On the Origin of Tepees
by Jonnie Hughes
The Gist
Humans are the product of natural selection, but unlike every other species, we don't base every choice on genetic fitness. Hughes traverses the U.S., uncovering clues in cultural products from cowboy hats to tepees. He concludes that our brains picked up where our evolving bodies left off, adapting the environment to us, instead of vice versa.
Our Take
"Part anthropology, part history, with a sprinkling of Bill Bryson-like memoir, On the Origin of Tepees strips the subject of density with witty storytelling and one-liners. Eclectics will appreciate Hughes's all-over-the-map approach: He dabbles in linguistics, biology, geology, and more. —Sarah Henrich
by Daniel Goleman
The Gist
Goleman is a champion of emotional intelligence—the social aptitude that exists independently of intellect. With it, some people with average IQs rocket to the top, and without it, geniuses can become failures by conventional standards. This e-book encapsulates the state of the neurological and behavioral research, with actionable tipsfor upping your EI.
Our Take
This is a crib sheet for mental well-being, with simple, straightforward steps for achieving flow, studying well, and ditching stress. Goleman sprinkles in "how-about-that" factoids and anecdotes about EIprinciples at work, so the material feels fresh, not textbooky. —Andrea Bartz
Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life
by Douglas T. Kenrick
The Gist
Kenrick, an evolutionary psychologist, trains a broad-angle view on human drives and emotions. Question by compelling question (Do we all have homicidal fantasies? Is religion just a mating strategy?), he walks us through the impulses that pepper our lives, drawing heavily from his own experiences and from his 150+ scientific articles and books.
Our Take
Kenrick covers topics you'll be mentioning at cocktail parties for years to come. Though the descriptions of experiments occasionally border on tedious, Kenrick's casual tone and heartwarming wrap-up (he IDs caring for others as the meaning of life) make this a fascinating read. —Karina Grudnikov
Good Boss, Mad Boss
The link between leadership and mental illness
A little bit of crazy might be the key to effective leadership. That's the linchpin idea of the book A First-Rate Madness. Author Nassir Ghaemi, a Tufts psychiatrist who also holds a degree in history, noticed that celebrated historical figures seemed to have symptoms of mental abnormalities. He hypothesizes that certain leaders owe their success to being a little off-kilter. "During peaceful periods, being mentally healthy leads to conventional success," he says. But during crisis, we may need leaders with unusual brains to approach problems in a fresh way. Here are three of Ghaemi's diagnoses and the leaders who benefited from them.
Depressed people may have a good grasp on their own limitations. Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill had an eye for assessing tough situations because of their "depressive realism," Ghaemi posits. And Martin Luther King, Jr., and Gandhi may have gained their empathy from depression. "Depressed individuals appear to better appreciate, understand, and recognize suffering in other people," he says.
When those with bipolar disorder hit emotional highs, they're more creative and energetic. That may have helped General Sherman and Ted Turner (who, Ghaemi says, both exhibited bipolar-like behavior) solve tough problems—i.e., winning a war and reinventing TV news.
Both FDR and JFK were known for thinking fast and talking nonstop. Ghaemi thinks their "hyperthymic" or high-energy personalities helped them bounce back from challenges. "Constantly coming in and out of mood episodes can help you become very resilient," he says. The downside? All that energy has to go somewhere—their unusual personalities may be one reason both presidents were notorious womanizers. —Nancy Ryerson
On the Origin of Tepees
