Book excerpt: As we tumble headlong into the second decade of the third millennium, we are in an era of unprecedented freedom to be whatever we want to be, in defiance of fusty old gender stereotypes. But while the women revel in ruling the boardroom, the men make magic in the kitchen, and everyone does rather unusual things in the bedroom, all of this freedom does have its downside: without understanding the fundamental differences between the genders, we're in for an era of dire confusion when it comes to living with the other half of humanity. But don't furrow your brow. Jean Hannah Edelstein is here to lead you through the perplexing questions of what it means to be a man or a woman in the twenty-first century. With a spectacular talent for unpicking social trends, Edelstein draws equally on experiential and anecdotal evidence, as well as the latest scientific studies, delivering a witty, edgy and definitive manual to understanding your partner/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend. Welcome a fresh new expert on men and women and the contradictory languages they speak.