"A book for the non-expert on the neuroscience of touch is very welcome, and I recommend this one enthusiastically. It's full of facts and explanations, many of which are totally cool and, some, even astonishing….But what endears me to the book is not its clarity and its informativeness. What I love is its openness, and occasional insightfulness, about all the things we don't know.”
-NPR, Alva Noe
"Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind, is a treasure trove for anyone wanting to decode the frisson of a lover’s caress. After all, the skin, says Linden, is a social organ”
-Playboy, Cat Auer
“The best science writers infect you with their fascination for the subject- that’s exactly what Linden achieves here.”
-BBC Focus, Christian Jarrett
“... he’s an able guide to the world of touch, with a true gift for simplifying the complex. (The illustrations and diagrams throughout the book help, too.) The book is packed with cocktail-party trivia — scientists believe that touch is the first sense to develop in utero; some people with schizophrenia can tickle themselves — and satisfying explanations of everyday tactile experiences.”
-Washington Post, Emily Anthes
"...this book is about the sense of touch, it’s by a professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and it’s excellent. It will tell you why footballers hug each other when a goal is scored, why they are like vampire bats in this respect, and why some people like being the recipients of anal sex while others don’t. David Linden tells us all of this with exactly the right degree of scientific dryness.”
-The Spectator (UK), William Leith
“...Neuroscientist David J. Linden’s book Touch stands apart. Linden elevates the conversation about touch, providing an unusually detailed and original perspective. [He] serves as a lucid, witty guide who avoids oversimplifying the facts while exploring what is known about our tactile sensations as well as the mysteries that remain.”
-American Scientist, Katie L. Burke
“Linden explores touch in depth, from itches to orgasms… and it makes for compelling reading.”
-Financial Times, Orlando Bird
"Though the author includes a host of entertaining anecdotes, his narrative is consistently backed by solid science. So surpassing does Linden make touch seem that even turning the pages of his book becomes a pleasurable experience.”
-Kirkus Reviews
"Touch was a delight to read and to hold. With a deft hand of expertise, the book is packed with nuggets of wisdom to enliven any after dinner conversation.”
-The Royal Society of Biology
"Being out of touch, the American neuroscientist David J Linden argues in his absorbing book, is not just something that happens to cabinet ministers...The human brain contains 500 billion nerve cells and does not give up its secrets lightly. But following Linden’s thread is profoundly worth it."
-The Times of London, Oliver Moody
"With a novelist’s flair for anecdote, Linden unpacks the science behind touch by revealing how the sense informs and motivates us in everyday situations.”
-The Scientist, Bob Grant
"The sensation of touch, so ubiquitous in how we interact with our world, gets a sensualist pop-biology treatment from Linden (The Compass of Pleasure), a professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine… Though it’s not exactly a neurobiology primer, Linden sandwiches a surprising amount of anatomical information between the stories of bad hand jobs and children who die young because they can’t feel pain.”
-Publishers Weekly
"Why does sexual touch feel good? What is the difference between being touched on one’s palm or
shoulder? Of all the senses, touch is by far the most underrated, according to Johns Hopkins neuroscience
professor Linden (The Compass of Pleasure, 2011)….This in-depth, awareness-raising discussion of the effects of touch from head to toe and back again sheds light on a fascinating yet overlooked topic.
-Booklist, Donna Chavez
“[An] engrossing book...This book has changed my own life in a small but significant way. My family joke that I’m the woman who put the “sal” into “salad” as I’ve spent my life grazing on uncooked veg. I now gulp down hot soup and feel the better for it. Thank you, David Linden."
-The Guardian, Salley Vickers
"David J. Linden’s Touch is a charming read that explains the science of touch in easily understandable terms. Anyone who is interested in human interactions and emotional connections will find this book interesting. Just as important, men and women who deal with intimacy disorders – including love and sex addiction – are likely to find this book enlightening from a disease and recovery standpoint.”
-Addiction.com, Scott Brassart
"...the Johns Hopkins neuroscientist leads us on a delightful tour of the science of touch, sharing discoveries that shed new light on this highly under-appreciated sense.”
-Greater Good, Jill Suttie
“...if you’re interested in the mechanics of your mind or you want to know why you itch and what you have in common with koalas, read this and you won’t be disappointed. “Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind” is a book to get your fingers on.”
-Rockdale Citizen, Terri Schlichenmeyer
"The book is highly readable and laced with stories that are fascinating, funny and surprising!”
-TBR, Viviane Crystal
