This book combines cutting-edge findings in neuroscience with examples from history and the headlines to introduce the new science of cultural biology, born of advances in brain imaging, computer modeling, and genetics. Doctors Quartz and Sejnowski show how both our noblest and darkest traits are rooted in brain systems so ancient that we share them with insects. They then demystify the dynamic engagement between brain and world that makes us something far beyond the sum of our parts. The authors show how our humanity unfolds in precise stages as brain and world engage on increasingly complex levels. Their discussion embraces shaping forces as ancient as climate change over millennia and events as recent as the terrorism and heroism of September 11, and offers intriguing answers to some of our most enduring questions, including why we live together, love, kill -- and sometimes lay down our lives for others.

Nurturing Our Humanity offers a new perspective on our personal and social options in today's world, showing how to structure our environments--from family and gender relations to politics and economics--to support our great capacities for consciousness, caring, and creativity. It examines where societies fall on the partnership-domination scale, and how this impacts equity, sustainability, peace, and how our brains develop. Combining cutting-edge findings from biological and social science, it explains regressions to strongman rule and other dangerous trends; re-examines our past (including societies that for millennia oriented toward partnership); and outlines actions to move us in this life-sustaining and enhancing direction.

TV reporter Rachel Williamson helps Chief Sam Jenkins with a classic fraud investigation. However, the case puts Rachel in jeopardy, and her abduction by a mentally disturbed man changes her life forever.Eventually Jenkins uncovers a significant clue and leads a team deep into the Smoky Mountains to rescue his friend. But once Rachel is safely home, they discover her problems are far from over.

A bold argument that our "quest for cool" shapes modern culture and the global economy Like it or not, we live in an age of conspicuous consumption. In a world of brand names, many of us judge ourselves and others by the products we own. Teenagers broadcast their brand allegiances over social media. Tourists flock to Rodeo Drive to have their pictures taken in front of luxury stores. Soccer moms switch from minivans to SUVs to hybrids, while hip beer connoisseurs flaunt their knack for distinguishing a Kölsch from a pilsner. How did this pervasive desire for "cool" emerge, and why is it so powerful today that it is a prime driver of the global economy? In Cool, the neuroscientist and philosopher Steven Quartz and the political scientist Anette Asp bring together the latest findings in brain science, economics, and evolutionary biology to form a provocative theory of consumerism, revealing how the brain's "social calculator" and an instinct to rebel are the crucial missing links in understanding the motivations behind our spending habits. Applying their theory to everything from grocery shopping to the near-religious devotion of Harley-Davidson fans, Quartz and Asp explore how the brain's ancient decision-making machinery guides consumer choice. Using these revolutionary insights, they show how we use products to advertise ourselves to others in an often unconscious pursuit of social esteem. Surprising at every turn, Cool will change the way you think about money, status, desire, and choice.

Psychiatry is arguably the most misunderstood specialty in modern medicine and psychiatrists are often thought of as part physician, part confessor, part police officer, and part shaman. In Demystifying Psychiatry, two eminent psychiatrists offer an illuminating look at the entire field, offering a clear and informative portrait of a medical specialty often clouded in myth. Zorumski and Rubin range from a basic discussion of what psychiatry is, to the types of illnesses psychiatrists treat, the training of psychiatrists, the treatment of psychiatric disorders (covering medications, psychotherapy, lifestyle interventions, electroconvulsive therapy, and much more), and how families can help with treatment. They caution the consumer about practices that should raise red flags. The book also covers new trends in psychiatry and explores the future of the field, predicting that major advances in genetics and neuroscience will lead to rapid and amazing changes in psychiatry. The book concludes with extensive reference materials that will be valuable both to general readers and medical practitioners.

Although the physical relationship between the natural world and individuals is quantifiable, the psychosocial effect of the former on the latter is often less tangible. What, for instance, is the connection between the environment in which we live and our creativity? How is our consciousness bounded and delimited by our materiality? And from whence does our idea of self and our belief in free will derive and when do our surroundings challenge these basic assumptions? Ecocritic Harold Fromm's challenging exploration of these and related questions twines his own physical experiences and observations with insights gathered from both the humanities and the sciences. Writing broadly and personally, Fromm explores our views of nature and how we write about it. He ties together ecology, evolutionary psychology, and consciousness studies to show that our perceived separation from our surroundings is an illusory construct. He argues for a naturalistic vision of creativity, free will, and the literary arts unimpeded by common academic and professional restraints. At each point of this intellectual journey, Fromm is honest, engaging, and unsparing. Philosophical, critical, often personal, Fromm's sweeping, interdisciplinary, and sometimes combative essays will change the way you think about your place in the environment.

The Clems were a family living the American dream until their fifteen-year-old daughter Carren became addicted to Meth. Within two months of first taking the highly addictive drug, Carren had moved out of the family home, spent her entire savings on Meth and resorted to stealing, dealing and prostitution to pay for her habit. Told from both Carren's perspective and from the perspective of her father Ron, Loss of Innocence shares the shocking story of how a middle-class girl growing up in a stable home could get so lost. A former LA police officer, Ron describes how he went back to being a cop to try to rescue his daughter and how he suffered a heart attack in the street when he witnessed Carren selling herself to a drug dealer; Carren shares the events leading up to her first taste of drugs, and her descent into addiction with moving candour and dignity. Carren is now clean and sober, and in this frank, compelling book she and her family prove that there can be life after drug addiction.