The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

Dec 20, 2011 Danny rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The premise of this book is a wonderful one and it seems like this book would have been both a challenge and really fun book to write. In trying to describe modern advances in psychological sciences, Brooks takes the unusual and potentially exciting tactic of weaving these findings into the lives of two fictional characters. Thus the book holds the promise of straddling an interesting narrative and yet providing an informative look at the way the mind works.

Unfortunately, the book overreached a...more The premise of this book is a wonderful one and it seems like this book would have been both a challenge and really fun book to write. In trying to describe modern advances in psychological sciences, Brooks takes the unusual and potentially exciting tactic of weaving these findings into the lives of two fictional characters. Thus the book holds the promise of straddling an interesting narrative and yet providing an informative look at the way the mind works.

Unfortunately, the book overreached and fell flat in both arenas, at least for myself. As I was most "sold" by the non-fiction aspect of this book (i.e. the way the subconscious mind works to regulate our choices in the world), this was where I was the most disappointed, and is where I will start. By taking two (fictional) characters to follow through a lifetime's worth of decisions, the breadth of the psychology that Brooks attempted to cover was ambitious, to say the least; mental ability and inclination were mentioned from infancy to senility,and gender differences, interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, sex, power, and more were all discussed or alluded to. But I firmly believe that to capture the interesting aspects of any of these topics, Brooks would need to slow down. The science in this book is sprinkled in and popularized in the very worst sort of way. Whole disciplines and areas with huge academic disagreements were summarized in half-sentence factoids. Through the first half of the book, I kept waiting for the scientific discussion to get a little more meaty, but it really just felt like a barrage of pop-sci references (most of which seem to have become overused in recent literature). I am sure that I partially fell this way because I have read a few other similar books and so the material was not quite as fresh. Instead, it just came across as far too over-simplified, even to me - a casual reader of popular science psychology books. Furthermore, I even had to remind myself of the central thesis of the book at times (i.e. the role of the unconscious mind), as it seemed like the ideas that were discussed ran all over the place, including some very conscious decisions and aspects of personality that we do have some control over.

The fictional aspect of the work was less disappointing to me. I think that Brooks has a flair for picking some really great moments to highlight, and for picking out little subtleties or pet peeves in his character that to make for moments of biting clarity. In some of these moments, the author really seems to have a detailed understanding of the depth of the brilliance and irrationality of the human condition and his characters take on a spark of life. But here too, the breadth of the subject overwhelmed the story. The narrative of Harold and Erica was scattered and jumpy, I guess because we were forced to leap to each moment of their lives where they made a significant choice or were affected by fate. To cram it all in, Brooks had to resort to a clipped style of describing certain scenes and people who crossed paths with our protagonists. These passages felt like grocery lists of personality characteristics stamped onto the foreheads of lumps of protoplasm, and I could never really get into most of the people or events described. In the end, the use of these two characters had the effect of cheapening and marginalizing the scientific points. Since I never really identified much with Harold or Erica, I would end up frequently thinking "well, that might be true for them, but..." - even though I already knew that the scientific idea Brooks was illustrating was much more global.

I would still consider recommending this to a non-scientist who hasn't read anything in psychology and has a very broad interest or aptitude for trivia. But I can't help but feel that any number of books that are slightly more specialized would be a much better popular way to be introduced to modern ideas in psychology and neurobiology. (less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Clif Hostetler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: current-events

Before reading this book I believed that I and most other humans used our rational minds to make life's decisions. After reading this book I now know that the subconscious mind is a raging monster and the rational mind is the midget hanging on for dear life who thinks that since his hands are on the reigns that everything is under control. The following is an example of how some of the most important parts of our lives depend on guidance from our subconscious minds with very little training or f...more Before reading this book I believed that I and most other humans used our rational minds to make life's decisions. After reading this book I now know that the subconscious mind is a raging monster and the rational mind is the midget hanging on for dear life who thinks that since his hands are on the reigns that everything is under control. The following is an example of how some of the most important parts of our lives depend on guidance from our subconscious minds with very little training or formal preparation:

"Children are coached on how to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops. Yet by far the most important decisions they will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses. On these matters, they are almost entirely on their own. We are good at talking about material incentives, but bad about talking about emotions and intuitions. We are good at teaching technical skills, but when it comes to the most important things, like character, we have almost nothing to say."

