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For Sam and Zach,
who open my eyes to seeing the world in new ways.
—DZL
For Dad,
who would have told everyone even if they didn’t want to hear it; and
For Kent,
who left just when things were getting interesting.
—ML
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments
| xi
Introduction | xv
UP VERSUS DOWN
Chapter 1 | 1
LOVE
Chapter 2 | 27
DRUGS
Chapter 3 | 61
DOMINATION
Chapter 4 | 109
CREATIVITY AND MADNESS
Chapter 5 | 145
POLITICS
Chapter 6 | 183
PROGRESS
Chapter 7 | 211
HARMONY
Index
| 225
xi
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
We are most grateful to Dr. Fred H. Previc for his book The Dopami-
nergic Mind in Human Evolution and History. The book introduced us to
the fundamental distinction between the future focus of dopamine and
the present focus of a group of other neurotransmitters. It’s written
primarily for scientists, but if you are interested in a deeper look at the
neurobiology that informs this book, we highly recommend it.
Thanks to our agents, Andrea Somberg and Wendy Levinson of
the Harvey Klinger Agency, who immediately understood what we
were doing and gave us the validation we had hoped to find. Thanks
too to our publisher, Glenn Yeffeth at BenBella, whose enthusiasm and
expertise put us further at ease. Thanks also to the BenBella team, espe-
cially Leah Wilson, Adrienne Lang, Jennifer Canzoneri, Alexa Steven-
son, Sarah Avinger, Heather Butterfield, and everyone else there who
labored over our work, even if we never met. Plus: special thanks to
copy editor extraordinaire James M. Fraleigh. He could improve even
this sentence, and probably in his sleep.
Dan wishes to thank Dr. Frederick Goodwin for his many years
of mentorship. Dr. Goodwin is one of the world’s foremost experts on
bipolar disorder. He drew my attention to the relationship between
immigration and bipolar genes, and also suggested that I look to
Tocqueville’s classic book Democracy in America to better understand
the character of the United States in the nineteenth century. Thanks
xii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
to the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates for
the opportunity to practice psychiatry in a vibrant academic environ-
ment and the privilege of treating people living with mental illness. My
patients’ willingness to share with me their suffering, triumphs, hopes,
and fears is a constant source of inspiration for which I’m grateful.
Thanks also to the medical students and trainees who ask annoyingly
difficult questions, forcing me to constantly rethink my understanding
of how the brain works.
Mike wishes to thank early readers Greg Northcutt and Jim & Ellen
Hubbard, who confirmed that we had made the science compelling.
Thanks to John J. Miller for the professional example and Peter Nash
for the personal inspiration. Thanks also to my students at Georgetown
University, who remind me that most of writing is thinking. I wouldn’t
know how to tell a story if it weren’t for the late Blake Snyder, and I
wouldn’t know how to make it sing without Vince Gilligan—thank you,
gentlemen. Thanks also to my brother Todd for the daily jest. Keep it
coming. Oh yeah: Thanks, Mom.
Dan wishes to thank his wife, Masami, for her support, optimism,
and good cheer. When the bumps along the road to finishing this book
made me doubt myself, those doubts disappeared the moment I brought
them to her. Thanks to my sons, Sam and Zach, who bring joy into my
life and force me to grow as a person.
Michael wishes to thank his wife, Julia, for the last couple years of
extra latitude. You always let me rant, then kiss me on the forehead and
tell me I can do it anyway. Thanks also to my kids, Sam, Madeline, and
Brynne, for acting interested even when you were not. Love you all.
The authors together wish to acknowledge their gratitude for the
TGI Fridays near the White House where we so often indulged both
control and desire dopamine. The planning and imagining that took
place there would ultimately collapse into the bit of reality you now
hold in your hands.
xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Finally, this book began as an effort by two friends so uninterested
in normal pastimes like fishing and baseball that the only thing we
could do together was eat lunch more often or write a book. We remain
friends, though a couple times it was a close call.
Daniel Z. Lieberman & Michael E. Long
February 2018
xv
Introduction
UP VERSUS DOWN
L
ook down. What do you see? Your hands, your desk, the floor,
maybe a cup of coffee, or a laptop computer or a newspaper.
What do they have in common? These are things you can touch.
What you see when you look down are things within your reach, things
you can control right now, things you can move and manipulate with
no planning, effort, or thought. Whether it’s a result of your work, the
kindness of others, or simple good fortune, much of what you see when
you look down is yours. They’re things in your possession.
Now look up. What do you see? The ceiling, perhaps pictures on
a wall, or things out the window: trees, houses, buildings, clouds in the
sky—whatever is in the distance. What do they have in common? To
reach them, you have to plan, think, calculate. Even if it’s only a little, it
still requires some coordinated effort. Unlike what we see when we look
down, the realm of up shows us things that we have to think about and
work for in order to get.
Sounds simple because it is. Yet to the brain this distinction is the
gateway between two wildly different ways of thinking—two utterly
different ways of dealing with the world. In your brain the down world
is managed by a handful of chemicals—neurotransmitters, they’re
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