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kharmacat's review
4.0
I was alternately bored to tears and completely fascinated by this book. And it took me forever to read. But in the end, it was a highly enlightening endeavor.
Explaining love in terms of evolutionary imperatives and chemical reactions isn't exactly romantic, but makes so much sense. I was disappointed, though, that while Ackerman touched on many of the "hows" and "whys" of love, one lingering question was not answered: Why are we attracted to one person over another? What exactly sets those chemical reactions off?
And finally, a note for parents: Ackerman not only explains romantic love, but also gives insight to parental love and the kind of love a child needs to thrive.
Explaining love in terms of evolutionary imperatives and chemical reactions isn't exactly romantic, but makes so much sense. I was disappointed, though, that while Ackerman touched on many of the "hows" and "whys" of love, one lingering question was not answered: Why are we attracted to one person over another? What exactly sets those chemical reactions off?
And finally, a note for parents: Ackerman not only explains romantic love, but also gives insight to parental love and the kind of love a child needs to thrive.
lesleynr's review
2.0
I picked up this book from my shelf-- apparently I have already read it... but I have no memory of it! From rereading the first couple of chapters, though, I'm not sure I'd give it as many as 3 stars. She seems to proceed without first defining what she means by "love." Is it a feeling? Is it hormones? An emotional state? Is it something you DO? A close reader (or someone who has read a whole lot about "love") will notice that she uncritically bounces around between different conceptions of love, so her narrative of any particular concept is broken as she continues through more recent time periods.
Maybe I'll keep reading... maybe I won't.
Maybe I'll keep reading... maybe I won't.
wishanem's review
3.0
A thoughtful, thorough, and at times meandering look at the history of how people have thought and talked about love through the ages. Personally I preferred the historical and etymological asides to the descriptions of personal experiences, which ranged from the slightly silly (an inside description of the stereotypical love of horses by women) to the sadly sentimental.
samilalune's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
michaelstearns's review against another edition
3.0
The "Golly gee, Ms. Wizard!" stance of her gooey prose can get annoying at times, but there are still tons of groovy little ideas in this book and its companion. Can be a bit of teeth-gritter to get through, but good for finding strange tidbits.
librarianelizabeth's review against another edition
3.0
Her prose- it is so... purple! So thickly, densely written, with lavish adjectives. Lavish adjectives? See, now it's happening to me too.
I need to reread this, because I don't remember specifics bits of love history and lore, only the sense of her prose being over the top.
I need to reread this, because I don't remember specifics bits of love history and lore, only the sense of her prose being over the top.
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