Description

From the New York Times bestselling author comes a "hugely entertaining" (NPR.org) look at vice and virtue through cutting-edge science

As he did in his award-winning book The Accidental Mind, David J. Linden—highly regarded neuroscientist, professor, and writer—weaves empirical science with entertaining anecdotes to explain how the gamut of behaviors that give us a buzz actually operates. The Compass of Pleasure makes clear why drugs like nicotine and heroin are addictive while LSD is not, how fast food restaurants ensure that diners will eat more, why some people cannot resist the appeal of a new sexual encounter, and much more. Provocative and illuminating, this is a radically new and thorough look at the desires that define us.

About the Author

David J. Linden, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His laboratory has worked for many years on the cellular substrates of memory storage in the brain and a few other topics. He has a longstanding interest in scientific communication and served for many years as the Chief Editor of the Journal of Neurophysiology. He is the author of two bestselling books on the biology of behavior for a general audience, The Accidental Mind (Harvard/Belknap, 2007) and The Compass of Pleasure (Viking Press, 2011) which, to date, have been translated into 14 languages. His most recent book, Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind will be published by Viking Press (USA/Canada) on January 28, 2015He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his two pleasure-seeking children.