Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
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- Author：Robert M. Sapolsky
- ISBN：0143110918
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Summary
The New York Times Bestseller
"It's no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read。" --David P。 Barash， The Wall Street Journal
It has my vote for science book of the year。" --Parul Sehgal， The New York Times
Hands-down one of the best books I've read in years。 I loved it。 --Dina Temple-Raston， The Washington Post
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal
From the celebrated neurobiologist and primatologist， a landmark， genre-defining examination of human behavior， both good and bad， and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do？
Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: he starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs， and then hops back in time from there， in stages， ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its evolutionary legacy。
And so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one。 A behavior occurs--whether an example of humans at our best， worst， or somewhere in between。 What went on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happened？ Then Sapolsky pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision， a little earlier in time: What sight， sound， or smell caused the nervous system to produce that behavior？ And then， what hormones acted hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli that triggered the nervous system？ By now he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened。
Sapolsky keeps going: How was that behavior influenced by structural changes in the nervous system over the preceding months， by that person's adolescence， childhood， fetal life， and then back to his or her genetic makeup？ Finally， he expands the view to encompass factors larger than one individual。 How did culture shape that individual's group， what ecological factors millennia old formed that culture？ And on and on， back to evolutionary factors millions of years old。
The result is one of the most dazzling tours d'horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted， a majestic synthesis that harvests cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines to provide a subtle and nuanced perspective on why we ultimately do the things we do。。。for good and for ill。 Sapolsky builds on this understanding to wrestle with some of our deepest and thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia， hierarchy and competition， morality and free will， and war and peace。 Wise， humane， often very funny， Behave is a towering achievement， powerfully humanizing， and downright heroic in its own right。
"It's no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read。" --David P。 Barash， The Wall Street Journal
It has my vote for science book of the year。" --Parul Sehgal， The New York Times
Hands-down one of the best books I've read in years。 I loved it。 --Dina Temple-Raston， The Washington Post
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal
From the celebrated neurobiologist and primatologist， a landmark， genre-defining examination of human behavior， both good and bad， and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do？
Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: he starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs， and then hops back in time from there， in stages， ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its evolutionary legacy。
And so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one。 A behavior occurs--whether an example of humans at our best， worst， or somewhere in between。 What went on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happened？ Then Sapolsky pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision， a little earlier in time: What sight， sound， or smell caused the nervous system to produce that behavior？ And then， what hormones acted hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli that triggered the nervous system？ By now he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened。
Sapolsky keeps going: How was that behavior influenced by structural changes in the nervous system over the preceding months， by that person's adolescence， childhood， fetal life， and then back to his or her genetic makeup？ Finally， he expands the view to encompass factors larger than one individual。 How did culture shape that individual's group， what ecological factors millennia old formed that culture？ And on and on， back to evolutionary factors millions of years old。
The result is one of the most dazzling tours d'horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted， a majestic synthesis that harvests cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines to provide a subtle and nuanced perspective on why we ultimately do the things we do。。。for good and for ill。 Sapolsky builds on this understanding to wrestle with some of our deepest and thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia， hierarchy and competition， morality and free will， and war and peace。 Wise， humane， often very funny， Behave is a towering achievement， powerfully humanizing， and downright heroic in its own right。
