Also of interest...in why you are who you are

The Emotional Life of Your Brain

by Richard J. Davidson (Hudson Street, $26)

Perhaps none of us are ever too old to dramatically change our ways, said Jack Goodstein in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Neuroscientist Richard Davidson has identified patterns of brain activity that correspond to an individual’s emotional style, and the University of Wisconsin professor argues that those patterns can be rewired through conscious effort. It’s hard, as a layman, to judge if he’s right, but “he makes a convincing case, and he certainly has the academic credentials to back up his ideas.”

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The Righteous Mind

by Jonathan Haidt (Pantheon, $29)

Jonathan Haidt’s “sophisticated and stimulating” book explains how partisans come to believe what they do, said Glenn C. Altschuler in NPR​.org. Haidt, a psychologist, argues that political choice is rooted in emotions but shaped by the relative value that an individual’s cultural environment puts on each of six foundations of moral behavior—care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, and sanctity. “Haidt makes a compelling case” that Republicans are more alert to all six categories than Democrats are.

Wired for Culture

by Mark Pagel (Norton, $30)

Human culture, rather than any other aspect of our environment, has become the prime force shaping human evolution, said Fred Bortz in The Dallas Morning News. So says evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel in this striking work, which plumbs human history to locate the origins of “the social mind.” Pagel isn’t afraid to stir controversy, as when he asks if the shrinking human brain indicates that we’re not as smart as our recent ancestors. His book is an invitation to “an intellectual wrestling match.”

Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck

by Eric G. Wilson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $22)

Humans are “natural-born rubberneckers,” said Kevin Canfield in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In his latest book, author Eric Wilson explores why we’re drawn to car wrecks, horror movies, and other glimpses of darkness, and concludes that we each harbor a “secret” wish: “Let it all fall down.” He visits a collector of serial-killer memorabilia and similar curators of the morbid, but he “builds his strongest arguments” around considerations of great art, including the paintings of Francisco Goya.