The objective of this book as stated by the author:
1. Synthesize the findings of research of the subconscious mind into one narrative.
2. Describe how this research influences the way we understand human nature.
3. Draw out the social, political, and moral implications of these findings.
4. Help counteract a bias in our culture to ignore the importance of the human subconscious mind.
5. Explore why experiments in improving the educational system almost always result in disappointing results.
6 Explore ways that integration of our true makeup could improved education.

David Brooks uses his journalistic skills to organized this material into an interesting and easy-to-read format. He narrates the lives to two fictional characters and follows every step of their development (from pre-conception through to death) to illustrate the findings of research findings from the fields of psychology, sociology, physiology, economics, politics, and neuroscience. At first I thought the use of fictional characters to demonstrate the nonfiction facts was a bit hokey. But by the end of the book I emotionally identified with these fictional friends, and I was sad to see them grow old and die.

The following are some miscellaneous quotations from the book that I found interesting:

"People rarely revise their first impression, they just become more confident that they are right."

"Subjects [were given] microsecond glimpses of the faces of competing politicians. … subjects could predict, 70 percent accuracy, who would win the election between the two candidates."

"Sensitive early [childhood] care predicted competence at every subsequent age. … Attachment-security and caregiver-sensitivity rating were related to reading and math scores throughout the school years. Children with insecure or avoidance attachments were much more likely to develop behavior problems at school. Kids who had dominating, intrusive, and unpredictable caregivers at six months were much more likely to be inattentive and hyperactive by school age."

"By observing quality of care at forty-two months … researchers could predict with 77 percent accuracy who would drop out of high school. Throwing in IQ and test-achievement data did not allow researchers to improve on that prediction’s accuracy."

"Attachment patterns in early childhood also helped predict the quality (though not the quantity) of other relationships later in life, especially romantic relationships."

"A child born into a family making $90,000 has a 50 percent chance of graduation from college by age twenty-four. A child born into a family making $70,000, has a one-in-four chance. A child born into a family making $45,000 has a one-in-ten chance. A child born into a family making $30,000 has a one-in-seventeen chance."
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Apr 02, 2011 Trish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, science, political-science, social-science

I listen to David Brooks because he has a way looking at the world that adds depth to my perceptions. As a result of hearing his point of view, I can articulate my own positions better. Between the two of us, we do not cover all possible iterations of an argument, but we make a wider circle of opinion. He seems to be a man I could negotiate with, and come up with a better solution than if either he or I made decisions on our own. Well, anyway, he’d have to negotiate if he wanted my participation...more I listen to David Brooks because he has a way looking at the world that adds depth to my perceptions. As a result of hearing his point of view, I can articulate my own positions better. Between the two of us, we do not cover all possible iterations of an argument, but we make a wider circle of opinion. He seems to be a man I could negotiate with, and come up with a better solution than if either he or I made decisions on our own. Well, anyway, he’d have to negotiate if he wanted my participation.

Another thing I like about David Brooks is that he is not despairing, despite knowing what he does about the way Washington works. He just plods along, looking for and picking up little gems along the road that might mean the difference between collapse and success in our post-apocalyptic world. Because he doesn’t make me comfortable that Washington is going to be able to change enough to save us from ourselves. I think he essentially has a dark view of the path our leaders are walking. But, he says, we the populace could change our fate if we took responsibility for learning the lessons science is now teaching us.

In The Social Animal Brooks writes a story meant to illustrate in narrative the results of studies done for the psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and medical fields in recent years. It is a quick and easy read, though I paused several times over the choices the protagonists made, remembering choices in my own life that echoed. I am familiar with many of the studies he used as a structure for the narrative, so could follow his lead, though I did wonder whether this was the best way to explicate the material. It’s not what I would have done, but then, I didn’t write it. It’s his way, and once again I’m willing to negotiate.

Protagonists Erika and Harold grow up in different types of social environments and we follow them through life. Things happen to them, and they also impact and shape their environment. They both end up in the same place, despite getting there by very different means. Brooks has his main character muse about limited government, but with targeted interventions that may help people focus on the hard work that is necessary to build a democratic society with (and here he laments that the term “socialism” has already been taken) a strong social-izing bent. He gives voice to his Hamiltonian interest (from conservative President Alexander Hamilton) and tries to describe ways this successful president might make choices were he alive today. Brooks makes a thoughtful attempt to synthesize disparate fragments of information that he has gleaned in the course of his life and work, and so adds to the national dialogue.
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Apr 02, 2011 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Just won in the First Reads giveaway. Will look forward to reading.

