The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

"By merging an evolutionary perspective with cutting-edge research in neuroscience, Linden, a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, addresses provocative questions about the relationship between pleasure and addiction while exploring many of the broader implications of the nexus of the two. 'Understanding the biological basis of pleasure leads us to fundamentally rethink the moral and legal aspects of addiction to drugs, food, sex, and gambling and the industries that manipulate these pleasures.' Linden (The Accidental Mind) is admirable at explaining complex scientific concepts for the nonspecialist. He focuses most of his attention on the role played by the small portion of our gray matter known as the medial forebrain pleasure circuit and demonstrates how both behavior and chemistry can activate its neurons. He also discusses the somewhat counterintuitive conclusion that addiction is often associated with decreased pleasure. Linden's conversational style, his abundant use of anecdotes, and his successful coupling of wit with insight makes the book a joy to read. Even the footnotes are sprinkled with hidden gems. (Apr.) In April 2009, all the toads disappeared from Italy's San Ruffino Lake district. Five days later an earthquake occurred. How did they know what was coming? Fisher, whose How to Dunk a Donut won the American Institute of Physics's Best Popular Science book, brings his accustomed erudition to explaining what we can learn from the toads about predicting catastrophes — whether in the natural or social orders. He explores the nature of equilibrium, the noncatastrophe state, highlighting the effects of negative feedback, which maintains equilibrium (such as the system that helps thermostats regulate temperature) and the spiraling effects of positive feedback (such as how panic spreads in a crowd). Fisher also examines a number of complex models designed to predict physical and human behaviors. Using catchy examples of everyday human behavior as aids, Fisher thus avoids the abstractions generated by the complex models he describes. Another strength is his skill at using short outlines, lists, and questions to underscore his points, and the endnotes offer a wealth of trivia, background information, and curious anecdotes. Although the final principles of how to make predictions are not surprising, their development is entertaining and thought provoking. (Apr.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

David J. Linden is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. The author of more than ninety scientific papers, he also serves as the editor in chief of The Journal of Neurphysiology. His work has received awards from the Sloan, McKnight and Klingenstein Foundations as well as those of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Society for Neuroscience.