PLEASED TO MEET ME

“In equal parts approachable and mind-blowing, Sullivan gives us a whistle-stop tour of the myriad factors that make you who you are. Although it’s easy to believe that we choose our own paths in life, a good deal is navigated by invisibly small forces inside and outside of us.”

“Bill Sullivan’s Pleased to Meet Me is a delightful tour of human diversity. With wit and charm, Sullivan explores why humans vary so dramatically in their chosen foods, past-times, romantic partners, virtues, and vices—and how a unique combination of genes and environment shapes each of our planet’s seven billion inhabitants in subtly and sometimes starkly different ways. Pleased to Meet Me is a rare treat: a book that’s fun to read from cover to cover, while leaving you wiser and better-informed about who you really are.”

“Pleased to Meet Me is one of those rare books that makes you see the world in a new way that’s simultaneously fascinating and horrifying. Fascinating because science is learning more and more about how genetics, environmental factors, and microbes affect our behavior–and horrifying because of the implications of this neurological cabal. We like to think we’re totally in control of how we think and act, but Sullivan makes a strong case that our beloved ‘agency’ is not what we think it is.”

“Bill Sullivan is a sympathetic guide who understands your dislike of exercise and most things healthy. This wide-ranging tome puts a new light on human pursuits, including eating, drinking, thinking, sex, free will, even politics and religion, all presented with topical humor and wit.”

“Fascinating and compelling, Pleased to Meet Me is in parts as close to philosophy as science books get. Infused with the author’s warm and witty character, the book exposes us as the biological machines we really are. It left me marveling at the insights into our nature, and full of compassion for the quirks of circumstance that define each of us.”

“Filled with surprising facts, witty anecdotes, and engaging explorations of the biological forces that make us who we are, Pleased to Meet Me is a must-read for anyone interested in an intelligent approach to self-discovery. Sullivan translates cutting-edge science into practical insights about the ways that genes, germs, and environment shape our health, happiness, and relationships. This book will change the way you see yourself — and will provide newfound empathy for others.”

“I highly recommend Pleased To Meet Me for everyone with an interest in human behavior. It accomplishes the rare feat of presenting large amounts of scientific information in a manner that makes it both fascinating and fun to read. Sullivan explains how genes influence everything from how food tastes to our moods, love lives, political preferences and beliefs. And since genes can be programmed while one is still in the womb, he shows how parents’ lifestyles influence genetic expression in their children. Not only will readers’ knowledge of body and brain be greatly enhanced by this book, but they are likely to become more tolerant and compassionate as well.”

“Sullivan artfully reports on how our genes interact with our surroundings to shape our unique personalities and the persons we’ve become. Pleased to Meet Me is a beautiful melding of science and the human experience!”