Really an interesting, thought provoking read. I definitely enjoyed the way Brooks integrated the ideas he was presenting by using a fictional couple and telling their stories. You follow the story of Harold and Erica with asides throughout that explain or relate to what is happening in their lives-from birth to death. The characters were developed and it was quite moving at times which I would not have expected. Loads of intrigu...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Mike rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Social Animal is a ‘lost opportunity’ book. Similar to The Black Swan, I can recommend portions for its startling insight into the patterns of thought from which we must extricate ourselves to progress and reflect. Unfortunately, those insights are packaged in a specific way, and most unfortunately, they are packaged by David Brooks.

The book, which rapidly oscillates laundry-lists of half-baked research summations told without sufficient reflection or implication (or really sufficient inform...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Madisen L rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This isn't my typical read but it came highly recommended from a friend. I must admit, this book had me reflect upon my own life multiple times and I found it hard not to share it with those around me (whether interested or not). This book is thought provoking and worth a read.

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Apr 06, 2011 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: may-june-2011

With the exception of the New York Times Book Review, which panned the story of Harold and Erica as well as Brooks’s conclusions, most critics deemed Brooks a capable storyteller but otherwise spent little time appraising his literary skills. Science forms the crux of The Social Animal, and the reviewers’ agreement with or refutation of Brooks’s claims constituted the greater part of their reviews. A gifted social observer, Brooks makes some valid points regarding the duality of the human mind,...more

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May 20, 2013 Byron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

David Brooks may be the last remaining moderate Republican. Regardless of that, his political views, though subtly and effectively employed in the Social Animal inform this encompassing and engaging work. Brooks makes a good case that good, old fashioned social & human values are necessary for us to create a kind of utopian world, a world where our inner consciousness drives most of our activity, because our inner selves know better than we do what's good for us. Through two fairly believabl...more

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May 01, 2013 Jorge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: social-science

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

“The Social Animal” is an interesting study of the unconscious, the mental processes that are inaccessible to consciousness but provide us with the skills needed to thrive. Told through the lives of a fictitious couple, Erica and Harold, Brooks weaves a wealth of scientific research into his narrative. He uses the characters to show how life develops. Unfortunately, the ambitious concept didn’t work for me....more

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Mar 15, 2013 Brendan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology

Upon completion, the Social Animal left me with a feeling of precious mortality. Life is short, and despite how special we think ourselves as homo sapiens, we are indeed just highly evolved animals whose actions and behaviors are driven largely by our habits, instincts, and primal urges -- our subconscious.

Told as a beautiful tale of intertwined lives, author David Brooks follows fictional characters Harold and Erica from the womb to the grave, making stops at childhood, adolescence, post-adoles...more Upon completion, the Social Animal left me with a feeling of precious mortality. Life is short, and despite how special we think ourselves as homo sapiens, we are indeed just highly evolved animals whose actions and behaviors are driven largely by our habits, instincts, and primal urges -- our subconscious.

Told as a beautiful tale of intertwined lives, author David Brooks follows fictional characters Harold and Erica from the womb to the grave, making stops at childhood, adolescence, post-adolescence, adulthood, retirement, and old age. I can only imagine he drew from countless interviews to be able to describe in such detail specific moments in Harold's and Erica's lives.

Brooks frequently injects facts backed by scientific research, and often rattles off statistics and numbers to bolster a given claim, some of which seem to digress onto unrelated tangents. This leaping from point to point seems to detract from story linearity, and occasionally left me pondering the intended message in a given section while he began diving into the next.

Two moments in the book stuck out most vividly to me: the first when Brooks describes the existence of a life stage that exists between adolescence and adulthood that he calls "the Odyssey years." These years comprise the time in one's life when formal education is behind him but he hasn't yet settled into a career, marriage, or permanent living arrangement. He spends time drifting, trying out various professions in attempt to find that which fits best. This is the point in my life where I currently find myself.

