原文书名《红皇后》（The Red Queen）出自路易斯．卡洛作品《爱丽丝镜中奇遇》（THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS）中的人物。红皇后不前奔，却总是停在原地毫无进展。本书审视“性与人性的牵连”，深入探讨动植物的性演化，并说明“性与人性的牵连”如何影响人类的智能、择偶和社会结构。

Sex is as fascinating to scientists as it is to the rest of us. A vast pool of knowledge, therefore, has been gleaned from research into the nature of sex, from the contentious problem of why the wasteful reproductive process exists at all, to how individuals choose their mates and what traits they find attractive. This fascinating book explores those findings, and their implications for the sexual behavior of our own species. It uses the Red Queen from 'Alice in Wonderland' - who has to run at full speed to stay where she is - as a metaphor for a whole range of sexual behaviors. The book was shortlisted for the 1994 Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books. 'Animals and plants evolved sex to fend off parasitic infection. Now look where it has got us. Men want BMWs, power and money in order to pair-bond with women who are blonde, youthful and narrow-waisted...a brilliant examination of the scientific debates on the hows and whys of sex and evolution' - "Independent".