Reviews
Michael
，
This was superb， especially the second half。 Sapolsky laid out a lot of ground work in the first half for how the brain works， and then he tied that in nicely to popular discussions about ethics， morality， religion， humanity etc。 A lot of books discuss these things， but not many that I've read have been able to do it in such an informed， scientific way。 The big one that Sapolsky tackles is free will。 A lot of people have tried。 He basically shows how the 'will' is the product of previous chemica This was superb， especially the second half。 Sapolsky laid out a lot of ground work in the first half for how the brain works， and then he tied that in nicely to popular discussions about ethics， morality， religion， humanity etc。 A lot of books discuss these things， but not many that I've read have been able to do it in such an informed， scientific way。 The big one that Sapolsky tackles is free will。 A lot of people have tried。 He basically shows how the 'will' is the product of previous chemical reactions and causes。 He tackles Descartes' dualistic homunculus and， academically， makes it look pretty silly， without being flippant or cynical。 I like how this led into a discussion about the judiciary system。 Sapolsky's conclusion is something I've progressed to over several years - there are no 'bad' people， and 'punishment' for punishment's sake is barbaric and unethical。 Sapolsky notes that in the past， epileptics were seen as sinful， possessed， or wilfully difficult。 Today it's understood that they have a neurological condition that is producing certain behaviours， and the appropriate response is medically informed treatment and occupational therapy。 The inference is that whatever is left today in the sinful， wicked， or evil basket， is simply that which we don't yet medically understand。 Our descendants will see our punitive systems as barbaric as we see the systems of the past that punished people for having seizures。 The flip side of this is that there are no 'good' people either。 Sapolsky only briefly brushes against this。 He acknowledges it， but he doesn't quite have an answer。 This leads to all sorts of questions about who and what we are， and whether or not there is even an 'us' to talk about。 He mentions the example of telling someone "You succeeded because you're so smart" compared with "You succeeded because you worked so hard。" We feel like intelligence is something we're born with and have little control over， whereas working hard comes from 'us'， the real person， the 'choosing person'。 In reality， the impulse to work hard is part of the same deterministic chemical processes as having a 'smart' brain。 So what's left？ I don't know。 It's all very interesting， but it all points toward human experience being ultimately deterministic and meaningless。 There is no meaning， and there is no 'self'， just particles and more particles， locked in motion。 I guess one caveat to this book was that he used a lot of pysch studies， some of which have been shown to be problematic and unrepeatable。 I don't think his theses depend on these。 He tends to refer to psych studies as interesting in what they show， but not necessarily foundational。 Sometimes he even winks at the reader as though to say not to put too much weight on these。 。。。more
Harry Harman
，
I have a hunch that Elon Musk has read this book。Thus， the official intellectual goal of this book is to avoid using categorical buckets when thinking about the biology of some of our most complicated behaviors， even more complicated than chickens crossing roads。 What’s the replacement？“The behavior occurred because the environment in which that person was raised made her brain more likely to release neurochemical Y in response to certain types of stimuli。”John Watson， a founder of behaviorism， I have a hunch that Elon Musk has read this book。Thus， the official intellectual goal of this book is to avoid using categorical buckets when thinking about the biology of some of our most complicated behaviors， even more complicated than chickens crossing roads。 What’s the replacement？“The behavior occurred because the environment in which that person was raised made her brain more likely to release neurochemical Y in response to certain types of stimuli。”John Watson， a founder of behaviorism， writing around 1925。 Behaviorism， with its notion that behavior is completely malleablebecause of some hormone; because of evolution; because of childhood experiences or genes or cultureWhat crucial things happened in the second before that pro- or antisocial behavior occurred？ Or， translated into neurobiology: What was going on with action potentials， neurotransmitters， and neural circuits in particular brain regions during that second？A second case concerns Charles Whitman， the 1966 “Texas Tower” sniper who， after killing his wife and mother， opened fire atop a tower at the University of Texas in Austin， killing sixteen and wounding thirty-two， one of the first school massacres。 Whitman was literally an Eagle Scout and childhood choirboy， a happily married engineering major with an IQ in the 99th percentile。 In the prior year he had seen doctors， complaining of severe headaches and violent impulses （e。g。， to shoot people from the campus tower）。 He left notes by the bodies of his wife and his mother， proclaiming love and puzzlement at his actions: “I cannot rationaly [sic] pinpoint any specific reason for [killing her]，” and “let there be no doubt in your mind that I loved this woman with all my heart。” His suicide note requested an autopsy of his brain， and that any money he had be given to a mental health foundation。 The autopsy proved his intuition correct—Whitman had a glioblastoma tumor pressing on his amygdala。“periaqueductal gray” （PAG）; stimulation of the PAG can evoke panic attacks， and it is enlarged in people with chronic panic attacks。Your heart does roughly the same thing whether you are in a murderous rage or having an orgasm。 Again， the opposite of love is not hate， it’s indifference。 。。。more
Nico
，
This books /kills/ highlighters， I lost at least four， and this reflects the massive amount of information in an undertaking like this。 Sapolsky—a neuroendocrinologist who was and is vital to my understanding of clinical depression—wrote this 800 page monster of a primer dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of human behavior with the motto 'Invoke one human science and you invoke them all'。 In this it is extremely valuable， pushing us to go beyond the categorical boxes we treat as separate s This books /kills/ highlighters， I lost at least four， and this reflects the massive amount of information in an undertaking like this。 Sapolsky—a neuroendocrinologist who was and is vital to my understanding of clinical depression—wrote this 800 page monster of a primer dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of human behavior with the motto 'Invoke one human science and you invoke them all'。 In this it is extremely valuable， pushing us to go beyond the categorical boxes we treat as separate sciences。 The downside？ He spreads himself real thin outside his specialties。 As a top reviewer points out， Behave fails to grapple with the ongoing replication crisis， highlighting many studies that just don't hold up。 The figures he uses for historical events also go unvetted; incorporating known outliers from the Cold War-era on regimes of different ideologies than his own （citing figures straight out the CIA's Black Book of Communism， a historian faux pas）。 His treatment of Sociology （or Human Rights History） is also irresponsible， in one case repeating but not deferring from an author who reduces our hard fought historical struggles for civil [sic] rights to a "triumph of cognition"—we just got smarter。There is an implicit Othering （the name for what he calls Us/Them-ing） ironic to this work as well: his treatment of Islam。 In a move that would earn him a French citizenship， Sapolsky disparages Islam for the religious prohibition of images of Mohammed。 While I agree that the violent reaction to profane cartoons should be admonished， as another American born person it is bewildering that he singles out Islam for this。 The main Fundamentalists in our birth country are the Evangelicals， and they are terrifyingly violent。 Noone would think to portray Jesus of Nazareth in the way Mohammed is depicted， the death threats are too severe。This is still a useful primer—albeit a very flawed one—as it provides an enormity of research for anyone looking to incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to their scholarship。 The shortcomings above become less harmful if this book is looked at as a welcome mat， to be traversed over rather than stood on as the reader enters the precipice of interdisciplinary study。（Special shout-out to the 'homonculus behind a control panel'—that persisting belief in a free will constituted in the empty spaces between our scientific knowledge。 I'll get that tattooed some day。） 。。。more
Max Weinhold
，
An all-encompassing， researched， and in-depth work， Behave takes us on a journey through the human brain and the environment it finds itself in， moving from less than a blink of an eye to timescales spanning millennia。 In attempting to tease apart the rich web of influences that guide or behavior， Robert Sapolsky weaves a tapestry of causes and contraindications， emphasizing the deeply integrated nature of human behavior。 Depressingly realistic yet surprisingly hopeful， Behave demonstrates that An all-encompassing， researched， and in-depth work， Behave takes us on a journey through the human brain and the environment it finds itself in， moving from less than a blink of an eye to timescales spanning millennia。 In attempting to tease apart the rich web of influences that guide or behavior， Robert Sapolsky weaves a tapestry of causes and contraindications， emphasizing the deeply integrated nature of human behavior。 Depressingly realistic yet surprisingly hopeful， Behave demonstrates that we are sum of all our influences， but that these influences surprisingly do not define us。 。。。more