When Brooks describes Erica's experience working for a large cable corporation, he discusses the company's push to acquire other businesses, to take risks to prove it is growing thus straying from the core business upon which it first became successful. He discusses the misalignment between the executive and staff levels, and the rift that develops between. The entire scenario is very much reminiscent of my recent experience with a big corporation which, sad to say, did not end as happily.

The Social Animal is a journey through life that offers a unique perspective on human psychology. Even if the message isn't always clear, the book is fascinating read nonetheless.(less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Peter Herrmann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lots of food for thought. Alot of the material I'd seen before, but alot of it I had not. I suspect that 100 years from now some of the insights will have been superceded or overturned by newer science, but many of the insights will still stand. This book should have - but does not, if I recall correctly - a bibliography. Most if not all chapters were replete with references and insights ripe for further study by the reader. Unfortunately I was not taking notes while I read, and although tempted...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Christopher Nye rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I never read reviews, previews or anything about a book – even the blurb – until I've finished it. There's too much chance of someone referring to it as a "tragic" love story (oh, they die, I'll leave it then thanks), or to the amazing twist at the end (so there's something I'm missing all the way through? I'll leave it then thanks). So I was unaware that this book was all the rage in 2011, with the author invited to tea with the PM etc. I'm glad I didn't know, as being overly concerned about ho...more I never read reviews, previews or anything about a book – even the blurb – until I've finished it. There's too much chance of someone referring to it as a "tragic" love story (oh, they die, I'll leave it then thanks), or to the amazing twist at the end (so there's something I'm missing all the way through? I'll leave it then thanks). So I was unaware that this book was all the rage in 2011, with the author invited to tea with the PM etc. I'm glad I didn't know, as being overly concerned about how it might effect government policy
is something I'd like to save for a second reading (which is apparently one of the key ways to get the most from an education, as I see in the 'Learning' chapters.

It tells the story of what happens in our subconscious. So, like lots of other books then? Not really, because David Brooks has the inspired idea of telling the story through two very different people, Harold and Erica. We meet Harold (who I envisaged as being like Fred in Scooby Doo) via his parents, from even before they take their first kiss – or "taste each other's saliva [to] collect genetic information" as Brooks puts it. While Harold is born middle class, Erica has to fight her way out of humble beginnings, so we see how force of will can overcome deficiencies in nurture.

Through their lives we learn about attachment – the scenes featuring Harold as a boy are my favourites – learning, culture, intelligence, self-knowledge (or lack thereof). It is jam-packed withn fascinating titbits. For example, if your name is Dennis you're statistically more likely to be a dentist. People who join a club that meets monthly have average happiness readings of someone of twice their income who doesn't enjoy the same social capital.

And that is the overall message of the book - we are social animals, designed to live and be with each other.

For writers, the book demonstrates so well that a message is easier and more entertaining to follow if there is a strong story behind it. The final scenes are extremely moving. I heartily recommend it.(less)

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Dec 14, 2012 Schmacko rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With the advent of just a few things, the science of social psychology has changed significantly.

First of all, scientists used to only be able to study humans from outside their own brains, but now fMRI helps us understand what happens inside the deep recesses of the cognitive and emotional brain as people operate. What we’ve found is one of the most profound discoveries of the human brain; about 82 percent of what we do is subconscious or unconscious, built on a deep history of human nature, g...more With the advent of just a few things, the science of social psychology has changed significantly.

First of all, scientists used to only be able to study humans from outside their own brains, but now fMRI helps us understand what happens inside the deep recesses of the cognitive and emotional brain as people operate. What we’ve found is one of the most profound discoveries of the human brain; about 82 percent of what we do is subconscious or unconscious, built on a deep history of human nature, genetics, past behaviors, personality, culture, habit, physical environment, pattern, situation and cue. No longer do we humans seem the masters of our individual destinies.

Another great tool is the advent of social media to track people’s connections and behaviors. It seems crazy, but studying what a person posts and who a person connects with, how, and how often can give a wealth of information that used to take months or years to gather. And now, people do the work for you!

Brooks write a book about the information based on all this new data and insight. He provides as a frame a typical American couple, starting when they were children – one is from a semi-affluent family, one has drifted between lower-middle class and poverty. One is Caucasian, one is mixed race. One has certain personality traits; one has others. They become a couple; their behavior changes.

