This personal inquiry into the psychology of suicide brings "compassion, confessional honesty, and academic perception" to a woefully misunderstood subject ( Kirkus Reviews).Despite his success as a psychologist and writer, Jesse Bering spent most of his thirties believing he would probably kill himself. At times, the impulse to take his own life felt all but inescapable. When his suicidal thoughts began to fade, he felt relieved—but also curious. He wonder...

The untold story of an iconoclastic scientist: a psychiatrist who dedicated his career to documenting consciousness after death.While Ian Stevenson (1918–2007) was an academic psychiatrist with a serious demeanor, right down to his three-piece suits and wingtip shoes, he made his name researching an unusual topic for a behavioral scientist: the afterlife. For over four decades, Stevenson traveled the globe investigating cases of reincarnation, apparitions, possessi...

"As a sex writer, Jesse Bering is fearless—and peerless." —Dan Savage"You are a sexual deviant. A pervert, through and through." We may not want to admit it, but as the award-winning columnist and psychologist Jesse Bering reveals in Perv, there is a spectrum of perversion along which we all sit. Whether it's voyeurism, exhibitionism, or your run-of-the-mill foot fetish, we all possess a suite of sexual tastes as unique as our fingerprints—and as s...

Top 25 Books of 2011 by the American Library Association, Choice ReviewsNamed one of the 11 Best Psychology Books of 2011 by The Atlantic"A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic." —NatureLively and brilliantly argued, The Belief Instinct explains the psychology behind belief. Drawing on surprising new studies as well as on literature, philosophy, and even pop culture, The Belief Instinct will reward read...

De vraag wat normaal is in menselijk gedrag is zeer confronterend, vooral als we seksuele afwijkingen erbij betrekken. Wat in andere culturen en andere tijden opseksueel gebied normaal was, vinden wij abnormaal en zelfs afkeurenswaardig, hoe tolerant we onszelf ook vinden. Maar misschien zijn de driften en verlangens van vroeger en van elders minder primitief of misplaatst dan wij denken. Jesse Bering houdt ons voor dat we allemaal in meer of mindere mate pervers zijn en daagt ons uit bove...

"As a sex writer, Jesse Bering is fearless—and peerless." —Dan Savage"You are a sexual deviant. A pervert, through and through." We may not want to admit it, but as the award-winning columnist and psychologist Jesse Bering reveals in Perv, there is a spectrum of perversion along which we all sit. Whether it's voyeurism, exhibitionism, or your run-of-the-mill foot fetish, we all possess a suite of sexual tastes as unique as our fingerprints—and as ...

Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does "free will" really exist? And why is the penis shaped like that anyway?In Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, the research psychologist and award-winning columnist Jesse Bering features more than thirty of his most popular essays from Scientific American and Slate, as well as two new pieces, that take readers on ...

For much of his thirties, Jesse Bering thought he was probably going to kill himself. He was a successful psychologist and writer, with books to his name and bylines in major magazines. But none of that mattered. The impulse to take his own life remained. At times it felt all but inescapable.Bering survived. And in addition to relief, the fading of his suicidal thoughts brought curiosity. Where had they come from? Would they return? Is the suicidal impulse found in other animals? O...

Jesse Bering was succesvol als wetenschapper en schrijver. Toch moest hij tussen zijn dertigste en veertigste vaak aan zelfdoding denken. Met het vervagen van deze gedachten kwam bij hem de vraag op waarom de mens niet alleen suïcidale gedachten heeft, maar er in sommige gevallen ook naar handelt. Is de ontvankelijkheid voor zelfdoding een uniek evolutionair gegeven van onze soort?Op basis van persoonlijke verhalen, journalistiek onderzoek en de meest recente wetenschappelijke kenni...

Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does "free will" really exist? And why is the penis shaped like that anyway?In Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, the research psychologist and award-winning columnist Jesse Bering features more than thirty of his most popular essays from Scientific American and Slate, as well as two new pieces, that take readers on a...

In more ways than we may sometimes care to acknowledge, the human being is just another primate--it is certainly only very rarely that researchers into cognition, emotion, personality, and behavior in our species and in other primates come together to compare notes and share insights. This book, one of the few comprehensive attempts at integrating behavioral research into human and nonhuman primates, does precisely that--and in doing so, offers a clear, in-depth look at the mutually enligh...