BOOKS, MAGAZINES & MULTIMEDIAJames Surowiecki The Wisdom of Crowds, Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few
Abacus, 2005
The rise of social-networking websites has made research into collective
intelligence more relevant than ever. This fascinating account is brought to life
with real-life anecdotes.
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health,
Wealth, and Happiness
Yale University Press, 2008
The book that captured the imagination of world leaders. It outlines the approach
of “libertarian paternalism”, advocating policies or “nudges” designed to encourage
people to make better decisions.
Richard Wiseman 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
Macmillan, 2009
Evidence-based self-help for those short on time. Wiseman, a magician and
professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology, debunks myths and ploughs
research literature for the methods and means of improving your life.
FICTION
Sebastian Faulks Human Traces and Engleby
Vintage, 2006 & 2008
Human Traces provides a fic tionalized account of the origins of psychiatry told
through the lives of two boyhood friends: an English psychiatrist and a French
neurologist. The later novel, Engleby, is a first-person confessional thriller set in
1970s Britain and written from the perspective of a character who is certainly
odd and possibly dangerous. Faulks’ meticulous research is on display in both
novels.
Liz Jensen The Rapture
Bloomsbury, 2009
An apocalyptic eco-thriller laced with psychology. Wheelchair-bound art therapist
Gabrielle Fox takes on the case of a troubled teenager who has premonitions of
natural disasters.
Philippa Perry & Junko Graat Couch Tales
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010
A year-long journey of psychoanalysis explored through the medium of a graphic
novel. Perry, a psychotherapist, provides explanatory footnotes throughout.
Jed Rubenfeld The Interpretation of Murder
Headline Review, 2007
A gripping crime thriller set in New York and featuring psychoanalysts Sigmund
Freud, Carl Jung, Abraham Brill and Sándor Ferenczi. Inspired by Freud’s only
lecture visit to the US in 1909.