Misha Shapalov
，
Monumental work， hope to revisit later。
Joseph M
，
More detail than I was prepared for。
Marian Leica
，
An excellent read to get your understanding of hominies to the next level！Though the book is widespread available and aimed at the public， the authors keep an academic writing structure， marking every chapter with its own goals and conclusions。Moreover， as it's aimed at science readers everywhere， in the appedix sections are well explained the basics of neuroscience， endocrinology， and proteins。Recommend！ An excellent read to get your understanding of hominies to the next level！Though the book is widespread available and aimed at the public， the authors keep an academic writing structure， marking every chapter with its own goals and conclusions。Moreover， as it's aimed at science readers everywhere， in the appedix sections are well explained the basics of neuroscience， endocrinology， and proteins。Recommend！ 。。。more
Chance
，
This book is one of the most important works of science ever written。 It is a masterpiece and should be read by every human being。
Maris
，
I appreciated the start of the book much more - the parts where it's about the brain， neuronal signalling， how the genes come to play， and the environment。 But when he starts talking about psychology and the differences between Republicans and Democrats， I was less intrigued。 He was careful with wording it seemed but I'm not sure how much an evolutionary biologist can say confidently about psychological phenomena， relying mostly on core biological principles （especially when these principles are I appreciated the start of the book much more - the parts where it's about the brain， neuronal signalling， how the genes come to play， and the environment。 But when he starts talking about psychology and the differences between Republicans and Democrats， I was less intrigued。 He was careful with wording it seemed but I'm not sure how much an evolutionary biologist can say confidently about psychological phenomena， relying mostly on core biological principles （especially when these principles are observed in animal models）。 But I recognise that maybe I should look more into Sapolsky's expertise on human psychology as well， so far I know he's mainly been an evolutionary biologist and has worked a lot with primates。 Otherwise， still a good read！ Quite enjoyable， overlaps with the free series he has on YouTube about evolutionary biology。 。。。more
Mike Lisanke
，
Wow， what a giant book of crap！ Why oh why are their so many Stupid Smart people？This Could have been a great informative object tomb on neurology and how it effects human behavior。 Instead it's a subjective preachy SJW NPC trying hard to convince us to accept their BS opinions Covered by what we're given to believe are Objective Facts about our Brain and Biology and how it controls our behavior。 But， we're left with Nothing we can take away from this heap of sh1t。。。 why？ because we don't know （ Wow， what a giant book of crap！ Why oh why are their so many Stupid Smart people？This Could have been a great informative object tomb on neurology and how it effects human behavior。 Instead it's a subjective preachy SJW NPC trying hard to convince us to accept their BS opinions Covered by what we're given to believe are Objective Facts about our Brain and Biology and how it controls our behavior。 But， we're left with Nothing we can take away from this heap of sh1t。。。 why？ because we don't know （can Not Trust） what this author tries to sell us is objective science。 Why can't we trust it？ Because， at Every opportunity this author provides there opinions of how we should act。。。 And， What the hell， they start by telling us a cutesy story about their wife running down someone who yell at them only to throw a lollypop into their car。 Any closer to true violence you couldn't get But the author later can't understand why people have been killed over drawing religious figures。。。 this person can't be serious。。。 or just isn't believable （the later）。 This book is pure crap and if I wasn't going to be discussing it I would have chucked it into the rubbish well before finishing it。 BTW， This is an opinion; that's what a book review is。。。 I'm not trying to give you factual substantiation for why this book is crap （even though I could）。。。 why？ because I would never engage in the flawed attempt to disguise my opinion as objectivity。 Oh and the NYT and they SJW NPC book authors can and will continue to try But never succeed in convincing anyone there's Science to support their BS。 OK， （almost， wow， this book still reaks） :-p 。。。more