As Brooks discusses his fictional test subjects, he gives the reader the new data. It’s a good idea, if not entirely original. (Even Brooks admits others have done it.) Brooks succeeds more strongly when he also acknowledges the emotional pull this data has instead of just spouting facts. As the poor girl tries to get into a charter school, she makes an emotional connection with the school’s rich, gauche donor. This is a real human story that has data and punch. Not everything does.

In fact, Brooks – even with some awesome new information – can make his characters a little dull, a little flat, a little lifeless. Things like death and divorce are drained of heart. I understand this wasn’t his point in this book, but he could’ve really set his information apart from others by doing this, being a bit more of a creative fiction writer and telling us the science that got him to those moments of imagination.
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Nov 30, 2012 Adela-diana Almasi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: subway-books

I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago and overall, this book was a disappointment. It's the kind of book that seems awesome, fun and insightful at the beginning and then just goes downhill from there.
It didn't go as far as giving it up, but the last chapters I just skimmed through, still hoping somehow that something interesting will happen, or at least that I'll get it over with.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few good things to this book, just that....not that many. It's easy to read...more I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago and overall, this book was a disappointment. It's the kind of book that seems awesome, fun and insightful at the beginning and then just goes downhill from there.
It didn't go as far as giving it up, but the last chapters I just skimmed through, still hoping somehow that something interesting will happen, or at least that I'll get it over with.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few good things to this book, just that....not that many. It's easy to read, fun at times. It does provide quite a number of interesting bits of disconnnected data that can come in handy in a coffee break conversation.

The problems, however, are just so easy to notice. You have shaky science, incredibly badly constructed characters, not much connection between chapters, plus...it gets boring quite fast.
Much has been said in other reviews about how this is not a scientific way of presenting scientific facts, so I won't dwell on it.

It's the characters that I find annoying, the fact that there is no logical progression from one chapter to the next. There's nothing wrong in having characters as a means to transmit concepts; it's been done before and it's proven to work. But this is not a narrative and the characters are not very convincing. There is no growth or development for them, they only change from one chapter to another.

Harold - is a happy, popular, outgoing highschool kid only to turn into an introvert, a lonely and idealistic spectator of life as adult. Erica is passionate about tennis as a girl, but after this chapter of her life ends, tennis is never to be mentioned again. Harold has a group of close friends in college, they're like an extended family and they spend all their 20s together, but after that the friends vanish into thin air. Erica wants to get a divorce, but then they both become interested in politics and their communication problems are never mentioned.
These are just a few examples, but except their names, it's hard to recognize the characters from one chapter to the.next. Which doesn't help in making you relate to them..

Overall, if you're looking for a book to read on the morning commute (if sleepy) and the evening bus ride (if tired), this might be it. But for life-changing insight, look elsewhere.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“The Social Animal,” a fictional narrative of two American lives accompanied by mini-essays on human behavior, came to the attention of upper-middle-class white readers when a teaser for the book appeared in the January 17, 2011 edition of The New Yorker. It was a near-perfect synthesis of the middle- and highbrow science writing—readers of the former could read it and feel like geniuses, whereas readers of the latter might be entertained by the narrative and think, at least once or twice, “Huh,...more “The Social Animal,” a fictional narrative of two American lives accompanied by mini-essays on human behavior, came to the attention of upper-middle-class white readers when a teaser for the book appeared in the January 17, 2011 edition of The New Yorker. It was a near-perfect synthesis of the middle- and highbrow science writing—readers of the former could read it and feel like geniuses, whereas readers of the latter might be entertained by the narrative and think, at least once or twice, “Huh, there’s a fact I didn’t know.” Hence it remained at the top of the magazine’s online “Most Read” list for several weeks.

Whether or not the reader would have been aware of the author’s public persona largely depends on their predilection for quasi-conservative writing that alternates between oblivious and acute or how stubbornly they obsess over annoyances. The unaware would have done their research and discovered he was David Brooks, the New York Times columnist whom Matt Taibbi once sardonically labeled “the archpriest of American conventional wisdom.” Reading his articles, one would have been impressed that this same man could have arranged the sentences in this New Yorker article and pondered whether or not he could engage us for a book’s length.

