Expressive Artistry Book Review: The Social Animal
If you’re looking for a good nonfiction summer read, you should consider David Brooks’s The Social Animal, published earlier this year by Random House. Part novel, part scientific journal, The Social Animal uses a fictional narrative form to present the latest scientific breakthroughs and discoveries about human beings that contribute to our psychological, physiological, emotional, and social development and evolution individually and as a species.
Brian K. Hemphill is an author, blogger, and artistic coach. His book The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry is due out in June 2011. Stay tuned for details of his New York City book signing.
David Brooks is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, a weekly commentator for PBS NewsHour, a frequent guest commentator on NBC’s Meet the Press, and a contributing editor to several major publications. His last book was the best-seller Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.
Here is Brooks characterizing his newest book The Social Animal. “This is the happiest story you’ll ever read. It’s about two people who lead wonderfully fulfilling lives … It’s possible to tell this story now because over the past thirty years, an array of researchers have peered into the inner mind. I’ve woven their findings into the lives of two characters—Erica and Harold. Through their story you’ll come away with a new perspective on who you are, on how we raise our kids, conduct business, teacher, love, and practice politics.”
Here is Brooks characterizing his newest book The Social Animal. “This is the happiest story you’ll ever read. It’s about two people who lead wonderfully fulfilling lives … It’s possible to tell this story now because over the past thirty years, an array of researchers have peered into the inner mind. I’ve woven their findings into the lives of two characters—Erica and Harold. Through their story you’ll come away with a new perspective on who you are, on how we raise our kids, conduct business, teacher, love, and practice politics.”
Most times, Brooks so artfully weaves his fictionalized narrative with fact that the reader forgets he’s not reading a pure novel. Even at those times where the passages obtrusively read like encyclopedic entries, Brooks always manages to command our attention.
Before the climax of this sweeping story of the life of Harold and Erica, a story which covers factors of conception, early infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and all the related social responsibilities like career, procreation, childrearing, etc., we explore the fundamentals that gird the hidden evolution of the human social order.
The Social Animal is a book that both entertains and educates. By the last page, you will probably feel a little smarter and more knowledgeable about this thing called the human condition. I highly recommend you add The Social Animal to your summer reading list.
Brian K. Hemphill is an author, blogger, and artistic coach. His book The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry is due out in June 2011. Stay tuned for details of his New York City book signing.
Comments
Post a Comment