I first heard of Dr. Sapolsky when my husband forwarded me a link to a talk he gave about depression. That lecture impressed me with its compassion and practicality. This book, about why and how we behave the way we behave, is also compassionate and practical, but also a little bit funny. It is SCIENCE, and although Dr. Sapolsky does his best to make it understandable to the layman, I couldn't really keep the different regions of the brain straight. Behavior is chemical response to stimulus, basically, with many examples of studies offered. Dr. Sapolsky finishes up this very long book by pointing out that there are always exceptions and variants in something as complex as behavior.

It took me about five months to read this dense book, but I think it was worth my time.

This was an excellent book! The early parts of the book are an overview of how neuroscience predicts behaviour (and the limitations of current science). This is the most complex part to read, as this is the authors area of expertise, and so he knows a lot more than what he writes for the sake of making it more digestible for the reader.

Despite the heavy subject matter, the author manages to lighten it up with jokes and little asides.

After this, he talks more about broader cultural trends, which is an area that is woolier in general, and one where he is less of an authority on. While I like the overall message, a little bit of analysis is warranted. I really appreciate the counter arguments that he proposes during this section, it feels fair.

The book ends on a strong note, but a big obstacle to reading this book is the length, it's a long, dense book, and while it has humor and character, it does not completely alleviate the load.

Somewhat depressingly relevant to to current events, this book is about the neuroscience of why we are treat some people and groups of people really horribly, and why we are nicer to others. The conversational tone helps the book be quite accessible while at the same time isn't annoying to readers who already have a bit of a background in the topic.