Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond (Merloyd Lawrence Book) by Meg Daley Olmert - 9780306817366 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

Nothing turns a baby’s head more quickly than the sight or sound of an animal. This fascination is driven by the ancient chemical forces that first drew humans and animals together. It is also the same biology that transformed wolves into dogs and skittish horses into valiant comrades that would carry us into battle.

Made for Each Other is the first book to explain how this chemistry of attraction and attachment flows through—and between—all mammals to create the profound emotional bonds humans and animals still feel today.

Drawing on recent discoveries from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, behavioral psychology, archeology, as well as her own investigations, Meg Daley Olmert explains why the brain chemistry humans and animals trigger in each other also has a profound effect on our mental and physical well being.

This lively and original investigation asks what happens when the bond is severed. If thousands of years of caring for animals infused us with a biology that shaped our hearts and minds, do we dare turn our back on it? Daley Olmert makes a compelling and scientific case for what our hearts have always known, that we were, and always will be, made for each other.

		Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond (Merloyd Lawrence Books) by Meg Daley Olmert ISBN-10: 9780306817366 ISBN-10: 0-306-81736-5 ISBN-13: 9780306817366 ISBN-13: 978-0-306-81736-6 Hardcover 2009-02-03 Da Capo Press Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description Nothing turns a baby’s head more quickly than the sight or sound of an animal. This fascination is driven by the ancient chemical forces that first drew humans and animals together. It is also the same biology that transformed wolves into dogs and skittish horses into valiant comrades that would carry us into battle. Made for Each Other is the first book to explain how this chemistry of attraction and attachment flows through—and between—all mammals to create the profound emotional bonds humans and animals still feel today. Drawing on recent discoveries from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, behavioral psychology, archeology, as well as her own investigations, Meg Daley Olmert explains why the brain chemistry humans and animals trigger in each other also has a profound effect on our mental and physical well being. This lively and original investigation asks what happens when the bond is severed. If thousands of years of caring for animals infused us with a biology that shaped our hearts and minds, do we dare turn our back on it? Daley Olmert makes a compelling and scientific case for what our hearts have always known, that we were, and always will be, made for each other.
Reviews

A good Book About Dogs I like the book. I haven't read very much, but I learned a lot from what I have read. I am looking forward to finishing this book
fascinating but repetitive; where was her editor? Meg Olmert's book is fascinating and well worth reading. Her editor, however, did her no favors in failing to edit out repetitive sections. Read the book anyway.
Worth skimming but maybe not reading The evidence and arguments presented in places in this book are definitely worth being aware of, but there is a great deal of rambling and repetition. The book jacket mentions the author's "lack of formal scientific training," and the book is not really the work of a scholar. It reads much like a long newspaper or magazine article that throws together data from somewhat related scientific studies. The author does not spend much time acknowledging alternative explanations for complex phenomena, and the attribution of virtually all human mental well-being to oxytocin may be overdone. Nevertheless, the book is worth looking through, especially for anyone who does not have a pet and might be considering getting one. If you don't have a pet, the information here may be sufficient to convince you to get one, and if you have one you'll find here biological data confirming what you already know about how good your pet is for your mental health.
A MISSING LINK Meg Olmert's wise and witty account of human/animal bonding proves, once and for all, that the dog at your feet or the cat on your lap is a key link to our civility. In a word, Made for Each Other is a triumph. Drew Sparks Calistoga, CA
an interesting new perspective I've only just started the book, but I can't wait to get into it more deeply. Very interesting research.