Why We Love

"If you want flashes and particular experiences of romantic love, read novels. If you want to understand this central quality of human nature to its roots, read Why We Love."
--Edward O. Wilson

In Why We Love, renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher offers a new map of the phenomenon of love--from its origins in the brain to the thrilling havoc it creates in our bodies and behavior. Working with a team of scientists to scan the brains of people who had just fallen madly in love, Fisher proved what psychologists had until recently only suspected: when you fall in love, specific areas of the brain "light up" with increased blood flow. This sweeping new book uses this data to argue that romantic passion is hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. It is not an emotion; it is a drive as powerful as hunger.

Provocative, enlightening, engaging, and persuasive, Why We Love offers radical new answers to age-old questions: what love is, who we love--and how to keep love alive.

“"Written in a deceptively simple manner, in language that is over nobody's head,Why We Lovemixes [Fisher's] new research with prior scientific findings to build a thesis with startling ramifications." -The New York Times Book Review "Like the words of a talented lover, Fisher's prose is charming and engaging . . . In hands as skilled as Fisher's, scientific analysis of love only adds to its magic." -Scientific American”

"Written in a deceptively simple manner, in language that is over nobody's head, Why We Love mixes [Fisher's] new research with prior scientific findings to build a thesis with startling ramifications." --The New York Times Book Review

"Like the words of a talented lover, Fisher's prose is charming and engaging . . . In hands as skilled as Fisher's, scientific analysis of love only adds to its magic." --Scientific American

Helen Fisher, Ph.D., is one of this country's most prominent anthropologists. Prior to becoming a research professor at Rutgers University, she was a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Fisher has conducted extensive research on the evolution, expression, and chemistry of love. Her two previous books, The First Sex and The Anatomy of Love, were New York Times Notable Books. She grew up in Connecticut and lives in New York City.

In Why We Love, renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher offers a new map of the phenomenon of love-from its origins in the brain to the thrilling havoc it creates in our bodies and behavior. Working with a team of scientists to scan the brains of people who had just fallen madly in love, Fisher proved what psychologists had until recently only suspected: When you fall in love, specific areas of the brain "light up" with increased blood flow. This sweeping new book uses this data to argue that romantic passion is hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. It is not an emotion; it is a drive as powerful as hunger. Provocative, enlightening, engaging, and persuasive, Why We Love offers radical new answers to age-old questions: What love is, who we love-and how to keep love alive.

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