The Compass of Pleasure

How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

By: David J. Linden

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

A leading brain scientist's look at the neurobiology of pleasure - and how pleasures can become addictions. Whether eating, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. In The Compass of Pleasure Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain. As he did in his award-winning book, The Accidental Mind, Linden combines cutting-edge science with entertaining anecdotes to illuminate the source of the behaviors that can lead us to ecstasy but that can easily become compulsive. Why are drugs like nicotine and heroin addictive while LSD is not? Why has the search for safe appetite suppressants been such a disappointment? The Compass of Pleasure concludes with a provocative consideration of pleasure in the future, when it may be possible to activate our pleasure circuits at will and in entirely novel patterns.

©2011 David J. Linden (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

“Linden's conversational style, his abundant use of anecdotes, and his successful coupling of wit with insight makes the book a joy to read.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Scientific

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, I would add some additional voices from people in the examples given of various types of addictions. I have a solid background in both neurobiology and addictions, and found myself (while interested in the material) zoning off because of the monotony of the speaker's voice. It needs some variety in voices to keep the listener's attention.

What other book might you compare The Compass of Pleasure to and why?

No other.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Great practical information. Too monotonous.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

This is not a book for an uninformed lay person without some background in neurology.

Sorcery! Blew my mind.

There is so much to learn. No really, there is so much to learn from actual studies. It's addictive. You want to know what makes ppl tick? Best presentation yet.

Great technical, mediocre presentation

If you could sum up The Compass of Pleasure in three words, what would they be?

This book discusses the dopamine pleasure circuit in the brain and the differences between how different human behaviors (eating, taking drugs, nicotine, gambling, exercise) manipulate this circuit and can lead to addiction. The discussion was highly technical but delivered at a level where a layman with some scientific background can understand.

What did you like best about this story?

I found the sections on exercise and food cravings very interesting and highly relevant. I always found it amazing that I felt great during and after exercise, but I could never seem to get motivated to do it. Now I understand a little better the underlying biological mechanisms behind this.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Sean Pratt?

Not if I can help it. The delivery of the narrator was not that inspiring and I often found myself realizing 5 minutes later that I had daydreamed and not taken in the content. Needless to say, the rewind button came in very handy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Although, no one in my family suffers from addiction, the section which discusses addiction makes me much more empathetic with people who are addicted to drugs.

Any additional comments?

I wish they had gone further into the physiology of how food chemistry can affect both flavor and cravings.

Like a text book

I'm usually the guy that complains that technical aspects of many books are too dumbed down. Not this time. You will hear the names of a jillion neurotransmitters, drugs, parts of the brains, synaptic this, receptor that, and reuptake do-dads. I quickly learned not to go back when I was fuzzy in some neuroscience topic. It'll be repeated anyway. Even the narriator had trouble navigating through the medical terms. The author's humor is unimaginative, and basically just interspersed for shock value and to wake up readers. All said, it was interesting, but not useful, and not a relaxing listen. A similar and much more enjoyable audiobook is The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Amazing, fascinating, and funny

Fascinating info, well organized, high level info delivered in such a way that even a neophyte can grasp whats going on pretty easily with some effort. The author is hilarious and words the most hysterical concepts in such an eloquent and respectable manner that you can't help but to love him. The narrator is so good that I really thought the author must have read it. He must be in tune with the topic, because his delivery especially on the funny parts was perfect. He helped make all the experiment data easy to parse, and had me in stitches while I learned some really neat and high level stuff.

Very technical

Great insight to the chemical and physical reasons behind pleasure but not entertaining unless you are a clinician.

Interesting information

A bit too deep into chemistry and physiology at some points, but a good book in general with a lot of food for thought.

A Pleasure to Listen To!

Witty, insightful and informative, The Compass of Pleasure is a great audio. Scientific concepts are easily explained and interspersed with abundant, entertaining anecdotes, as Linden explains how pleasurable activities can easily become compulsive. I loved listening to this fascinating book and recommend it highly.

Hard to follow

I wanted to like this book. I regularly read neuro books. This one was just too difficult to follow. The technical language and processes had my eyes glazing over. I was not able to finish it and that's unusual for me. This would be a great read for a pre-med student or someone with an education background in neuroscience.

Mechanics of Pleasure & Addiction

Focused on neuroscientific explanation of physiological mechanisms of pleasure, particularly dopamine circuits, and addictions. Though the book is organized into chapters around the topics listed in the subtitle, each topic is just a another way to look at Linden's main underlying theses, and those (e.g. the addiction process) are of primary interest and worth pondering over. The individual topic chapters then vary in quality based on how strongly the underlying idea is presented, and I think the book peaks somewhat in its first half because by then Linden has explained the thrust of his arguments. Still, he chose some great examples to illustrate.