The Social Animal: A Story of How Success Happens - Tapa blanda

**NEW YORK TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER** 'Mr. Brooks is at his best as a social observer... his talent for capturing the way we live now is truly impressive. Brooks surveys a stunning amount of research and cleverly connects it to everyday experience - several passages made me think that Brooks had been glancing through my own windows.' Wall Street Journal 'Brooks's layman's tour through the science-sparked revolution in consciousness is an enjoyably thought-provoking adventure.' Boston Globe 'A fascinating study of the unconscious mind and its impact on our lives'The Economist 'An uncommonly brilliant blend of sociology, intellect and allegory' Kirkus Reviews 'David Brooks has a very different background to most psychology and popular science writers. In the United States he is a revered and reviled political commentator whose twice-weekly op-ed columns for the New York Times are so influential that, as this deadline nears, he will often receive a call from the White House to find out if they should be worried.' The Observer

This is the happiest story you will ever read. It's about two people who led wonderfully fulfilling, successful lives. The odd thing was, they weren't born geniuses. They had no extraordinary physical or mental gifts. Nobody would have picked them out at a young age and said they were destined for greatness. How did they do it? In the past thirty years we have learnt more about the human brain than in the previous 3000 - a scientific revolution has occurred. The unconscious mind, it turns out, is most of the mind - the place where the majority of the brain's work gets done, where our most important life decisions are made, where character is formed and the seeds of accomplishment grow. In this illuminating and compelling book, David Brooks weaves a vast array of new research into the lives of two fictional characters, Harold and Erica, following them from infancy to old age. In so doing, he reveals a fundamental new understanding of human nature. Most success stories are explained at the surface level of life. They describe academic ability, hard work and learning the right techniques to get ahead. This story - the story of Harold and Erica - is told one level down, at the level of emotions, intuitions, biases, genetic predispositions and deep inner longings. The result is a new definition of success, highlighting what economists call non-cognitive skills - those hidden qualities that can't be easily counted or measured, but which in real life lead to happiness and fulfilment. The Social Animal is a moving and nuanced intellectual adventure. Impossible to put down, it is an essential book for our time - one that will have a broad social impact and change the way we see ourselves and the world.