Eric
，
comprehensive， thought provoking， and spans not just our modern understanding of neuro science， but also of sociology， free will， ethics， politics， and presents a a lot of interesting experiments were humans can be manipulated to do "good" or "evil" comprehensive， thought provoking， and spans not just our modern understanding of neuro science， but also of sociology， free will， ethics， politics， and presents a a lot of interesting experiments were humans can be manipulated to do "good" or "evil" 。。。more
Tyler O'Ferrall
，
Best non fiction book I’ve read
Majka Lesňáková
，
Behave aims to explain what influences behaviour， i。e。 neurobiology， environment （culture）， genetics and philosophy。 It is hugely complex， contains in-depth knowledge and includes plenty of studies in various fields， on humans， primates as well as non-primates， offering multiples views on the matter discussed。 And yet， the arrangement of chapters is systematic and logical， particularly when it comes to what happens immediately to as far as millenia before a behaviour occurs。 As a matter of fact， Behave aims to explain what influences behaviour， i。e。 neurobiology， environment （culture）， genetics and philosophy。 It is hugely complex， contains in-depth knowledge and includes plenty of studies in various fields， on humans， primates as well as non-primates， offering multiples views on the matter discussed。 And yet， the arrangement of chapters is systematic and logical， particularly when it comes to what happens immediately to as far as millenia before a behaviour occurs。 As a matter of fact， Behave requires medical/scientific knowledge and a lay man might have to reread passages in order to fully understand what is being said。 At times， witty comments and colloquial language are used， which make this long long publication （700+pages） much more engaging。 If you are wondering why people （Us vs。 Them dichotomy） behave they way they do， you might find some of the answers here。 。。。more
Nikhil Gupta
，
Nuanced， witty， compelling。 A masterpiece of science writing。 Not an easy read though。
Curious Nomad
，
It's everything you want to know about human mind in a brief。。 Everything。。 It's everything you want to know about human mind in a brief。。 Everything。。 。。。more
Yuki
，
"Amazing" is an understatement regarding how much this book has covered。Having fragmented time in the past months has made me spend much much longer to finish it than I would have wanted。 Will definitely find time to reread it in the future。The only point that left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth was where it was implied that kids being raised by others （e。g。 hired help） instead of mothers tend to develop into asocial human beings。As someone who personally believes that having the option to "Amazing" is an understatement regarding how much this book has covered。Having fragmented time in the past months has made me spend much much longer to finish it than I would have wanted。 Will definitely find time to reread it in the future。The only point that left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth was where it was implied that kids being raised by others （e。g。 hired help） instead of mothers tend to develop into asocial human beings。As someone who personally believes that having the option to hire help and relieve oneself of the child rearing burden is a huge YES for women liberation， I feel complicated。 Maybe no judgement was intended in the book， but is this data supported discovery a voice telling me better not to become a mother if I'm not ready/willing/able to do the nurturing all/mostly by myself， and in the process inevitably sacrificing a lot of things starting with my career？Wouldn't it be a scary thing if even more educated and independent women struggling to decide whether to bring their offsprings into this world， would feel the same after reading this？ 。。。more
Kelly Kerns
，
From neuroanatomy， neurotransmitters， hormones， genes， evolution， anthropology， psychology， nature vs nature， and quotes from all the usual suspects Gladwell， Pinker， Kahneman this is a very ambitious book。It starts strong if a little technical （at one point I realized I was reading a neurobiology book） but wanders toward the end。 An otherwise very well researched and disciplined book loses its way into （well reasoned） opinions in the last chapters。The initial unfolding of what happens seconds（a From neuroanatomy， neurotransmitters， hormones， genes， evolution， anthropology， psychology， nature vs nature， and quotes from all the usual suspects Gladwell， Pinker， Kahneman this is a very ambitious book。It starts strong if a little technical （at one point I realized I was reading a neurobiology book） but wanders toward the end。 An otherwise very well researched and disciplined book loses its way into （well reasoned） opinions in the last chapters。The initial unfolding of what happens seconds（anatomy）， minutes（chemicals）， hours（hormones）， days， months， years， millennia before a behavior occurs is a very interesting approach。 The "lessons learned" and recommendations for application to social issues toward the end were less compelling。 。。。more
