Louis Franzini and John Grossberg take readers behind the tabloid headlines and media exposes to tell the real-life stories of emotionally damaged men and women driven to horrific extremes in their efforts to gratify their basic human needs for love and attention.

Just why has England been blessed with so many quirky people? A delightful look at this phenomenon from an award–winning and “superbly talented” author (Sunday Express). From the eighteenth-century judge who insisted all babies were born with tails that were secretly removed by midwives to the twentieth-century schoolmaster who left twenty-six thousand pounds to the Lord Jesus Christ (upon His return and satisfactory proof of His identity), England is famed for its colorful characters. In this exploration of eccentrics through history, David Long studies these beloved real-life figures and their bizarre legacy, including the many strange buildings they left behind—not just follies but re-creations of exotic palaces. He also discusses why eccentrics still spark a continuing fascination, and highlights the most notable (not just the most famous) in his entertaining essays. In addition to a useful timeline that sets the scene, this book reveals where readers can see the long-lasting legacy of the eccentric for themselves, from Brighton Pavilion to the follies at Stourhead and Castle Howard. “A new book by David Long is always something to cherish.” —Londonist

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

The scenario is all too common: Girl meets guy (or Guy meets girl). Guy is smart, charming, and maybe even endearing. Girl falls in love. As the relationship progresses Guy's serious personality problems begin to surface. She gets longer and more vivid glimpses of habits and tendencies she didn't notice at first. With about 15% of the adult population suffering from one or more personality disorders -- that's over 16 million potential relationship partners, says the National Institutes of Health -- finding the right partner and maintaining a healthy love relationship is harder work than we thought! Crazy Love sheds light on the odd but surprisingly common disorders of personality so that readers can become better informed and more careful when entering or continuing a relationship. Johnson and Murray tell us why so many of us are attracted to personality disordered partners, and--most important--they offer strategies for detecting and avoiding such potential disasters. They also recognize the needs of readers who are already in committed relationships with personality-impaired partners, and offer hope in the form of healthy survival strategies and tips for making the relationship more livable.

Study Guide to DSM-IV-TR® demonstrates the fundamental features of DSM-IV-TR disorders through brief clinical vignettes, and questions and answers. These vignettes help beginning students and experienced clinicians visualize a disorder in the context of a multidimensional patient who is characterized by more than just the fulfillment of individual diagnostic criteria. Study Guide to DSM-IV-TR® • Describes common problems in diagnosis• Provides guidelines for resolving issues of diagnostic uncertainty• Summarizes the core concepts of the diagnostic group discussed in each chapter• Presents interesting case examples that provide "diagnostic prototypes" of the individual disorders included in DSM-IV-TR• Includes self-assessment questions that allow the reader to test their understanding of DSM-IV-TR Several new sections have been added • Boundary Between Normality and Abnormality• Dimensional vs. Categorical Classification Study Guide to DSM-IV-TR® is an indispensable companion designed to help students, residents, and clinicians conceptualize how DSM-IV-TR can be used in everyday practice.

Never has the term mad scientist been more fascinatingly explored than in internationally recognized popular science author Clifford Pickover's richly researched wild ride through the bizarre lives of eccentric geniuses. A few highlights: "The Pigeon Man from Manhattan" Legendary inventor Nikola Tesla had abnormally long thumbs, a peculiar love of pigeons, and a horror of women's pearls. "The Worm Man from Devonshire" Forefather of modern electric-circuit design Oliver Heaviside furnished his home with granite blocks and sometimes consumed only milk for days (as did Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison). "The Rabbit-Eater from Lichfield" Renowned scholar Samuel Johnson had so many tics and quirks that some mistook him for an idiot. In fact, his behavior matches modern definitions of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome. Pickover also addresses many provocative topics: the link between genius and madness, the role the brain plays in alien abduction and religious experiences, UFOs, cryonics -- even the whereabouts of Einstein's brain!

“The most interesting book I have read in years. . . . WTF?! is like Freakonomics on steroids.” —Steven D. Levitt, New York Times–bestselling coauthor of Freakonomics Did you know that “pre-owned” wives were sold at auction in nineteenth-century England? That today, in Liberia, accused criminals sometimes drink poison to determine their fate? How about the fact that, for 250 years, Italy criminally prosecuted cockroaches and crickets? Do you wonder why? Then this book is for you! Introducing us to a cast of colorful characters, economist Peter T. Leeson explains how to use economic thinking to reveal the hidden sense behind seemingly senseless human behavior—including your own. Leeson shows that far from “irrational” or “accidents of history,” humanity’s most outlandish rituals are ingenious solutions to pressing problems—developed by clever people, driven by incentives, and tailor-made for their time and place. "A fascinating tour of some of the world’s strangest customs and behaviors, led by a brilliant, funny, and eccentric tour guide dedicated to the proposition that no matter how strange it looks, there’s always a reason for it—and a lesson to be learned by discovering that reason.” —Steven E. Landsburg, author of The Armchair Economist