Reviews
Darwin vs. Varki / Theory (Short)
un-Denial, by Rob Mielcarski
unmasking denial: the creator and destroyer
Books in Brief
Nature, by Barbara Kiser
"A thoughtful foray into "mind over reality."
Capsule Reviews
The Scientist, by Annie Gottlieb
"Denial is not just a river in Africa, but the authors of this odd collaboration think it helped us cross one."
Scientific American MIND
Scientific American, by Daisy Yuhas
"A novel explanation for why humans surpassed all other species in mental prowess."
Trends in Cognitive Sciences (PDF)
Cell, by Sheldon Solomon
"...a timely and erudite book....forcefully contends that the knowledge of personal mortality is singularly problematic for human beings....early humans who were able to deny the prospect of their inevitable demise would be more successful in terms of survival and reproduction"
Dare to Be 100: Huffington Post Review
Huffington Post, by Walter M. Bortz II, M.D.
"...The book stresses that our deeply embedded capacity for self deception leads to all manner of misadventures both optimistic and pessimistic...."
Ernest Becker Foundation
ErnestBecker.com, by Chad Gracia
"...an important book about the evolutionary origin of the human mind....the key contribution....is that it fixes the origin of both human intelligence and reality denial in a specific evolutionary time and place...and provides tantalizing hints to the resolution of several mysteries."
Book Review - German (PDF)
BIOspektrum, by Bernhard Haubold
"I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the biological origin of our stunning propensity to deny unpleasant things." (translation)
La Jolla Light
La Jolla Light, by Pat Sherman
"UC San Diego professor says denial may be the key to human evolution, dominance." La Jolla Light.pdf
200 Reviews on Goodreads.com
Goodreads.com, Initial review by Marc De Faoite
"This is a meaty book that merits being read slowly to digest its thought-provoking ideas." Goodreads.com.pdf
From the blurb (PDF)
The Hindu, by Unknown
"The authors propose a "mind over reality" theory to explain the origins of what they see as human uniqueness among the world's species."
Charbonneau: Awareness, denial are powerfully human
The Daily News, by David Charbonneau
"We are usually unaware of self-awareness until it's implicated in our survival."
The Evolution of Denial
Un-denial.com, by Ray Grigg
"Denial has allowed humans to succeed while other species have failed." The Evolution of Denial.pdf
Denial: Pessimistic theory on psyche of humans thought-provoking
Columbus Dispatch, by Margaret Quamme
"Provocative.....a doozy of a premise"
Book Review: Denial
Mike Stimpson Blog, by Mike Stimpson
"This thought-provoking work of popular science contends that the human brain must have found a way to push thoughts of death aside before the species could develop into fully aware, intellectually robust beings."
KIRKUS REVIEWS
Kirkus Reviews, by Unknown
"A new answer to the question of why Homo sapiens are the only species to have developed a brain with complex mental abilities..."
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, by Unknown
"Denial isn't often regarded as a positive thing, but according to this stimulating speculation on consciousness and evolution, it could be the key to human intelligence."