Exuberance

By Kay Redfield Jamison,

Book cover of Exuberance: The Passion for Life

Book description

A national bestselling author examines one of the mind's most exalted states—one that is crucially important to learning, risk-taking, social cohesiveness, and survival itself. 

“[Jamison is] that rare writer who can offer a kind of unified field theory of science and art.” —The Washington Post Book World

With the same…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Exuberance as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Like Sacks, Jamison is the rare scientist whose writing is both research-based and accessible.

In An Unquiet Mind, the memoir she published in 1995, Jamison shared her diagnosis of manic depression, chipping away at stigma by opening up about herself. In Exuberance, she takes readers in another direction by delving into a single human characteristic.

I have always been fascinated by people who are positive, upbeat, and charming—people who seem to be enveloped in joy. Jamison explores the history of exuberance and the people who exude it, from Teddy Roosevelt to P.T. Barnum.

Jamison’s enthusiasm for her subject springs…

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