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THE quandaries of the west can all be explained by evolution. At least, so says Rob Brooks, an evolutionary biologist at the University of New South Wales in Australia. In Sex, Genes & Rock ‘n’ Roll, he argues, convincingly, that the obesity crisis, declining fertility rates and even Ozzy Osbourne’s hedonism are down to natural selection.

While Brooks’s prose is playful and entertaining, few ideas in this book are new. Most people with an interest in evolution will have already considered the disconnect between our current sedentary lifestyles and former hunter-gatherer ways as a factor driving obesity, for example.

He has some surprising insights into the changing role of women in society, but mostly this book is for beginners in evolutionary theory. Still, it’s a nice reminder that in spite of all our technology, our way of life remains simple: it really is all about sex.