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The Language Instinct
The Language Instinct
Sep 19, 2024 10:34 PM

Author:Steven Pinker

The Language Instinct

'Dazzling... Pinker's big idea is that language is an instinct...as innate to us as flying is to geese... Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations'

- Independent

'A marvellously readable book... illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, it acquisition by children, its grammatical structure, the production and perception of speech, the pathology of language disorders and the unstoppable evolution of languages and dialects' - Nature

Reviews

An extraordinary source of inspiration for autistic children, their parents - and all people.

—— Time

The Autistic Brain can both enlighten readers with little exposure to autism and offer hope and compassion to those who live with the condition.

—— Scientific American

Grandin has reached a stunning level of sophistication about herself and the science of autism. Her observations will assist not only fellow autistics and families with affected members, but also researchers and physicians seeking to better understand the condition.

—— Jerome Groopman , The New York Review of Books

Grandin has helped us understand autism not just as a phenomenon, but as a different but coherent mode of existence that otherwise confounds us…She excels at finding concrete examples that reveal the perceptual and social limitations of autistic and "neurotypical" people alike.

—— New York Times

A whirlwind journey through the kinks of the human personality... In entertaining fashion, this psychologist aims to show that normal is just a number; that many of us have strange quirks so quite the moralising

—— The Times, Summer Books

A delightful, intelligent, and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of our sexual knowledge of self

—— Publishers Weekly

Jesse Bering is the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read - funny, smart, and madly provocative.

—— Professor Paul Bloom, Yale University

A colourful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

—— New Humanist

Jesse Bering is the Hunter Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read - funny, smart, and madly provocative.

—— Professor Paul Bloom, Yale University

A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic.

—— Nature

A colorful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

—— New Humanist

Witty... [Bering] employs examples and analogies that make his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are.

—— New Scientist

[T]he psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows in his wonderfully smart and readable "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" [that] modern science and history have a lot to say to each other

—— Darrin McMahon, The Washington Post

Haidt's remedy for the modern glut of frivolous self-help literature is to review and revise the classics, examining the ideas of thinkers like Plato, Buddha and Jesus in light of modern research into human behavior. Along the way, Haidt, a social psychologist, provides practical advice for parenting, romance, work and coping with the political and cultural divisions currently preoccupying the country. The new science he outlines mostly confirms ancient wisdom, but Haidt finds several instances where the two disagree, suggesting that the surest path to happiness is to embrace and balance both old and new thinking

—— Psychology Today

This unusual book sets itself apart from the self-help category with its extensive scientific references, and intelligent, neutral prose, while the author's illuminating illustration of how the human mind works is both educational and refreshing

—— Sunday Times

Rising stars of 2015: one to watch

—— Guardian

Using a series of fascinating case studies as a framework, Dr O’Sullivan skillfully weaves the historical understanding, and misunderstanding, of functional illness into a series of narratives that are moving and thought provoking.

—— Adam Staten , British Journal of General Practice

A sympathetic, insightful study of psychosomatic illness

—— Charlie Hegarty , Catholic Herald

An excellent study of psychosomatic disorders

—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on Sunday

Fascinating foray into the subject of how mental factors affect our health.

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

Her Book, shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome prize, describes case histories…with precision and compassion.

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Mail

It’s not only a beautifully written book…it’s also a book to start a revolution in healthcare.

—— Helen Rumbelow , The Times

Humane and deeply sympathetic.

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Telegraph

Impressively vivid and sympathetic argument for the reality of the mind’s more harrowing inventions.

—— Brian Dillon , Irish Times

A compassionate, honest and compelling read.

—— Lady

She mixes an easily accessible vocabulary with complex medical terms, something which I found both enjoyable and informative… Ultimately I found this book quite fascinating… I would recommend this book, which contains some hard hitting and highly personal stories.

—— Independent Nurse

A great immersion in psychosomatic problems… If you want to get a head-on feeling for the clinical experience of psychosomatic patients, read this book.

—— Edward Shorter , British Medical Journal

[A] controversial but utterly compassionate memoir.

—— Damian Barr , Guardian

It is as addictive as a great box set makes you rethink some of your closest relationships and wonder about some of the people you know best; and above all, like all truly great book it is about love and compassion.

—— Sathnam Sanghera , The Times, Book of the Year

Epstein is too respectful of the complexity of his subject matter to leap to any grand conclusions. The book was conceived partially as a rebuttal to glib theorising, and it is all the more fascinating as a result

—— Ken Early , Irish Times

Fascinating from start to finish

—— Amanda Khouv , Women's Fitness

Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism

—— GrrlScientist , Guardian

Looks at the science of extraordinary athletic performance.

—— Adam Whitehead , Daily Telegraph

Captivating… Dazzling and illuminating

—— Richard Moore , Guardian

Epstein is not afraid to follow science in “trekking deep into the bramble patches of sensitive topics like gender and race"

—— Choice

Captivating… In a particularly fascinating chapter, Epstein investigates an old theory that purports to explain why Jamaica produces so many Olympic sprinters

—— Christie Ashwanden , Scotsman
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