The Social Animal

This is the happiest story you’ve ever read. It’s about two people who led wonderfully fulfilling lives. They had engrossing careers, earned the respect of their friends, and made important contributions to their neighbourhood, their country, and their world.

The odd thing was, they weren’t born geniuses. They did okay in IQ tests but had no extraordinary physical or mental gifts. They were fine-looking, but they weren’t beautiful. Nobody would have picked them out at a young age and said they were destined for greatness. Yet they achieved this success, and everyone who met them said they had blessed lives.

How did they do it?

Meet Harold and Erica, representative of you and me. In this captivating fable of modern life, New York Times columnist, David Brooks follows their story from birth to old age and explores the forces that expand and limit their choices in life. Why our interest and passions develop, how we decide whom to marry, why emotion trumps IQ, and how the vast power of the unconscious, where most of the mind’s work takes place, plays such a fundamental role in the lives we end up leading.

“A fascinating study of the unconscious mind and its impact on our lives ”
The Economist

“Brooks gets inside the head, explains how the brain works... it's like frieze-framing a novel and discussing the motivation of the characters. fascinating...”
The Evening Standard

“At Westminster they should be listening hard”
The Times

About David Brooks

David Brooks has millions of readers worldwide from his New York Times column. His influence has only grown since the publication of his book Bobos In Paradise. New York magazine called him "the essential columnist of our time" in a recent profile. He lives with his family in Washington DC.