The Social Animal

Now I have to reread it as self-assigned homework. Maybe one page a day, read slowly?

I never wanted to finish it

I don't remember enjoying a book as much as I did this in the recent past. More insight and wisdom per square inch than any other book.

It's hard to believe that this is the same person who writes about politics for The Times. What depth of spirit David Brroks has.

Wow! I wish I was better with words, because, David Brooks has created such a wonderful story, and has also included an amazing amount of information in a very thoughtful way. Thank you.

David Brooks conveys a nearly unique insight into the human condition. His diagnosis of the problem of being human is matched by and informs his solutions- which carry a humility that is consistent with the social beings he describes. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I'm not any sort of professional reviewer so my offering is only of the enjoyment I received from reading David Brooks book. Here is a gifted man who can paint with words the things we cannot put into words and he affirms and examines an entire area of our lives (our character makeup) that is often thought not to exist. The spirit and soul and those areas of our being that really are the things that shape us but, since not directly measurable and visible, are relegated to being nonexistent or inconsequential. This book should give you insight into yourself, others and allow you to give the credit your unconscious mind deserves. You may learn to better access and listen to this part of your mind and derive both pleasure and wisdom from the knowledge it has tucked away. The mind, and indeed life, is built on relationships and, to my thinking, are the only things that remain in the end ... and that we take with us to the next life. David Brooks, thank you for introducing me to the rest of me that I have always suspected was there but was never brave enough or smart enough to recognize. Here endeth the review. Fr. Guido

Great breadth of information presented in a engaging and effect means.

I still don't know how I feel about Mr. Brooks, the man behind the in-your-face Republican Op-Ed column in the New York Times. Being a Democrat, I posses a skewed desire to identify and critique his attempts to use his column to push forth his own political agenda. Being a Democrat, I have an unconscious desire to associate myself with Democrats like Gail Collins and disassociate myself from Republicans like Mr. Brooks. Despite all of these unconscious prejudices, constant desires to shriek "Eureka - I have spotted his political agenda!," and affirm my own biases about Mr. Brooks, I cannot help but admit - no, proclaim: This book is brilliant. In a word, it is incredible. In another: Illuminating. Life-changing. Brooks combines the life-defining scientific findings of our era to craft the fictional, science-shaped tale of Harold and Erica from Harold's parents' first date to the end of Harold and Erica's lives. It's all relatable because it's all set in the present tense. Brooks' proves that he can jump from romance to parenting, elite to impoverished, classroom to living room, college to job hopping, work to worldview, leadership to persuasion, politics to people, and even (gulp!) Republicans to Democrats... without a flinch. The all-present construct is brilliant; the depth of exploration is unbiased and intriguing; the point - that we are social animals who must stop socialize to survive - life-changing. Brooks' book has taught me to appreciate the beauty of the unconscious. Unlike Brooks' Op-Ed columns, The Social Animal doesn't have a political agenda - it just has a life agenda. This is one of the best books that I have ever read.

Does a good job depicting the making of an individual related to their particular environment. The research references offer some proof of the "whys" of behavior. Of course the story is somewhat rags to riches for Erica and Harold. Liked the story form approach. And, I suspect many readers relate to that story. Good stuff.