There is no Yes or No answer to that pondering, but the answer is largely that Brooks entertains when listing information and disappoints in the plot. Brooks’ central characters are Harold, a middle-class WASP who dies a middle-class WASP, and his wife Erica, a Hispanic-Chinese American who rises from the lower classes to become of our nation’s most essential. When the book ends, we feel nothing for Harold and a few flickering memories of sympathy for Erica, inspired by the book’s two best narrative points, both of which take place very early in the story, kindling a tiny flame of authorly sympathy with no visible will to burn.

These two points are by no means extraordinary but at least provide us something to rally behind: Throughout her childhood Erica had been furiously determined to matriculate into a good public school. By sneaking into a new school’s board meeting and demanding acceptance, she succeeded. Brooks is no fiction writer, and so the events are not enhanced through his fingers, but the story is affecting in that you would overhear it at a coffee shop and root for the girl. Harold, a melting pot of White American clichés, is at best given a story involving a high school teacher with readymade quirks out of a Zach Braff film, and these Braffian minor characters populate and taint much of Brooks’ story, his last resort when he has nothing else with which to fill the void.

Brooks’ sense of humor can be nauseatingly offensive. In his most egregious paragraph, Brooks paints the lifestyle of Harold’s mother, which includes the following phrases: “her inner Cosmo girl,” “balls-to-the-wall disciple in the church of Lady GaGa,” and “perilously close to the line of skankdom without ever quite going over.” Were the rest of the book a ground-breaking Proust-ian fabulation, this passage alone would remove it from the realm of greatness. Imagining Brooks’ self-adulating face after typing this paragraph is a grisly experience.

Which is too bad, because when Brooks is conveying facts, the book can be lovely, and if we cared, the information might through past our skulls. Brooks’ chapter on “Culture,” though it’s more or less a list of the various ailments and psychologies that divide our One Human Race, is one of the more fascinating discourses I’ve read on the topic.

But the ability to list information is not remarkable, and many of the books that likely inspired Brooks are superior options. Whereas Frans de Waal’s “The Age of Empathy” induces curmudgeons to hope and Tamler Sommers’ interview collection “A Very Bad Wizard” can downright make us better people, after “The Social Animal” most readers will scratch their heads and wish they’d been moved.

Grade: B-(less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed feelings about this book due to the occasional use of offensive language and descriptions. It was sporadic enough, but I never quite felt safe. The thing is, though, he would get on topics that were terribly intriguing and made me want to share it with various people. In fact, he covered such a wide variety of topics I thought of all kinds of people I wanted to share it with, but then I would get offended and think I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It just felt a bit gratuitous and...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Jeanine Marie Swenson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a creative way to think, talk and delve into ways of being human. Author, David Brooks, creatively projects a massive amount of psychological, social and cultural research into the fictional lives of a couple and weaves in a believable narrative. The characters are likeable and gifted, but the story stays close enough to real life as to be widely generalizable and authentic. I also like how Mr. Brooks weaves in both individual and systemic concepts as to move the reader to consider events f...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am 3/4 done and may or may not finish it depending on how I feel.

Many parts of the book are very intriguing and resonate deeply with my own ideals and ideas. The studies of psychology and sociology are fascinating. However, Brooks doesn't substantiate many of his facts has a very roundabout way of explaining things (a story-telling strategy aimed to sell to the masses, I suppose) which can be frustrating.

His presentations of situations (e.g. how he lauds college parties, which my Chinese pare...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't think I've ever before read a book where, upon completing it, I feel compelled to go back to the first page and do it again. This is not to say that I expect to embrace everything that is here as gospel, as it were. Brooks brings his own interpretation of a mountain of ideas and research in this exploration of who we are as intentional and thoughtful actors in life; yet the questions he asks or which are implicit in his narrative seem to me to be extraordinarily relevant.

Of course, the f...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Chris Lemery rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, nonfiction

Let me start by saying that I enjoy David Brooks' NYT columns and his weekly appearances on the PBS Newshour. He's a conservative, but he has a sense of humor about him and is quite level-headed in his arguments. I was looking forward to listening to this audiobook, but I found it pretty uneven and ultimately somewhat disappointing. The book's main goal is to explore how neuroscience demonstrates that our unconscious and our social nature play a larger role in our lives than previously thought....more

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Jun 21, 2012 Daniel Solera rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: culture-sociology, psychology

This book kept popping up in my Amazon recommendations, so it only made sense that I give it a try. It starts off like the kind of book that I would devour: talking about the human psyche in very broad strokes, while citing specific experiments for corroborating evidence. I eat that kind of book whole, the kind that reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell or Dan Ariely. However, this book doesn't quite reach the same enjoyable heights as the aforementioned authors for a few reasons.

