Evolutionary psychologist Buss conducted an unprecedented set of studies investigating the underlying motives and circumstances of murders, from bizarre cases of serial killers to those of the friendly next-door neighbor who one day kills his wife. Though we may like to believe that murderers are pathological misfits and hardened criminals, the vast majority of murders are committed by people who, until the day they kill, seem to be perfectly normal....

"Sexual conflict permeates ancient religions, from injunctions about thy neighbor's wife to the permissible rape of infidels. It is etched in written laws that dictate who can and cannot have sex with whom. Its manifestations shape our sexual morality, evoking approving accolades or contemptuous condemnation. It produces sexual double standards that flourish even in the most sexually egalitarian cultures on earth. And although every person alive struggles...