Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence—one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.

    Smith and Gouze explain the central and frequently unrecognized role that sensory processing problems play in a child's emotional and behavioral difficulties. Practicing child psychologists, and themselves parents of children with sensory integration problems, their message is innovative, practical, and, above all, full of hope.A child with sensory processing problems overreacts or underreacts to sensory experiences most of us take in stride. A busy classroom, new clothes, food smells, sports activities, even hugs can send such a child spinning out of control. The result can be heartbreaking: battles over dressing, bathing, schoolwork, social functions, holidays, and countless other events. In addition, the authors say, many childhood psychiatric disorders may have an unidentified sensory component.Readers Will Learn:The latest scientific knowledge about sensory integrationHow to recognize sensory processing problems in children and evaluate the options for treatmentHow to prevent conflicts by viewing the child's world through a "sensory lens"Strategies for handling sensory integration challenges at home, at school, and in twenty-first century kid cultureThe result: a happier childhood, a more harmonious family, and a more cooperative classroom. This thoroughly researched, useful, and compassionate guide will help families start on a new path of empowerment and success.

    Contemplation of time and the discoveries of modern science lead to the assertion that the mind is paramount and limitless.

    That's a lengthy list of charges, but here Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from California's subdivisions where the business was born to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike where many fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths -- from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, and even real estate. (back cover)