The structure of the b...more This book kept popping up in my Amazon recommendations, so it only made sense that I give it a try. It starts off like the kind of book that I would devour: talking about the human psyche in very broad strokes, while citing specific experiments for corroborating evidence. I eat that kind of book whole, the kind that reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell or Dan Ariely. However, this book doesn't quite reach the same enjoyable heights as the aforementioned authors for a few reasons.

The structure of the book is built around two hypothetical people: Harold and Erica. Harold grew up in a middle class family and was given all the attention and resources necessary to excel in our western culture. Erica, however, was born in a low-income neighborhood to a single mother and had to hustle her way to the top with a combination of rash gumption and street smarts. Eventually, they find each other and get together, grow old, and die. That's the basic story.

However, every three sentences, David Brooks stops to talk about a particularity of human interaction. Often it's relevant to the book's premise, that people are social animals and it's through interaction that we become complex creatures with nuances and curious behaviors that separate us from our animal brethren. This is how about 75% of the book is written. Brooks tells us something simple or commonplace that wouldn't raise any eyebrows and then follows it with related statistics, demographic studies and psychological experiments for a few pages. He might say something simple like, "He held her hand" and then talk about how the fingers have many more nerve endings than other parts of the body, or the historical significance of hands in ancient cultures, or the folkways of courtship in modern America.

I made up that last example, but it would fit perfectly in his book. The majority of the time, this method works. At others, it sounds like Brooks writing mini book reports, sprinkling little tidbits of knowledge accrued over the years into a fabricated narrative. Another issue I have with the book is that the last 25% of it seems to stop with the supplementary data altogether. It's as if Brooks decided to dabble in his fiction abilities and we crossed over into a pretty boring novel. Additionally, the book ends a little abruptly and I was left wondering what the whole point was.

Regardless, it's a fun read that superficially touches upon many different aspects of what it means to be human, to grow up and learn along the way. It wasn't a life-changer or a spectacular read, (though you might want to keep a dictionary handy because he loves throwing out the dollar words) but definitely worth your time if someone lends it to you.(less)

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Jun 17, 2012 Holly Morrow added it · review of another edition

I love David Brooks - his segment with Mark Shields on the NewsHour is the only political commentary on TV I'll watch. He wrote "The Social Animal" to try to digest all of the breakthroughs in brain science over the past decade and integrate them into a story about how humans operate in society. The construct of the book is at times a little lame -- he tells a story of two people (Erica and Harold) from birth to their marriage, through their careers and old age, weaving in insights from neurosc...more

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May 21, 2012 Joseph rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Why would I start discussion of David Brooks’ “The Social Animal” with the last part of a T.S. Eliot poem? Well, because the conclusion is unsatisfactory and, whether Brooks intended or...more

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May 09, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, not-graphic, nonfiction

The research being done today reminds us of the relative importance of emotion over pure reason, social connections over individual choice, character over IQ, emergent, organic systems over linear, mechanistic ones, and the idea that we have multiple selves over the idea that we have a single self.

Reading this was an interesting experience. Brooks is a conservative columnist and I'm a liberal, so we come from very different starting points; he takes the same information and comes to somewhat dif...more The research being done today reminds us of the relative importance of emotion over pure reason, social connections over individual choice, character over IQ, emergent, organic systems over linear, mechanistic ones, and the idea that we have multiple selves over the idea that we have a single self.

Reading this was an interesting experience. Brooks is a conservative columnist and I'm a liberal, so we come from very different starting points; he takes the same information and comes to somewhat different conclusions, implications, and applications than I do. Still, we do meet in the middle--or maybe off to the side in an entirely different, non-left-right spectrum--through the topics he's covering.

