The Social Animal
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With unequaled insight and brio, David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Bobos in Paradise, has long explored and explained the way we live. Now, with the intellectual curiosity and emotional wisdom that make his columns among the most read in the nation, Brooks turns to
… More »With unequaled insight and brio, David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Bobos in Paradise, has long explored and explained the way we live. Now, with the intellectual curiosity and emotional wisdom that make his columns among the most read in the nation, Brooks turns to the building blocks of human flourishing in a multilayered, profoundly illuminating work grounded in everyday life. This is the story of how success happens. It is told through the lives of one composite American couple, Harold and Erica--how they grow, push forward, are pulled back, fail, and succeed. Distilling a vast array of information into these two vividly realized characters, Brooks illustrates a fundamental new understanding of human nature. A scientific revolution has occurred--we have learned more about the human brain in the last thirty years than we had in the previous three thousand. The unconscious mind, it turns out, is most of the mind--not a dark, vestigial place but a creative and enchanted one, where most of the brain's work gets done. This is the realm of emotions, intuitions, biases, longings, genetic predispositions, personality traits, and social norms: the realm where character is formed and where our most important life decisions are made. The natural habitat of The Social Animal. Drawing on a wealth of current research from numerous disciplines, Brooks takes Harold and Erica from infancy to school; from the "odyssey years" that have come to define young adulthood to the high walls of poverty; from the nature of attachment, love, and commitment, to the nature of effective leadership. He reveals the deeply social aspect of our very minds and exposes the bias in modern culture that overemphasizes rationalism, individualism, and IQ. Along the way, he demolishes conventional definitions of success while looking toward a culture based on trust and humility. The Social Animal is a moving and nuanced intellectual adventure, a story of achievement and a defense of progress. Impossible to put down, it is an essential book for our time, one that will have broad social impact and will change the way we see ourselves and the world. From the Hardcover edition.
« Lessthe hidden sources of love, character, and achievement
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Add a CommentNegative rating for fiction presented as fact. So Brooks' character has a real job? At a "think tank"? Wished Brooks had bothered to present a history of the financiers behind all these so-called "think tanks" (manufactured consent, people?). Easy to ignore that most crucial fact that studies have indicated that the number one indicator of financial success in America (and many other countries) is the family you are born to. I just find Brooks to be a complete farce on multiple levels.
The best of modern understanding of humans and how they really work, told as a story by a skilled and thought-provoking writer. He reaches the pinnacle around chapter 20, pouring out insight after insight, backed by a few simple, powerful, carefully chosen statistics.
If you like learning about human behavior then this is a good read for you. Very well written book. I recommend this to all.
An interesting story put together by David Brooks, who has a gift for weaving interesting thoughts and theories into an allegorical tale. The characters he develops to get his thoughts across, Harold and Erica, are both relatable on many levels, and very human. You share in their love, their desires, their ambition, and their not so good moments as well. Many of the parts are very thought provoking, as he seamlessly goes back and forth between the points made through the story of the characters and the real world thoughts and analysis that set the foundation of the characters. Overall, a very good read that gives you a lot to think about.
Great book, but you have to be ready to think while you read this book (it's not just an "entertain you without making you work" sort of reading). For those who like to learn, understand and evolve, give this a try. If you want a light read without much enlightenment, don't pick this book up.
I loved this book and am actually going to buy my own copy. I thought it gave me insights into myself, but also into how brains work in general. I teach at a community college, and I've been sharing things I've read since school started. Students love the information as it helps them learn better. Or it could.
I couldn't read it all the way through either. It's like being forced to look into a mirror and have all your flaws pointed out in painful detail.
Sorry but I could not finish!