Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N' Roll: The Science of Hedonism and the Hedonism of Science - Zoe Cormier [epub]

Full of noise and color, Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll looks at scientists and their craft, how hedonistic impulses inform our highest pursuits, and how the renegades of science have illuminated the secrets of our deepest impulses. It is a fascinating tale of scientists on the edge, experimenting on themselves and others, that asks the big (and strange) questions about what it means to be human, about consciousness and happiness, the future and past of our species, our scientific knowledge, and our culture. Not to mention our parties. It will pull you in and gross you out, but it never loses sight of the stories, ideas, and scientific discoveries that make sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll so timeless.

Review

Praise for the UK edition of *Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll*

"An entertaining tour through science"—Wired

"Not your average science book... The book buzzes with facts, like bees dizzy from caffeinated pollen. It is a cornucopia of the strange and fascinating."—Independent

"A romp through three topics that preoccupy western youth... Perfect to dip in and out of for tasty morsels."—Professor Bruce Hood, BBC Focus

"Examines sex, narcotics, and music from a scientist's perspective, with surprising rigor and a keen eye for the odd fact.... [Cormier] shows that there's nothing trivial about the study of pleasure. Indeed, you could say that it's our boundless capacity for having a good time that truly makes us human.... In the end, Cormier brings all her strands together with some skill and an almost childlike sense of wonder. Ian Dury was right. Sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll are very good indeed."—Daily Mail

"Cormier is an irreverent guide to this netherworld of scientific discovery, and although she writes here about serious science, she does so with effortless verve and enthusiasm, making the subject matter jump off the page.... As a (former) scientist, I love Guerilla Science's crusade to bring fun and exciting scientific ideas to people who might not normally engage in such stuff, and Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll seems like the perfect vehicle for that."—Big Issue

"A tongue-in-cheek, illuminating investigation into hedonistic pursuits, Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll skillfully argues that these are not just base pursuits.... A funny, fascinating, and absorbing study."—Press Association

Quill & Quire, Spring 2015
“More fun than a Mentos and Coke rocket, biologist and Guerilla Science co-founder Zoe Cormier's Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll: The Science of Hedonism and the Hedonism of Science upturns the scientific side of pleasure.”

Discover Magazine, March 2015
One of three books selected for “What to Read in April”
“A tour of the science behind our baser pursuits. By turns wry and giddy, Cormier teases out our uniquely human take on hedonism.”

Wall Street Journal, 3/4/15
“Your baser instincts are not so base after all…[That] is the pleasure-loving message of this compendium of research nuggets about that decadent trio of pastimes: sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.”

National Post (Canada), 3/28/15
“A surefire winner in terms of subject: the lure of the illicit hangs over her entire book, with its sense, from the title on down, that the text will delve into the kind of naughtiness that should offer, at the very least, titillation.”

Winnipeg Free Press, 4/4/14
“Cormier is especially good with metaphors. She uses them to draw parallels between technical concepts and more commonplace things in order to make the science easier to grasp…She has a gift for summarizing research in a way that piques, then satisfies, your interest—even if you don't know a lick of science."

About the Author

Zoe Cormier is a freelance journalist, author, and public speaker with a background in zoology. Spawned by the music industry, she rebelled by studying science. Originally from Toronto, she now lives in London.