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leighgoodmark's review against another edition
5.0
It took me forever to finish this book. Sometimes I had to go back and re-read several times to get a concept, and I could only read it when it was completely quiet, so that I could concentrate. And I would do it again (and probably will). Sapolsky is a gifted writer and storyteller, which makes working your way through the neurobiology much easier and incredibly rewarding. He's convinced me that our best and worst impulses and acts are a function of biology, and that biology is deeply shaped by context. Absolutely fascinating and wonderful book. Worth every bit of effort it takes to understand the ways that neurotransmitters work (among many, many other things). And bonus: he collaborates with one of my favorite law professors!
effervescentsoul's review against another edition
5.0
Insightful exploration into why we do the things that we do. Definitely worth the read.
djfortman's review against another edition
4.0
This is a dense read; Sapolsky tackles a daunting task of trying to cover the biological, cultural, and individual reasons why people behave the way they do. While it can feel a bit like a textbook at times, I think Sapolsky does a decent job of painting an accurate picture of how complicated the root causes of our actions can be. Certainly worth a read for those science-minded readers who want to think a little bit more about deeply about why we do the things we do.
abstab's review against another edition
3.0
It was incredibly long and wordy, however, I liked that the book was split into two parts: the neurobiology of human behavior and then written Analysis and explanation. I don't really have a science brain so I skimmed through the neurobiology as I simply could not comprehend it. But the explanations were quite interesting to me and I was able to analyze and extrapolate meaning from it.
ethanjarrell's review against another edition
4.0
I'm about 1/3 of the way into this book. I really like it, but it is written at a pretty technical level. A lot of it goes over my head if I don't have time to really pay attention closely to what I'm reading, and my ability to retain much information is probably low, since it's been years since I've taken any biology, and don't have a good frame of reference for much of the material. That being said, the content of the book is easy to follow, it's well researched, and interesting throughout.
I read this book after reading "The righteous mind", "The widsom of psychopaths" and a couple of other psychology based books. This made me appreciate the psychological sections of this book more, and gave me a little more foundation in those areas.
If I had one recommendation to any readers, it would be either to read the appendixes of this book first to get a foundation of the material. Or take a quick refresher in human biology before starting this book so that you can appreciate it more fully.
After the first 5 or 6 chapters, the author gets into the evolution of behavior and becomes less bogged down in the details of the biology of the human body, neurons and hormones. For me, the book moved at a faster pace at this point, and was easier to follow, and slightly more enjoyable than the first half.
I thoroughly enjoyed the last half of the book. Especially the final 2 or 3 chapters, which were a combination of emotional, gut wrenching and optimistically hopeful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. The author is also well read, and referenced almost all of my favorite books. I went back and wrote down all the books he referenced that I hadn't read to add to my reading list.
I read this book after reading "The righteous mind", "The widsom of psychopaths" and a couple of other psychology based books. This made me appreciate the psychological sections of this book more, and gave me a little more foundation in those areas.
If I had one recommendation to any readers, it would be either to read the appendixes of this book first to get a foundation of the material. Or take a quick refresher in human biology before starting this book so that you can appreciate it more fully.
After the first 5 or 6 chapters, the author gets into the evolution of behavior and becomes less bogged down in the details of the biology of the human body, neurons and hormones. For me, the book moved at a faster pace at this point, and was easier to follow, and slightly more enjoyable than the first half.
I thoroughly enjoyed the last half of the book. Especially the final 2 or 3 chapters, which were a combination of emotional, gut wrenching and optimistically hopeful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. The author is also well read, and referenced almost all of my favorite books. I went back and wrote down all the books he referenced that I hadn't read to add to my reading list.