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Book Cover for: The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good, David J. Linden

The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

David J. Linden

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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Penguin Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 24th, 2012
  • Pages: 240
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.39in - 5.52in - 0.64in - 0.45lb
  • EAN: 9780143120759
  • Recommended age: 18-UP
  • Categories: NeuroscienceLife Sciences - Neuroscience

About the Author

David J. Linden, Ph.D., is a professor in the Solomon H. Snyder 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, recovery of function following brain injury 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. His books include The Accidental Mind, Touch, and Think Tank. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Praise for this book

"Linden provides a fresh perspective on pleasure and confirms that those who suffer addictions are truly ill..." -- Kirkus Reviews

"What does it really mean for the brain to experience pleasure? That's the question neuroscientist David Linden asks in his new book... he traces the origins of pleasure in the human brain and how and why we become addicted to certain food, chemicals and behaviors." -- NPR

"Linden's conversational style, his abundant use of anecdotes, and his successful coupling of wit with insight makes the book a joy to read." -- Publishers Weekly

"This cheerful summary of the brain's reward system is a profound experience... Pleasure is a superb book. My brain has been changed by reading it."
-The Guardian


"This book is highly readable and full of fascinating facts and theories... You're sure to get pleasure from reading Pleasure" -BBC (UK)

"In his book "The Compass of Pleasure," the Johns Hopkins neurobiologist David J. Linden explicates the workings of these regions, known collectively as the reward system, elegantly drawing on sources ranging from personal experience to studies of brain activity to experiments with molecules and genes." -The New York Times

"Important, timely and fascinating." -Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth and The End of America