound? Why do brothers and sisters fight so often? Why do teenagers rebel? Why can family life be so difficult? The answers, say the authors of Baby Wars, have more to do with our own genetic survival than a dysfunctional psyche.

Baby Wars explodes the vision of the nuclear family once and for all, revealing the conflicts simmering beneath the surface of even the happiest households. While we consciously crave the ideal of quiet and calm family life, forces within us are furiously at war: fatherhood, motherhood, nurturing and care. Beneath these deeply human instincts lies another even deeper one - the will to guarantee our own genetic survival - at the expense of those whom we love and cherish.

In his previous book, Sperm Wars, Robin Baker, an evolutionary biologist, showed the day-to-day Darwinism of our sex lives in a series of fascinating, instantly recognizable fictional situations. Here, he and his partner, Elizabeth Oram, do the same for parenthood, discovering how our instinct to survive results in competitive behaviors that deeply affect family harmony.

Highly provocative, yet profoundly persuasive, Baby Wars strips away the layers of contemporary family life, exposing the genetic reasons for its everyday foibles - and its darkest secrets.

A compelling read for anyone who has ever wondered if their family life is "normal," Baby Wars delivers some unforgettable answers.