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The Virility Paradox
The Vast Influence of Testosterone on Our Bodies, Minds, and the World We Live In
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Table of Contents
About the Book
A scientific exploration of men's health, TRT, and human behavior, The Virility Paradox reveals the vast and often unexpected influence this powerful hormone has on our minds, our relationships, and our society.
The brain of every man—and every woman—is shaped by this tiny molecule before birth. It fuels our drive for exploration, risk-taking, competition, creativity, and survival. The effects of testosterone permeate the traditions, philosophy, and literature of every known culture. Without it, the world would be drastically different.
Testosterone also plays a role in humanity's darker side, contributing to violence, hubris, poverty, crime, and selfishness. Its effects can reduce compassion, generosity, and even the affection we show our children, shedding light on long-held assumptions about masculinity and male psychology.
In The Virility Paradox, internationally renowned oncologist and prostate cancer researcher Charles Ryan explores the remarkably complex biological system responsible for a diverse spectrum of human behaviors and health outcomes in both men and women. Over decades of treating patients with hormone depleting treatments, Ryan observed profound and diverse changes in many individual’s perspectives on their lives, relationships, and emotional well-being.
Drawing on neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and stories of real men and women, Ryan explores:
- The link between testosterone and conditions like dementia, autism, and cancer
- Surprising outcomes of using hormone replacement therapy and what these treatments reveal about the brain
- How hormone biology influences every choice we make, from crime and investing to parenting and relationships
- The significant role hormones play in an individual’s anxiety, mental health, fatigue, libido, longevity, and more
- The biological underpinnings of sexual assault
Integrating the molecular and the medical, sociology and storytelling, The Virility Paradox offers a fascinating look at how one hormone has shaped history, and the connections between our biology, our behavior, and our best selves.
Product Details
- Publisher: BenBella Books (February 27, 2018)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781944648565
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Raves and Reviews
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“The Virility Paradox by Charles Ryan, MD, is a marvelous, timely and fun book about testosterone and behavior in men and women. This is a must read for parents, teachers, doctors, psychologists and everyone interested in gender.”
—Louann Brizendine MD, neuropsychiatrist, author of The Female Brain and The Male Brain
“Charles Ryan has written a unique, easy to read medical commentary on the paradoxes of testosterone. Anyone wanting to learn about the scientific basis of puberty, crime, behavior or prostate cancer will want to read this fascinating book written by one of our nation’s most outstanding academic physicians.”
—Stanley Prusiner, MD, director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases at University of California, San Francisco, Nobel Laureate in Medicine, and author of Madness and Memory
“Fascinating! Ryan is a doctor and professor but also a natural scientist . . . The Virility Paradox is a book of remarkable scope, for this hormone plays a role in every human drama—in sickness and health and in aging; in sex and power; morality and politics; in how we think and how we behave. With unforgettable stories to complement his extensive scientific research, Ryan has us not only rethinking all our ideas about masculinity but what it is to be human.”
—Jena Pincott, author of Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies: The Surprising Science of Pregnancy and Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: The Science of Love, Sex, and Attraction
“A terrific read. Dr. Ryan writes with grace, wit, and insight on a topic that touches on nearly every aspect of our society. Highly recommended.”
—Dr. Kelly Parsons, author of Doing Harm and Under the Knife and Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego
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