The Science of Love : Understanding Love and Its Effects on Mind and Body

Gathers research from the fields of biology, genetics, psychology, and sociology, in an examination of the meaning and importance of love

According to sociologist Walsh, an innate biological "love energy" may drive Homo sapiens along paths of caring and affection. Lack of love, he shows, not only contributes to childhood illnesses but also may stunt physical and intellectual growth, weaken the immune system, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and exacerbate neurosis, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. In an absorbing, valuable synthesis, Walsh ( Human Nature and Love ) assesses the literature on parenting, breastfeeding, left/right brain dichotomy, male and female orgasm and extramarital affairs. He summarizes the evidence for genetic or prenatal hormonal determinants of homosexuality, posits inherent differences in the psychologies and sexual strategies of men and women. A felicitous, jargon-free style enhances the appeal of this scientific investigation of love from infancy to old age.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Walsh, a medical sociologist and criminologist, has amassed large chunks of "hard scientific evidence" in the hope of providing a systematic examination of the effects of love and the absence of love on our physical and mental well-being. His definition of love covers a seemingly endless array of emotions, physical processes, and social interactions. The result is an accumulation of undigested, unrelated data which juxtaposes such topics as schizophrenia, rat experiments, PMS, serial killers, and Stalinism. The attempt to be exhaustive proves to be exhausting instead, and the charm and passion of love is quite lost through so much dry, mechanical analysis. Not recommended.
-Ilse Heidman Ali, Motlow State Community Coll., Tullahoma, Tenn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.