The Chemistry Between Us offers powerful and thought-provoking insights into love, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and family life.
Larry Young is a professor of psychiatry at Emory University and one of the world's leading experts in behavioural neuroscience. Brian Alexander is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books.
"Combine a first-class neuroscientist like Young, director of Emory
University’s Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, and an
award-winning science journalist like Alexander, and the result is
likely to be an engaging book about cutting edge science. They do a
wonderful job of mixing and matching human studies with those of
other animals to explain how chemicals influence and, at times,
control behavior associated with sex, love, and longing."
—Publishers Weekly
"Why do we drunk-dial our exes? Why do strippers make more money
when they are ovulating? Why do fools fall in love? These are some
of the questions explored by Young (Psychiatry/Emory Univ.) and
Alexander (America Unzipped: In Search of Sex and Satisfaction,
2008). The authors argue that the causes are related to the potent,
sometimes irresistible, chemical cocktails our bodies produce. In
interviews with scientists of all stripes (psychiatrists,
neuroscientists, researchers), Young and Alexander examine their
ideas and how they pertain to us, often illuminating their
explanations with funny, and sometimes raunchy, anecdotes... the
book is sure to hook even casual science readers with its subject,
because, as Young and Alexander point out, “the combination of
erotic desire and the love it leads to may be the most powerful
force on earth. An entertaining overview of the science of physical
attraction."—Kirkus Reviews
“This lively book by a great neuroscientist and a savvy writer is
the first popular account to tie together what we have learned
about the chemistry of sex, love, and family bonds. Progress in
this field has been nothing short of breathtaking, and Larry Young
is recognized as its leading pioneer. The way our brains react
when boy meets girl determines the stability of marriage and the
future of the human family.”—FRANS DE WAAL, C.H. Candler Professor
of Psychology at Emory University and author of The Age of
Empathy“…One wild and entertaining ride. The prose in The Chemistry
Between Us is lively and fun – and provides a fresh and
unapologetically pointed analysis on what understanding the
neurobiological correlates of love may mean for both our
relationships and our culture.”—Kayt Sukel, New Scientist
“If you’ve ever been curious—and let’s face it, we all
have—about the intricate dance of biology and behavior that both
brings men and women together and pushes them apart, then The
Chemistry Between Us is the book for you. Authors Larry Young and
Brian Alexander explore questions as gentle as parenting and as
edgy as sexual addiction with consistent style, humor, and insight.
The result is a story that’s fun, fascinating, and, finally,
insightful.”—DEBORAH BLUM, Pulitzer Prize winner; author of Sex on
the Brain, Love at Goon Park, and The Poisoner’s Handbook“Nothing
fascinates us more than why we fall in love and what makes us
choose that particular person. The Chemistry Between Us sheds
light on just this mysterious phenomenon with a thorough look at
the neuroscience and psychology of the process. Whether you have a
desire for better intellectual understanding or a personal
curiosity as to why you or your partner do what you do, this book
is a super-enjoyable class in love, sex, and all its dark
mysteries. A fascinating and stimulating read!”—GAIL SALTZ, MD, NBC
Today show contributor and clinical associate professor of
psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
“Dr. Young is one of the science world’s most respected authorities
on the chemistry underlying the most complicated and beloved
interactions of our species. The insight and candor he and Mr.
Alexander provide in this simultaneously entertaining and
compelling book will impress both novice and scientific aficionado
alike. What an intellectually and emotionally satisfying
exploration!”—MAYIM BIALIK, PhD, CLEC, actress on CBS’s The Big
Bang Theory and author of Beyond the Sling“You may not need this
book in order to meet the love of your life but if you are head
over heels in love with someone this book will go a long way toward
telling you what has happened in your head and body to make this
so.”—ARTHUR CAPLAN, PhD, William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty
professor and head of the Division of Bioethics, NYU Langone
Medical Center
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