The Human Mind

Paul Bloom can always be counted on to take your confident assumptions about humanity and turn them upside down

SUSAN CAIN, author of Quiet

Explains the deep and lasting insights from the science of the mind ... such a pleasure to read

STEVEN PINKER, author of Enlightenment Now

Essential reading for anyone who has wondered why people do, feel, and think what they do. Paul Bloom is that rarest of experts - able to tell a story, make it practical, and yet faithfully capture the complexity and nuance of the latest research

ANGELA DUCKWORTH, author of Grit

A perfect testament to why understanding the puzzles of the mind can be so damn fun

LAURIE SANTOS, host of The Happiness Lab podcast

The story of the human mind as told by psychology's best storyteller ... a fantastic journey

DANIEL GILBERT, author of Stumbling on Happiness

Perhaps the wittiest, most captivating overview of the field of psychology to date

JENNIFER SENIOR, author of All Joy and No Fun

An extraordinary book that absolutely delivers on its sweeping ambitions. Every chapter here - on topics ranging from Freud to the mysteries of consciousness, from intergroup conflict to the meaning of life - feels like having the mind's complexities untangled by a witty, eloquent and deeply knowledgeable friend

OLIVER BURKEMAN, author of Four Thousand Weeks

This book is a gem. Insightful, accessible, witty and provocative in the best sense, it presents state-of-the art science and its controversies in an even-handed manner. A wonderful book, whether for a newcomer or a specialist who has studied one tree so long that the forest has been forgotten

ROBERT SAPOLSKY, author of Behave

Bloom asks the big, thought-provoking questions, and his passion and enthusiasm for his line of work are evident on every page ... [The Human Mind] is a success at giving readers a taste of their own minds ... Readers will learn a lot about themselves

Washington Examiner

Really wonderful, hugely readable

DERREN BROWN (on Twitter)

Powerful ... The Human Mind is a sane corrective in an increasingly crazed world

Prospect

An ambitious, up-to-the-minute guide to the mind ... From perception and behaviour to choice and morality, psychologist Paul Bloom's book on the mind takes on a comprehensive journey of what it means to be human

Simon Ings, New Scientist

I don't remember the last time I was this excited about a psychology-related book. The Human Mind is everything a reader wants. Enlightening, thoroughly researched, and witty too. Paul Bloom knows his stuff and has a way of sharing that will delight you. I wish psychology was always taught in this way

SOPHIE MORT (aka Dr Soph), author of A Manual For Being Human

Excellent ... [Bloom's] stories are sometimes surprising and made me laugh out loud ... a very enjoyable read

The Conversation