There's a ton of excellent information in the book that corresponds with things I've been reading, thinking, and believing for years. I'm familiar with much of his source material, in fact, having previously encountered it in other sources; and, as a lay-reader, I hadn't realized this vein of thinking had become so ubiquitous and prevalent. I'm just not sure Brooks is the best vehicle to be delivering the information.

Seeing the information presented from a different perspective than mine was a good thing because it made me think and broadened me. What gave me pause was his device for delivering the information. He shares the research as a narrative, the life story of two fictional people. This makes the book highly readable and enjoyable, but it makes it hard to distinguish between the information and Brooks. His method of citation compounds the issue, because he doesn't note anything in the text itself. Each entry in his "Notes" section at the back of the book begins by quoting the first five words of the relevant section of his writing so you can go back and track it down later, but it's not marked in any way during the actual reading.

And some of it seems disconnected from anything, either the research or the story; just bits of opinions he's thrown out without much relevance or context. For instance, the chapter titled "Learning" begins with this:

Popular, good-looking, and athletic children are the subjects of relentless abuse. While still young and impressionable, they are force-fed a diet of ugly duckling fables to which they cannot possibly relate. They are compelled to endure endless Disney movies that tell them that true beauty lies inside. In high school, the most interesting teachers favor the brainy students who are rendered ambitious by social resentments and who have time on Saturday nights to sit at home and develop adult-pleasing interests in Miles Davis or Lou Reed. After Graduation the popular and good-looking have few role models save for local weathermen and game-show hosts, while the nerds can emulate any number of modern moguls, from Bill Gates to Sergey Brin. For as it is written, the last shall be first and the geek shall inherit the Earth.

Huh? Not only is this not cited in the "Notes" in any way, it seems largely unrelated to what follows in his story and out of line with the general research and themes he's sharing, not to mention reality itself. So it makes me a bit more skeptical about his perspective's ability to convey the information in a helpful way.

Still, I got a lot out of reading the book, both enjoyment and stimulation, and would recommend it to others who want a casual exploration of a well synthesized wide range of ideas related to our social natures.(less)

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Apr 08, 2012 Tim Boroughs rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very readable and enjoyable book written with enthusiasm and great care. The main idea put forward in the work is that humans are strongly directed over their lifespans by the unconscious mind and that our conscious mind deals very much in the domain of surface level cognition and is functionally subordinate to the unconscious. By drawing on recent and past research in the areas of psychology, and the social sciences more broadly, Brooks illuminates the ways in which our unconscious is...more

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Apr 03, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was reluctant to start this book, partly because David Brooks is a journalist, not a social scientist, and partly because he has a conservative aspect that can color social science interpretation and put it to work as a political rationalization, not as a means for understanding human behavior. I went ahead with it because he has shown the capacity in his NYT columns for making astute nonpolitical observations, and in fact is a much better social columnist than political columnist. He showed t...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Richard Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I haven't really read this book. Rather I've read a sample that I could download to my Kindle for free. That sample has fascinated me, and I'm wondering about reading the whole book.
The central argument is that we are not rational at all but driven by all sorts of patterns and impulses and that if we recognise that and go with it we can live a good life. So what might be called our "unconscious" is not a Freudian swamp full of demons but a much pleasanter place.
I did wonder if I was being sold...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Only intermittently interesting. NY Times columnist Brooks has done a lot of research on brain science, and popularizes it in this book using a couple fictional characters, Harold and Erica. He takes you through their lives from childhood to old age. The book begins with his statement, "This is the happiest story you will ever read."

I cannot figure out why he wrote that. There is nothing particularly happy about Harold and Erica. They don't seem especially happy; and their lives are neither unus...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Deb rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

*A beast of a book*

Oh my goodness.

Huh?

What was that?

Those responses are not the typical ones I have after completing a book, but they're the ones that have been circulating in my head after finishing (and trying to digest all that went on in) David Brooks' _The Social Animal_.

Starting out the book, I was pretty optimistic and hopeful. There were tons of copies in the New Book collection in the library (that's got to be a good sign, right?), the content seemed deliciously irresistible (who doesn...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: culture, dmingml, fiction, gml-dmin

Children are coached on how to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops. Yet by far the most important decisions they will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses. On these matters, they are almost entirely on their own. We are good at talking about material incentives, but bad about talking about emotions and intuitions. We are good at teaching technical skills, but when it comes to the most important things, like charact...more

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