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Loading... Exuberance: The Passion for Lifeby Kay Redfield Jamison
None. A very bouyant and varied description of exuberance, that effectivly communicates the emotion and leaves you feeling rather exuberant yourself. However this book lacks structure, and does not go into much depth it is a sequence of descriptions of different experiences. But a very enjoyable read nonetheless. On my monitor at work is a quote from Diderot: "Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things." In Exuberance: The Passion for Life, Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychology and MacArthur fellow, explores and even celebrates the our capacity for play, passion and enthusiasm. And what a ride it is! She looks at playful and celebratory behaviors in other animals, examining the possible evolutionary benefits of risk-taking and the chemical and hormonal rewards for discovery and learning. Her exuberant subjects include Snoopy, Tigger, Mr. Toad, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Feynman, Louis Armstrong, Jane Goodall and many others from history, fiction, and personal interviews. She even warns us of the potential dangers, the rocks and shoals of the bounding waves: Champagne enchants, but it also intoxicates more quickly than stiller wines: heed glides into heedlessness as effortlessly as the silk chemise drops to the floor. I learned much about my own passions and obsessions (and feel a bit less guilty about them), and after reading Exuberance I feel like I understand some of those unique, absorbed, adventurous individuals who have crossed my path. This is no a dry science text. Jamison invites us to sip champagne, shoot off fireworks, and celebrate with her in the passionate experience of humanity. A little heavy on the scientists, but an inspiring read nonetheless. I recommend this book to anyone who has more energy than they know what to do with. There are others out there like you - do not despair! no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0375701486, Paperback)With the same grace and breadth of learning she brought to her studies of the mind’s pathologies, Kay Redfield Jamison examines one of its most exalted states: exuberance. This “abounding, ebullient, effervescent emotion” manifests itself everywhere from child’s play to scientific breakthrough and is crucially important to learning, risk-taking, social cohesiveness, and survival itself. Exuberance: The Passion for Life introduces us to such notably irrepressible types as Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, and Richard Feynman, as well as Peter Pan, dancing porcupines, and Charles Schulz’s Snoopy. It explores whether exuberance can be inherited, parses its neurochemical grammar, and documents the methods people have used to stimulate it. The resulting book is an irresistible fusion of science and soul.(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:57:33 -0500) Explores the role of exuberance in humankind's most important creative and scientific accomplishments, discussing the nature of exuberance and its relationship to intellectual curiosity, creativity, risk-taking, and survival. |
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Full review: http://libwen.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/exuberance-by-kay-redfield-jamison/ (