The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

To mark the birthday of the world's most renowned evolutionary biologist, Oxford University Press has reissued the definitive edition of Darwin's classic-a brilliantly entertaining and accessible exploration of human and animal behavior. Renowned psychologist Paul Ekman's edited version of this book is the first to appear the way Darwin ultimately intended, with all of the corrections and additions that were in Darwin's notes for a revision that was never published during his lifetime. Why do we shrug? Why do dogs wag their tails? Why do we scowl when angry and pout when sad rather than the other way around? What is the difference between guilt and shame? This would be an extraordinary book even if it had only answered these and scores of similar questions about the emotions in 1872 . . . Darwin enriched his arguments with hundreds of insightful observations, many with the pathos and humor of great literature, as when he describes the terror of a man being led to his execution or the comical dejection of his dog as soon as it sensed that a walk might end . . . This edition has the feel not of a lovingly restored museum piece but of a recent seminal work.--Steven Pinker, Science Darwin's most readable and human book . . . undiminished and intensely relevant even 125 years after publication.--Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat The Expression of the Emotions predates Freud, and it will still be illuminating human psychology long after Freud's discrediting is complete.--Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion Highly original . . . this is scholarship at its best.--Simon Baron-Cohen, Nature Ekman's edition is no mere reprint plus introduction.--Mark Ridley, Scientific American