Bull

In Bull, zoologist Lucy Cooke embarks on a bold and revelatory journey to explore what it truly means to be male in the animal kingdom.

For too long survival of the fittest has been taken at face value, male success defined in terms of strength, size, virility, fighting other males and dominance over females. But countering this stubbornly one-dimensional view, drawing on ground-breaking field research, Cooke reveals a far more nuanced picture, challenging the hyper-masculine stereotypes that have long dominated our understanding.

Through captivating stories, Cooke opens our eyes to an astonishing variety of male success strategies: meet the gay vultures and devoted wolf dads, happily ‘cuckolded’ silverback gorillas and cross-dressing ruffs, brotherhoods of bisexual monkeys and mummies boy bonobos, clown fish that queue decades to mate and slinky ‘sneaky fucker’ elephant seals that dodge the fight entirely to win females.

Full of colour and deeply important, Cooke shines a light on the full spectrum of masculinity to show its not always size or strength that matters for male success, but connection, cooperation, and collaboration.

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Praise for Lucy Cookes previous book, Bitch

From the heir to Attenborough. 5* - Telegraph

Brilliant ... Cooke is a superb science writerTLS

Bitch is a blast. I read it, my jaw sagging in astonishmentObserver

A bold and gripping takedown of the sexist mythology baked into biologyGuardian

Colourful, committed and deeply informed.Sunday Times

Gloriously originalDaily Mirror

A sparkling attack on scientific sexism Nature