The Social Animal
The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Social Animal
Buy Now for £16.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Arthur Morey
-
By:
-
David Brooks
About this listen
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.
©2011 David Brooks (P)2011 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"An uncommonly brilliant blend of sociology, intellect and allegory." (Kirkus)
“Authoritative, impressively learned, and vast in scope.” (Newsweek)
“As in [Bobos in Paradise] he shows genius in sketching archetypes and coining phrases. . . . In The Social Animal Mr. Brooks surveys a stunning amount of research and cleverly connects it to everyday experience.” (The Wall Street Journal)
What listeners say about The Social Animal
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Katty
- 23-06-18
Masterpiece description of human experience
Not many books captured my focussed attention as well as this one. The story line will take you on incredible journey through a human experience - you will find your own experience buried within the lifes of the characters in thw story. A must read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-02-18
Excellent
Any additional comments?
An excellent knowledge fountain of the insights of human mind. Almost half through it, and I really enjoy it. It is filled with life lessons if you really pay attention to the details. I do recommend
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jack Tully
- 21-02-22
Wonderfully written
Cried like a baby at the end. written with really intelligent takes and a beautiful story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-07-20
fun facts, boring story
the information dumps throughout the story are always interesting. but I couldn't care less about the story of Harold and Erica
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- AJ the Tramp
- 25-09-17
great book. very well written. very well read.
really enjoyed this book. shame the references can't be offered. unsure how it would work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-05-20
Started brilliantly, tailed off, finished well
This book's brilliance is in its relation to every day life. Following the lives of fictional characters makes some challenging ideas much easier to understand and relate to. However, it seemed to veer too far from Harold and Erica in the second half, going off on tangents about their careers with much less focus on their relationships with each other as well as those close to them. I therefore struggled to finish the book, it was a bit of a slog! Having said that, the final chapter or two goes back into their deep bond as a couple so it ended on a high. Just a shame about the middle!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-09-20
Wonderful
What a wonderful journey. I've read and listened twice and will be thinking about and re-reading it for the rest of my life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Benas
- 15-06-20
Engaging, scientific, thought provoking
Beautiful story of whole human life from scientific and evolutionary perspective diving deeper ir to many possible branches and exloring ups and downs of it, in observing and deep manner. Though scientific, it is still story driven and has touching ending giving thought provoking ideas on meaning of life .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- S. Anderton
- 13-06-20
A novel format for non fiction
Thoughtfully put together with interesting research woven into the narrative, but this could have been done more concisely.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maria
- 19-11-18
Wonderful and educational
Will definitely listen again. The studies and academic knowledge is integrated seamlessly with a simple story that captures your imagination.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!