On the origins of gender inequality /

Huber shows why it is important for social scientists, anthropologists, and sociologists to include biological data in their research on sex and gender stratification. Her book details how the biological data related to pregnancy and lactation provides an alternative view to current theoretical debates on social arrangement, specifically, women's unequal placement. Huber is critical of the postmodernist rejection of science in research and the resultant social constructive view of gender inequality. She follows this with historical background detailing the effect of pregnancy and the time (measured in years) involved in lactation that prevented women from attaining the same status as men as societies evolved from one type to another (e.g., hunter-gatherer, pastoral). Huber provides some fascinating information, especially in chapters 3 ("Hominids Appear") and 4 ("Human Milk"). However, without thorough explanation, she dismisses postmodern theory and its critique of scientific methods/research. She fails to provide historical specificity, compounding the resulting problems of universalities for women, men, societies, geography, and so on. Finally, while Huber uses sources of value, she overlooks newer, more comprehensive sources, many of which address the concerns noted above. Summing Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate libraries. K. M. Jamieson Ashland University