The Social Animal

The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

By: David Brooks

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Audio

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)

Enjoyable, Insightful and Informative

I'm a fan of David Brooks' NYT columns and his appearances on the News Hour, although I don't always agree with him. Likewise with this book; many of his conclusions I completely agree with. The one conclusion I have a problem with is that deity-focused societies are more successful than secular ones.

I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the story with the policy analysis. Granted, Brooks isn't going to make a living as a novelist, but using a story to illustrate public policy failures and successes makes the content much more enjoyable and memorable.

This narrator isn't the world's greatest, but he gets the job done.

Highly recommend this one.

A life story

What made the experience of listening to The Social Animal the most enjoyable?

It follows the protagonist from birth to death, presenting many examples of our pains and joys throughout, and explains many psychological theories in easy to understand ways.

A Psychology Classic!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Social Animal to be better than the print version?

This book was fantastic! Wonderfully holistic and comprehensive summary of some of the most significant, recent, findings in psychology. He could have touched on evolutionary psychology a bit more, but it was still fantastically well done.

A Must Read

An absolutely necessary book for anyone who cares deeply about the real questions of life.

Fascinating

Brooks consolidates vast fields of research with brevity, brilliance, and wit within a compelling storyline.

Thougjful and Thought Provoking ....

You need to be in a mindset that is relaxed and accepting .... you do NOT get the answers .... but perspective and insight abound !! Thank You, David, Thank YOU Very Much Indeed .... Dano 25Dec2020

Worth the wait

I've been looking for this book for a few years and once i bought it, I decided to listen to it rather than to read it.
It turned out to be a wonderful experience for my first book.
Arthur read it very well and convincing. This was a blast, and the book, both due to the narrator and the story, are an absolute must.

A must read for psychology and non-fiction lovers

Brooks does an incredible job detailing the intricacies of the subconscious and its influence on the driving conscious mind. The theme is set within the current day and makes hilarious, laugh out loud references. I would highly recommend this book and will definitely read it over and over again.

Brilliant weave of personality, circumstance, and

Brooks knocks it out of the park with this cannot put down, funny, poignant, and deep physiological treaty on a modern marriage.

If you like this style of book this is a 10

If you like this style of book this is a 10. This style is wide open stream of new ideas and connecting dots all while learning new information.