Goleman, a science writer for the New York Times, does a great job of making accessible the impact of neuroscience research on modern understanding of psychology in social matters. This was one of the most personally interesting books I've read, as large swaths of it were directly applicable to my life. For example, the impact of parenting styles on neurological development of children and the passages that led me to understand that I had at least a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome n my younger years. Additionally the general subject matter of how two brains intertwine physiologically when people interact, especially in situations of romance and friendship, is directly applicable to my current professional endeavors.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I would have preferred more details had been pulled from the footnotes into the main text. It's not as bad as a Gladwell book, but it could have gone deeper into the details. I bought an electronic copy before returning the book to the library, as I expect to return to this repeatedly. It also has served as a starting point for further dives into this area of research. The book I'm currently reading, [b:Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions|334755|Affective Neuroscience The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions (Series in Affective Science)|Jaak Panksepp|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173840898s/334755.jpg|325235], came from tracking down some research referenced here.

Too much of the book is focused on childhood development.