"Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls "musical misalignments." Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and...

"If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled byAlex Hutchinson's Endure"--Bear Grylls. From the National Magazine Award-winning Runner's World columnist, frequent New Yorker online contributor, and Cambridge-trained physicist: a fascinating and definitive exploration of the revolutionary new science of endurance and the secrets of human performance. Alex Hutchinson, Ph.D.,...

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families of the terminally ill.

In Mind Fixers, Anne Harrington, author of The Cure Within, explores psychiatry's repeatedly frustrated struggle to understand mental disorder in biomedical terms. She shows how the stalling of early twentieth-century efforts in this direction allowed Freudians and social scientists to insist, with some justification, that they had better ways of analyzing and fixing minds.

Science journalist and lucid dreamer Alice Robb explores fresh, revelatory research to uncover why we dream and how we can improve our dream life.

An illustrated, practical, and holistic guide for every kind of runner, with tips on nutrition, training, shoe recommendations, and suggestions for finding a running community.

"A captivating and persuasive scientific exploration of the athletic benefits of a plant-based diet, featuring interviews with stars who've made the switch from meat to plants"-- Provided by publisher.

"In this captivating blend of science and memoir, a health journalist and former cellist explores music as a source of health, resilience, connection, and joy. Music isn't just background noise or a series of torturous exercises we remember from piano lessons. In the right doses, it can double as a mild antidepressant, painkiller, sleeping pill, memory aid--and enhance athletic performance while supporting healthy aging. Though music has been used...

A leading brain scientist's look at the neurobiology of pleasure--and how pleasures can become addictions. Whether eating, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. Here, Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain. As he did in The Accidental Mind, Linden combines cutting-edge science with entertaining...

A pioneering neuroscientist reveals the reasons for chronic loneliness--which he defines an unrecognized syndrome--and brings it out of the shadow of its cousin, depression.