Yori
，
One of the best books I've ever read。 It goes into detail why we act the way we do。 Starting from what influences your actions seconds to minutes before， what your puberty has to do with it， to how much your mothers behavior mattered when you were still a fetus。It goes deeper into what hormones （testosterone/estrogen） can influence aggression and all the misconceptions about them。It talks about Us Vs。 Them， how we're more eager to help/cooperate with someone that we classify as an "Us"。 One of the best books I've ever read。 It goes into detail why we act the way we do。 Starting from what influences your actions seconds to minutes before， what your puberty has to do with it， to how much your mothers behavior mattered when you were still a fetus。It goes deeper into what hormones （testosterone/estrogen） can influence aggression and all the misconceptions about them。It talks about Us Vs。 Them， how we're more eager to help/cooperate with someone that we classify as an "Us"。 。。。more
Beth
，
Great book。 I learned loads from it。 Now far more aware of how our brain processes， immediate environment， upbringing and culture feed into our thoughts， emotions and actions。 His style is highly engaging so it kept me going despite the length。 Only downside is the font is a bit small。 Ideally would have been split into 2 or 3 volumes to be more physically easy to read。
Urim Shuku
，
Chapter 1 - The BehaviorThe opposite of love is not hate， it's indifference。 As the biologies of strong love and strong hate are similar。Chapter 2 - One Second Before Chapter 1 - The BehaviorThe opposite of love is not hate， it's indifference。 As the biologies of strong love and strong hate are similar。Chapter 2 - One Second Before 。。。more
Diana
，
I was halfway through this when I already knew that:- this will probably be the only review I will ever write on Goodreads;- this will probably make me into a much better person。I've just finished it and I am in tears and awe。 I am very far from being a typical science reader， but I surely am someone who always wants to know WHY WHY WHY。 And boy did I get my answers。 I look around me and the world makes sense。 I bother everyone to send them quotes。 I am very annoying as I interrupt my partner fr I was halfway through this when I already knew that:- this will probably be the only review I will ever write on Goodreads;- this will probably make me into a much better person。I've just finished it and I am in tears and awe。 I am very far from being a typical science reader， but I surely am someone who always wants to know WHY WHY WHY。 And boy did I get my answers。 I look around me and the world makes sense。 I bother everyone to send them quotes。 I am very annoying as I interrupt my partner from reading just to read them something ridiculously funny。 I would suggest dropping this book from airplanes （well， not really， because it's friggin' HUGE）。So many AHA！ moments and so many revelations。 "The road to hell is paved with rationalization" is something I will always remember。 "Ride the wave of empathy instead of being submerged by it" is something I will always remember。 As the many stories and studies and amusing footnotes and depressing behaviors。 What a powerful voice Sapolsky has。 I am so privileged to have been able to hear it。 And to close this monster of a book with a sort of optimistic outlook on humanity in general and humans in particular。 Also， the Romanian translation is absolute crap and does no justice to this skillfully written non-fiction masterpiece， please stay away from it。 Thank you。 。。。more
Normal Person
，
This book might give you a sciencegasm。 Sapolsky does not "dumb down" biology for the average reader， so that might be challenging for a non-biology expert。 I was an inch away from dropping it but I'm glad I clung on and read it。 He uses words like dorsolateral， ventromedial， accumbens， etc。 He doesn't call it "Interesting observation"， he calls it Key synthesis。 Like， come on！ But he dots this super-neurobiological jargon with human formulations like these:"makes you behave in a crappy manner"， This book might give you a sciencegasm。 Sapolsky does not "dumb down" biology for the average reader， so that might be challenging for a non-biology expert。 I was an inch away from dropping it but I'm glad I clung on and read it。 He uses words like dorsolateral， ventromedial， accumbens， etc。 He doesn't call it "Interesting observation"， he calls it Key synthesis。 Like， come on！ But he dots this super-neurobiological jargon with human formulations like these:"makes you behave in a crappy manner"， "luv" harmone "Bare knuckled female aggression""They say If a female chimp is angry， it's probably because， well she's crazy。" Outright hilarious。The book caused weird responses in me。 For a while， I could no longer perceive my happiness and sadness as honest emotions， but as uncontrollable reactions to some external cues - Like listening to the right keywords and looking at the right pictures。 That experience was surreal。 I felt like there was no free will， that I am just a dumb robot reacting to stuff outside。If you enjoyed Bryson's book Body， Atul Gawande's Being Mortal， Paul Kalanithi's When Breath becomes air， Or anything of Oliver sacks or Frans De Waal， you will absolutely love this book。 It is slightly more difficult to read than any of those books， but it is also more thorough and scientific。 。。。more
Valentina Calandra
，
Undoubtedly the best book I have ever read。
Christian
，
Comprehensive and engaging。
Danielle
，
A fascinating， scientific book written in an entertaining and well-explained manner。 Highly recommend。
Carlo Corti
，
I cannot speak highly enough about this book。 Sapolsky， while creating an incredibly dense and academic look at behavior， also maintains humor， self-deprecation， and amazing stories/metaphors/analogies throughout the book to help with comprehension。 In trying to understand the nature and nurture of behavior， a lot of his analysis amounts to "it depends" but he underscores that answer with a depth of research and shared knowledge from other research that is truly outstanding。 This book is going t I cannot speak highly enough about this book。 Sapolsky， while creating an incredibly dense and academic look at behavior， also maintains humor， self-deprecation， and amazing stories/metaphors/analogies throughout the book to help with comprehension。 In trying to understand the nature and nurture of behavior， a lot of his analysis amounts to "it depends" but he underscores that answer with a depth of research and shared knowledge from other research that is truly outstanding。 This book is going to sit with me for a while as I try to untangle all the implications of looking at the world and human behavior through this lens。 。。。more
Nigel0005
，
An amazing book。 Highly recommended。 Thank you， Robert Sapolsky。
Mahmoud
，
One of the hardest books to read for someone who has some basic knowledge of biology and an insatiable interest in human behavior like me。 It's like a panorama of all sciences and studies attempting to decode why and when people do what they do。And even though the summary of the book's answer to its own question is: it's complicated， the amount of knowledge I sipped out of it ODed my mind。 One of the hardest books to read for someone who has some basic knowledge of biology and an insatiable interest in human behavior like me。 It's like a panorama of all sciences and studies attempting to decode why and when people do what they do。And even though the summary of the book's answer to its own question is: it's complicated， the amount of knowledge I sipped out of it ODed my mind。 。。。more
Joe
，
Describes human behavior starting from molecular biology， to brain structure across the animal kingdom， brain modules in mammals and primates， to individual people， and even up to groups and their culture。 He backs his explanations with studies， many which track brain activation and people or animals make economic choices or react to us-them situations。 Some themes: 1） Reporting / popular belief get many things wrong。 For example， higher levels of testosterone doesn't make men more aggressive， i Describes human behavior starting from molecular biology， to brain structure across the animal kingdom， brain modules in mammals and primates， to individual people， and even up to groups and their culture。 He backs his explanations with studies， many which track brain activation and people or animals make economic choices or react to us-them situations。 Some themes: 1） Reporting / popular belief get many things wrong。 For example， higher levels of testosterone doesn't make men more aggressive， instead is makes make who are aggression prone more aggressive， but makes timid men more timid。 2） Genes don't make people more aggressive （or more anything）， instead all genes need an environmental trigger to bring about a result。 You can't ask， what does this gene do， instead you have to ask， what does this gene do in this environment？ His analogy: you can't ask what does width do to a rectangle's area， the question only makes sense when height is also considered。 3） The brain's fast system makes us vs them identifications that the slow， rational prefrontal cortex and sometimes override。 He explains how it evolved， how our brains process these decisions like other primates， how the fast decisions can be modified by context， and how that might help groups get interact more positively。The casual voice， is a little odd， but makes the book a bit easier to read。 。。。more
Kuralik
，