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Learn moreFrom a leading expert, a groundbreaking book on the science of play, and its essential role in fueling our happiness and intelligence throughout our lives.
We've all seen the happiness on the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. We are designed by nature to flourish through play.
Particularly in tough times, we need to play more than ever, as it's the very means by which we prepare for the unexpected, search out new solutions, and remain optimistic. A fascinating blend of cutting-edge neuroscience, biology, psychology, social science, and inspiring human stories of the transformative power of play, this book proves why play just might be the most important work we can ever do.
Stuart Brown, MD, is trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry, and clinical research. He first discovered the importance of play by discerning its absence in a carefully studied group. He later became founding Clinical Director and Chief of Psychiatry at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and an Associate Professor at UCSD in San Diego, California. As he ended his clinical career, he believed that play could be the key to discovering the giftedness that is in everyone, but he realized that identifying the importance of play hadn't fully revealed what play is. So, in 1989 upon leaving clinical medicine, he decided to pursue play in greater depth. With the support of the National Geographic Society and Jane Goodall, he observed animal play in the wild. He became acquainted with the premier animal play experts in the world, and began to see play as a long evolved behavior important for the well-being and survival of animals.
Christopher Vaughan is coauthor, with William C. Dement, MD, PhD, of the national bestseller The Promise of Sleep.
Michael Hinton is an actor of stage and screen as well as a voice-over artist, puppeteer, and writer. Classically trained, Michael has performed in New York, the U.K., and regionally throughout New England. He holds a master's degree in professional acting from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England.