Behave
The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Behave
Buy Now for $34.96
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Michael Goldstrom
-
Written by:
-
Robert Sapolsky
About this listen
The New York Times best seller.
From the celebrated neurobiologist and primatologist, a landmark, genre-defining examination of human behavior, both good and bad, and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do?
Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: He starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs, and then hops back in time from there, in stages, ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its evolutionary legacy.
And so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one. A behavior occurs - whether an example of humans at our best, worst, or somewhere in between. What went on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happened? Then Sapolsky pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision, a little earlier in time: What sight, sound, or smell caused the nervous system to produce that behavior? And then, what hormones acted hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli that triggered the nervous system? By now he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened.
Sapolsky keeps going: How was that behavior influenced by structural changes in the nervous system over the preceding months, by that person's adolescence, childhood, fetal life, and then back to his or her genetic makeup? Finally, he expands the view to encompass factors larger than one individual. How did culture shape that individual's group, what ecological factors millennia old formed that culture? And on and on, back to evolutionary factors millions of years old.
The result is one of the most dazzling tours d'horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted, a majestic synthesis that harvests cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines to provide a subtle and nuanced perspective on why we ultimately do the things we do...for good and for ill. Sapolsky builds on this understanding to wrestle with some of our deepest and thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, morality and free will, and war and peace. Wise, humane, often very funny, Behave is a towering achievement, powerfully humanizing, and downright heroic in its own right.
©2017 Robert M. Sapolsky (P)2017 Penguin AudioWhat the critics say
One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of 2017
"It has my vote for science book of the year.” (Parul Sehgal, The New York Times)
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read.” (David P. Barash, The Wall Street Journal)
What listeners say about Behave
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Exanime
- 2018-02-12
Best Science Book I have ever read
This was fantastic in all ways... interesting, well organized, well read and performed, challenging, informative, etc
I have nothing but good things to say about this amazing body of knowledge
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Guneet Singh
- 2020-02-08
A must read!
Robert Sapolsky is a man who knows how to deliver the message without any extra mumbo jumbo, the book has been a real eye opener and puts into perspective a variety of human behaviour at our best and worst. A must read for anyone trying to further their knowledge of biology and how it interacts with the environment to cause our behaviours. Beautifully written and well narrated!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arthur Pendragon
- 2020-02-08
Fantastic
Excellent writer and scientist. Lots of humour in the book as well, which makes it easy to listen to/read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2025-01-25
Very interesting for those who like neuroscience and psychology
Fantastic book, but this is coming from someone who did neuroscience in university. If you have no background knowledge there is a primer section but it might be tough to grasp at first read if you’re not already familiar with neuroscience and how the brain works/it’s different secessions.
That being said, it is incredibly interesting and touches in so many things I adored the listen. Will definitely listen again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sera Kwon
- 2018-09-19
Thought provoking and challenging
It required careful listening, but well worth the effort. I really appreciated how it didn’t skimp on details and yet was still accessible to a layperson.
#Audible1
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-12-09
another great Gates reccomendation
right and left brain and political views surronding. stress, sleep, poverty and selfishness. I've been trying to understand those around me more. Why some of them feel racist and empathethicless rhetoric is appropriate and how I can help them escape these thought prisons instead of just disliking and ignoring them. I've dropped quite a few clients over these issues recently and shunned others instead of speaking up. Hoping to apply lessons learned to improve how I approach these situations going forward. I found myself hiding in cannabis's comfortable glow but issues need addressing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tom
- 2025-06-23
great for developing a neutral perspective on behavior and understanding why we do what we do
A book about human behaviour. Creating a more natural perspective on our behavior by understanding how each action is effected by biology, genetics, environment and social factors. Explaining the interwined complexity of all we do. Long but informative. Great for someone who has a novice understanding of psychology.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Customer
- 2020-03-21
Hard book
The subject of this book is complex. It takes effort to follow and use of abbreviations is not helping at all but makes it even harder to comprehend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- JHM
- 2020-04-23
My new Bible
This is the summary of a life's worth of research from multiple disciplines. Fundamental in understanding how humans do what they do.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacques Rousseau
- 2019-09-06
Modern, Cited, Enthralling.
Behave is a 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 read for anyone who wants to develop an ability to understand critical issues without their ego getting in the way. Profound insights backed by countless studies are brought to life by Sapolsky's charming humor, Behave ticks every box to create a non-ficiton vital for humanity's evolution.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!