The Social Animal

David Brooks weaves a vast array of new research into the lives of two fictional characters, revealing a fundamental new understanding of human nature. He outlines a new definition of success, highlighting what economists call non-cognitive skills - those hidden qualities that can't be easily measured, but which lead to happiness and fulfilment.

“The book everyone's talking about.”

The Guardian
A fascinating study of the unconscious mind and its impact on our lives The Economist
At Westminster they should be listening hard The Times
NEW YORK TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER 'Mr. Brooks is at his best as a social observer... his talent for capturing the way we live now is truly impressive. Brooks surveys a stunning amount of research and cleverly connects it to everyday experience - several passages made me think that Brooks had been glancing through my own windows.' Wall Street Journal

David Brooks has millions of readers worldwide from his New York Times column. His influence has only grown since the publication of his book Bobos In Paradise. In a recent profile, New York magazine called him "the essential columnist of our time". He lives with his family in Washington DC.

This is a book about success and how it happens, told through the fictionalised story of a couple, Harold and Erica, representative of you and me. Brooks follows their story from birth to old age and explores the forces that expand and limit their choices in life. Following their progress, he explores everything that influences human development in the 21st century - why our interest and passions develop, how we decide whom to marry, why emotion trumps IQ, and how the vast power of the unconscious, where most of the mind's work takes place, plays such a fundamental role in the choices we make. Through this captivating fable of modern life, Brooks shows us that the current thinking on how to improve society - from education to equality to creating a functional workplace - is all too often based on a false view of human nature. The Social Animal culminates in a broad vision of society that emphasizes trust over individualism, social mobility over the status quo, and, ultimately, human character over human calculation.

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