How Music Can Make You Better, Hardcover

"This brilliant little book is clear, lucid, and easy to read. It is packed with fascinating information that I didn't know, and I suspect most people don't know either. I shall give it to lots of friends."
- Jonathan Lynn, comedy legend, director of My Cousin Vinny, co-writer of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister

How can certain songs carry us through a tough workout, comfort us after a breakup, or unite 50,000 diverse fans? In this fascinating field guide, neuroscientist and opera singer Indre Viskontas investigates what music is and how it can change us for the better--from deep in our neurons to across our entire society. Whether hip-hop fans, classically trained pianists, or vinyl collectors, readers will think about their favorite songs in a whole new way by the end of this book. This is a vibrant and smart gift for any audiophile.

More praise for How Music Can Make You Better
"Music is perhaps the strangest and most powerful of all human creations. It communicates directly what cannot be expressed in words-- our complex emotions, and the richness of our experience. Finally, Indre Viskontas, combining her deep knowledge of neuroscience and music, has lifted the veil on the mysterious effects of music to move us, showing us not only how the human brain creates the magical patterns of music but also why music has the power to affect us like no other form of communication. An extremely important and inspiring book."
- Robert Greene, best-selling author of The 48 Laws of Power

Indre Viskontas, PhD, is the creative director of the Pasadena Opera, host of the podcasts Cadence and Inquiring Minds, and a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She lives San Francisco.