Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love
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."What wild ecstacy": being in love -- Animal magnetism: love among the animals -- Chemistry of love: scanning the brain "in love" -- Web of love: lust, romance, and attachment -- "That first fine careless rapture": who we choose -- Why we love: the evolution of romantic love -- Lost love: rejection, despair, and rage -- Taking control of passion: making romance last -- "The madness of the Gods": the triumph of love -- Appendix
