Exuberance: The Passion for Life

by Kay Redfield Jamison
Exuberance: The Passion for Life
book data
119 ratings, 3.66 average rating, 32 reviews (more data...)
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published
September 21st 2004 by Alfred A. Knopf

binding
Hardcover, 416 pages

isbn
037540144X    (isbn13: 9780375401442)

description
The author of the bestselling An Unquiet Mind–and internationally renowned authority on mood disorders–now gives us something wonderfully different: a...more




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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 288)

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furies
07/05/07
furies rated it: 4 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

bookshelves: psychology
Read in January, 2005
i got this book in hardback the minute it came out. it's beautiful, and it makes me happy.

the psychology of happiness is becoming on one of the newest fields of research, and i think that's awesome. for so long, the field has focused on the depressing things, the crazy things, no one has thought to look at positive emotions and why they happen. which is ironic, in a way, because you would think if you could increase positive events/emotions in say, a depressed person's life, it woul...more
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Sherry (sethurner)
Read in January, 2009
Kay Redfield Jamison has written a book that was for me a joy to read. She looks at that champagne of emotions, exuberance. Joy, curiosity, playfulness, and love are all aspects of exuberance, and Jamison looks at how it is important to, even essential in the development of animals - including humans. Then she goes on and shows how it is manifested in people like Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, John Muir, PT Barnum, and Richard Feynman. She also looks at joyful exuberance in fictional ch...more
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Dan Rivas
What I learned from this book:

Talking about exuberance really isn't that exciting.
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James M. Madsen, M.D.
bookshelves: nonfiction, psychology
Read in January, 2006
Although more scholarly than John D. Gartner's The Hypomanic Edge (q.v.), Exuberance was actually, I thought, a duller book. Gartner captures better the joie de vivre and the outright craziness that can often characterize the person who is chronically high on life. However, Jamison is a far more careful writer, and she doesn't go out onto a limb nearly so much as does Gartner, whose main thesis is supported by dramatic anecdotes rather than by a lot of hard science.
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Bookmarks Magazine
02/05/09
Bookmarks Magazine added it

In three controversial if well-received books, Jamison previously examined manic depression, bipolar personality disorder, suicide, and their relation to creativity. Exuberance, which explores the biological and evolutionary roots of happiness, switches gears. Jamison approaches her subject by offering up diverse case studies, from animals to the accomplishments of writers, politicians, and scientists. While entertaining and informative (few scientists study happiness), her unflagging exuberance

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Lightreads
bookshelves: history, nonfiction, psychology
Read in March, 2006
Context and analysis on positive mood and passion. Chewy, verdant, wild and dense, like all of her books. She suffers from an extreme case of bipolar, and you can tell that many of her books are conceived and written at the height of controlled mania. It lends them a scope, a degree of lateral thinking, an inclusiveness that's pleasing and a little overwhelming. I tend to walk away from her books, including this one, with a deeper knowledge of
history, poetry, or literature. This book is pa...more
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Calvin
01/28/09
Calvin rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in January, 2009
What a breath of fresh and exhilerating air to read of a discussion and study of a positive psychological trait. The only problem is it gets a little too scholarly and wordy in places but very worthwhile especially where my heros like Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are discussed.
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Jessi
09/17/08
Jessi rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in August, 2008
Do you ever wonder why some people seem "happier" than others? Some people are psychologically more inclined to be happy, to find excitement and joy in the small details of life, to see the world through bright "rose colored glasses", and this book explores these personality traits in detail. The author is a prominent psychologist, and draws on her valuable experience...In this country anti-depressants are among the most common drugs and rising. What if we were able to pick o...more
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Pattie
05/01/09
Pattie rated it: 4 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in March, 2009
Insightful.
One of my favorite quotes, speaking about a well known exuberant
individual, "Life for Theodore Roosevelt, said one friend, was the "unpacking of endless Christmas stockings."
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Diana Michele
05/31/09
Diana Michele is currently reading it (review of isbn 0375701486)

bookshelves: currently-reading
Having a hard time getting through it for some reason. I am not sure if it is me or the topic or her writing style. Will keep at it...
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Michele
12/18/08
Michele marked it as to-read (review of isbn 0375701486)

bookshelves: to-read
I started to read this book a few years ago and LOVED what I read. I put it down for some reason. Have to get back to it!
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Scott Crall
bookshelves: psychology
Read in June, 2008
With Exuberance, Jameson fills a void in "mainstream" psychological literature--rather than providing yet more expository on negative emotions and dysfunctional affects, cognitions, and behaviors, Jameson explores the positive emotions, cognitions, and behaviors that spring forth from the ebullience of having a genuine love of life. Her content varies, from profiling President Theodore Roosevelt, to the Winnie the Pooh cast of characters, to Charles Schultz's Peanuts Gang. The subje...more
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Margaret aka serenityblue Jackson
Most of her books are in my pc collection with the exception of the suicide one which I gave to a friend
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Jessica
cool exploration of the emotion and concept of Exuberance, enthusiasm, passion...
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Kate
01/26/09
Kate rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

bookshelves: currently-reading
This is FABULOUS!
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Deb
12/23/08
Deb rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in January, 2009
She had some interesting stories about famous "exuberant" people, some very disturbing stories about exuberant soldiers, and fascinating facts about how it shows up in the brain. I wished she had more about how to encourage/control what she called exuberance.
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Karson
02/06/08
Karson rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in November, 2005
I decided to buy this book when i picked it up in a bookstore, opened it up and read the quote "playing is serious business." I thought to myself, hm, this could be my type of book. She usually writes about depression and that sort of thing, but this time she decided to write about the other side of the coin and it was pretty fun. She focuses on zestful, playful and passionate people throughout history and tries to find what makes them tick.
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Jan Kristal
Jamison has written several books on bipolar disorder but in this book she focuses on Exhuberance: "an abounding ebullient effervescent emotion....joy's more energetic realtion." She examines this trait in different species, in children's play, and in well known people such as Teddy Roosevelt, Churchill, and Charles Schultz's Snoopy. She also examines the difference between exhuberance and mania. A fascinating book.
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Zach
02/14/07
Zach rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

bookshelves: happiness
Well written and frequently uplifting but not as broad a study as the title promises. It's more the story of the role of exuberance in a number of scientific discoveries, and in the lives of particular scientists. Jamison also puts more emphasis than seems to be warranted on mental illness, particularly the mania of manic depression (Jamison's personal affliction and professional interest).
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Chris
09/30/08
Chris rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0375701486)

Read in October, 2008
recommended to Chris by: Chad
This book reminded me of why I don't like nonfiction texts: It was a whole lotta rambling about a whole lotta stuff I wasn't particularly interested in. Sure, I learned some things; sure, I have a better understanding of the idea of exuberance and how it changes people and history, but I didn't really see it as something that was particularly good at carrying me along.
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Exuberance: The Passion for Life (Paperback)
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