The Molecule of More

How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity - And Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race

By: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Michael E. Long

Narrated by: Tom Parks

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Why are we obsessed with the things we want and bored when we get them?

Why is addiction “perfectly logical” to an addict?

Why does love change so quickly from passion to disinterest?

Why are some people diehard liberals and others hardcore conservatives?

Why are we always hopeful for solutions even in the darkest times - and so good at figuring them out?

The answer is found in a single chemical in your brain: dopamine. Dopamine ensured the survival of early man. Thousands of years later, it is the source of our most basic behaviors and cultural ideas - and progress itself.

Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more - more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises. In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Dopamine is the source of our every urge, that little bit of biology that makes an ambitious business professional sacrifice everything in pursuit of success, or that drives a satisfied spouse to risk it all for the thrill of someone new. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it’s why we gamble and squander.

From dopamine’s point of view, it’s not the having that matters. It’s getting something - anything - that’s new. From this understanding - the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it - we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion - and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others.

In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—And will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and why the brains of liberals and conservatives really are different.

©2018 Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Michael E. Long. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Publishing by arrangement with BenBella Books.

Critic reviews

"One might consider it Freakonomics for the mind."— Greg Roth, "The Idea Enthusiast"

"Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long have pulled off an amazing feat. They have made a biography of a neurotransmitter a riveting read. Once you understand the power and peril of dopamine, you’ll better understand the human condition itself.” —Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and When

"Meet a molecule whose fingerprint rests upon every aspect of human nature—from desire and drugs to politics and progress. Lieberman and Long tell the epic saga of dopamine as a page-turner that you simply can't put down."—David Eagleman, PhD, neuroscientist at Stanford and New York Times bestselling author

Absolutely Wonderful

As someone who hates reading, and this includes listening to audiobooks, this is the first book in probably 13 years that I've finished. I have barely been able to get through most other books. Perhaps I'm in a changing time of my life, or maybe it's my passion for how the mind works, but I thoroughly enjoyed this enough to finish it, and leave a review. Actually life changing (for me).

This Explains SO MUCH About Life!

Not only is this book an interesting read AND listen (I have both versions..) it explains SO much about life and what happens to high achievers over time. It also explains so many other things about motivation, choices and even addiction! I loved gaining a better understanding of not only myself, but the friends, coworkers and clients around me. Want to know what drives you to do what you do? Read this. It's fascinating and so useful.

What Makes us Click

This is an invaluable addition to my library and I listened to it several times. It's enlightening and helped me understand how neural receptors and a natural chemical in our brain can be the driving factor in how we succeed, how we perceive the world around us, and what motivates us to do what we do.

The ability to look at genetic factors allowed science to put the pieces of this puzzle together. This one is definitely worth the read/listen.

Just wow!

This book answers a lot of questions surrounding the brain on a neuro chemical level. Bet interesting read. A bit technical and I found myself re-listening at times, but one of my favorite audibles so far!

Such a wealth of information.

I rarely read a book twice, but this title made the grade. So much good interesting information to absorb. And I was expecting a dry textbook type experience. Wow, was I wrong. Big thumbs up.

When truth hits

Great information about the human brain and drive (or lack their of). This might be a bitter pill for some to taste but self recognition is important!

Great narration and content

I really enjoyed the investigations in this book into the effects dopamine has on our behaviors. Explained a lot of things I do and see others do and as a doctor I really love getting this scientific explanation. Narration was also great. Dynamic while not being over the top.

The molecule of more

Wonderful book! A life changing. Now I can say I understand why I behave the way I do and how to change what does not bring me happiness. Helped me to understand others as well. A just read to all. 🙏

Absolutely unique and amazing

Great book to read and a very nice consolidation of human brain. A really great book to read.

Excellent perspective

Information is accessible and organized well. Heavy topic, easy to digest and process. Valuable perspective with a relatable delivery.