Why We Love : The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love

Why We Love : The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love
ISBN: 9780805077964
Publication Date: 2 January 2005

"If you want flashes and particular experiences of romantic love, read novels. If you want to understand this central quality of human nature to its roots, read "Why We Love.""
--Edward O. Wilson
In "Why We Love," renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher offers a new map of the phenomenon of love--from its origins in the brain to the thrilling havoc it creates in our bodies and behavior. Working with a team of scientists to scan the brains of people who had just fallen madly in love, Fisher proved what psychologists had until recently only suspected: when you fall in love, specific areas of the brain "light up" with increased blood flow. This sweeping new book uses this data to argue that romantic passion is hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. It is not an emotion; it is a drive as powerful as hunger.
Provocative, enlightening, engaging, and persuasive, "Why We Love" offers radical new answers to age-old questions: what love is, who we love--and how to keep love alive.
Helen Fisher, Ph.D., is one of this country's most prominent anthropologists. Prior to becoming a research professor at Rutgers University, she was a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Dr. Fisher has conducted extensive research on the evolution, expression, and chemistry of love. Her books "The First Sex" and "Anatomy of Love" were both "New York Times" Notable Books. In "Why We Love," Helen Fisher offers a new map of the phenomenon of love based on her innovative scientific research. Working with a team of scientists to scan the brains of people who had just fallen madly in love, Fisher and her colleagues proved at last what psychologists had only suspected: when you fall in love, specific areas of the brain "light up" with increased blood flow. Using this ...