Robert Sapolsky comes to mind for human and other primate behaviors from a biology perspective.

For a behavioral economics perspective, Richard Thaler or books like Freakanomics that popularized it.

For understanding teenagers and their behavior, Lisa Damour.

For a historical point of view, Charles Darwin. For an update on that theory, maybe Joan Roughgarden.

I loved Nurture Shock.

Not a book but Hidden Brain podcast. Very informative.

Anonymous wrote:Bible

Bible

I really liked "What Every Body is Saying - an ex-fbi agents guide to speed reading people". N9t exactly on the realm of what you're looking for, bit very very helpful in interpreting people's body language and behavior.

Anonymous wrote:I would think in general that books in the evolutionary biology realm would cover this.

"Survival of the Prettiest," which is pretty much an ornithology book, has really interesting things to say about mate selection behavior in humans.

I would think in general that books in the evolutionary biology realm would cover this.

Malcolm Gladwell writes about this stuff a lot.

Jared Diamond's books touch on some of this in fascinating ways, but his best books are very outdated now (new research contradicts his positions enough that reading a book like The Third Chimpanzee or Guns, Germs and Steel gets frustrating).

I think that’s what I’m looking for? Basically, why people act the way they act. Things like, why does that woman turn on the waterworks to get her way, why does that short guy at the gym act like the toughest man in the room, why does that woman flaunt herself for male attention, why does that man rev his engine for attention.

Do such books on human behavior even exist? I’m dying to understand the people around me.