Why Men? A Human History of Violence and Inequality

Nancy Starr Self Lindisfarne ’66 and Jonathan Neale, Hurst Publishers, December 2023

Lindisfarne says, “My anthropology, and latterly this book, all began with doing anthropology at Grinnell with Ronald Kurtz all those years ago!” (Professor Kurtz, who taught anthropology at the College for 31 years, passed away in 2014.) Why Men? asks whether war and inequality are inevitable because evolution made men competitive and dominant, then seeks answers by delving into the history of ‘true’ human nature and telling a story of humanity from early behaviors to contemporary cultures. Lindisfarne taught for many years at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.