“We have all imprinted emotionally on the vicissitudes of our teenage years. Mitch Prinstein, in this compelling, page-turner, tells us why and also how we can shed the skins of our adolescence. Even better he tells us how our children can achieve meaningful popularity. A science-based Dale Carnegie.”

Fascinating, well-researched and accessible, The Popularity Illusion will make you rethink every social interaction you've had since high school, and help you to find greater success and happiness. Read this book, and you'll never think about popularity in the same way again.

It turns out that there's more to popularity than status. This book didn't just capture my attention; it also helped me to understand why I wasn't cool as a kid, why I'm still not today, and why I shouldn't care.

Were you popular as a kid? You no doubt have an answer to that, but Mitch Prinstein wants you to have two: status is one thing, likeability quite another. The origins of both types of popularity are the topic of this singularly fascinating, extraordinarily well-written book. I read it cover to cover and learned as much about the science as I did myself.'

A clever analysis of the human yearning for acceptance ... Prinstein unravels this complex area brilliantly. He cites eye-opening research that will have you nodding in agreement ... Very important in these networked times.

I recommend it to everyone I meet. I've bought 15 copies to give to people. In my opinion it should be on every teacher's reading list. Whoever you are - especially if you are straight - go and buy it now. It could help change your life and the world around you.

One of the most powerful books, sensitively and elegantly written, I think, that I have ever read.

If only this had been written twenty years ago I can only imagine the lives that could have been saved sooner. This is a hugely important book for everyone. It's changed the way I see myself, other people and the world.

Matthew Todd dares to shine a light on the dark legacy of gay shame [and] it’s not a pretty sight…There are some uncomfortable and downright terrifying truths to be confronted in Todd’s brilliant, essential new book. It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of Straight Jacket. If you are struggling and want help and don’t know where to look, this book is a great place to start. But even if you’re not, [it] is by far one of the most important books you’ll read this year.

An essential book... Part sociological polemic and part self-help book, it zones in on some of the issues that disproportionately affect the gay community, from depression and anxiety to drug and alcohol addiction and body and eating disorders. I found myself both deeply upset and hugely relieved by its candour. After reading the book, tender as it is, you can’t help but want to share your own experiences. Consider Straight Jacket a call to arms.

Matthew Todd thought he had long since dealt with the demons surrounding his sexuality. In [his] new book, he reveals the crisis of shame facing the gay community – and how to solve it.

Straight Jacket is a really brilliant and moving read for everybody, especially LGBTQ+ people. Thanks Matthew.

Straight Jacket documents Todd’s own childhood experiences, and the long-term mental health and addiction issues he has suffered; he is also using it to call for a government inquiry into the experiences of LGBT children at school.

There are some uncomfortable and downright terrifying truths in Todd’s brilliant, essential new book... It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of Straight Jacket. It’s fundamentally a call to arms, a wide-ranging, desperately heartfelt cri de coeur… The gay community needs to look at ways of taking better care of itself, being nicer to each other and offering and providing support when it’s needed.

Cannot put it down… a book like this is long overdue.

An honest and perceptive book.

A smashing book.

Excellent… A valuable contribution to mental health and a must read.

It’s an important book. I had to read it right through. It tackles some tough issues and is searingly honest

I got so much out of that book and I know a lot of people have. It’s helping a lot of people. It’s a bible.

I’m about to read Straight Jacket for a second time. Brilliant, important, inspiring, brave.

An honest insight into LGBTQ life that everybody should be enlightened about regardless of sexuality.

This powerful book, I believe, will save lives. I’d like to see every gay man read this.

A superb book… Have read it twice now.

The book we should all be talking about.

Thank you for writing this book. It is a must read.

One of the best books we have ever read. Honest, thought provoking and much needed.

Finally started to read Straight Jacket. I’m already blown away. An incredibly honest and insightful read. Bravo Matthew.

This book should have been written a long time ago, but it wasn't...Everyone, no matter what their background, will benefit from reading this book. A much-needed and healing work of tough love, written with love.

A sensitive subject, brilliantly and intelligently handled.

An excoriating book, Straight Jacket: How to be Gay and Happy delves into contemporary gay culture to address a plethora of issues gay people continue to face in 2016.

Insightful, inclusive, clever and engaging