How to Be Human: The Manual
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How to Be Human: The Manual
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Narrated by:
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Ruby Wax
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Ash Ranpura
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Gelong Thubten
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By:
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Ruby Wax
About this listen
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of How to be Human: The Manual written and read by Ruby Wax with Ash Ranpura and Gelong Thubten.
It took us 4 billion years to evolve to where we are now. No question, anyone reading this has won the evolutionary Hunger Games by the fact you're on all twos and not some fossil. This should make us all the happiest species alive, yet most of us aren't. What's gone wrong? We've started treating ourselves more like machines and less like humans. We're so used to upgrading things like our iPhones: as soon as the new one comes out, we don't think twice, we dump it. (Many people I know are now on iWife4 or iHusband8, the motto being, if it's new, it's better.)
We can't stop the future from arriving, no matter what drugs we're on. But even if nearly every part of us becomes robotic, we'll still, fingers crossed, have our minds, which, hopefully, we'll be able to use for things like compassion rather than chasing what's 'better', and if we can do that we're on the yellow brick road to happiness.
I wrote this book with a little help from a monk, who explains how the mind works and also gives some mindfulness exercises, and a neuroscientist who explains what makes us 'us' in the brain. We answer every question you've ever had about evolution, thoughts, emotions, the body, addictions, relationships, kids, the future and compassion. How to be Human is extremely funny, true and the only manual you'll need to help you upgrade your mind as much as you've upgraded your iPhone.
©2017 Ruby Wax (P)2017 Penguin AudioWhat listeners say about How to Be Human: The Manual
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Megan
- 22-08-2018
Pretty good!
Pretty good book! It's not highly intellectual but therefore actually easier to follow and more approachable to the average reader or the reader with ADHD who gets easily distracted therefore struggles to follow complex wording and heavy scientific jargon. (I'll go look up the word and then the Internet has me - there's no coming back!) Also, a narrator with a dynamic personality such as Ruby Wax's (yes that definitely shines through even just in audio!), holds my attention better too, despite her very STRONG American accent which I kind of found grating sometimes. Sorry! But it's definitely a voice that is easy to focus on! 😂 I also liked her little 'my story's'. I thought they were kinda cheesy at first but I quickly realized how wrong I was and that they were actually great little tid bits to help the reader relate neuroscience and mindfulness to real life examples.
It was also a great idea to have written the book the the input of both a neuroscience, and a Buddhist monk in each chapter. People might think these disciplines are worlds apart but they actually both study the same thing and both of their beliefs are based from scientific experiments. Not many people actually know what Buddhism is about but Buddha basically wanted to study consciousness so he could figure out how to end suffering and improve happiness. And the way he went about doing this was through doing neuroscience experiments/experiments with consciousness. He then wrote many books to pass on his findings to others - all 87,000 conclusions to his 87,000 hypotheses through 87,000 experiments!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-09-2019
Great read
I really enjoyed this book, the 3 perspectives, and strategies for mindful living and self acceptance
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Henry Harris
- 10-02-2018
excellent book.
gives you great insight into the human condition. makes me feel im not alone. other people suffer and have similiar emotions, thoughts and feelings
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- edna John
- 11-09-2019
Fantastic book. if you want your life to change.
If you want your life to change for the better, this book is a must read. Thank you Ruby Wax.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-04-2020
Funny, clever and insightful
Ruby Wax is a charmer, she’s sharp witted and super clever. She’s the aunt you wish you had. By weaving psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness into compelling personal stories she makes this book an all round winner.
Get onto it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alina
- 10-03-2018
Extradinary humility
Ruby, you are a star. Not only have you shown great humility sharing your own painful experiences, but you have done so whilst balancing a wonderful trifecta of story tellers. Keeping it real and keeping it amusing..loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J Barnes
- 18-12-2018
Terrific: info packed, funny, on my wavelength
Brilliant! Insights into my own brain and the healing it needs post- acquired brain injury.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-03-2018
Disappointed
This book was confusing. I have no clue how the title is meant to relate to the actual content and felt this was more a biography on ruby wax or her opinion on how to live that was not at all relevant to mindfulness or compassion. I found Ruby’s attempts at humour frustrating as they diverged hugely from the intended content of the book. I felt the same book could have been written a quarter of the size and it would still be ‘beating around the bush’. I didn’t like the conversational style of writing with the neuroscientist and the monk and ruby and personally found ruby difficult to continue to
listen to as she goes on at length about her own life or puts others down (her co-writers, therapists, etc). I think the gems of the book were the neuroscientist and monks input but that ruby was like the unwanted comedian of the book.
Nothing personal against ruby but I felt this book was awful. There are much better books out there that are way better written and with better content. A personal favourite: ‘why Buddhism is true’.
This book might be good for some but it definitely wasn’t good for me. Unfortunately, I’ll be returning it.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 25-02-2018
Annoying
I found the author to be very irritating. Her attempt at humour was not amusing and her attitude condescending. I could not finish it.
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1 person found this helpful