Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives - Hardcover

"From health and happiness to fads and financial markets, Christakis and Fowler take us on a dazzling tour of the world of social networks. And in showing how these networks matter in our individual lives, the authors also make the deeper point that "network thinking" is the key to understanding how all our lives fit together."-Duncan Watts, author of Six Degrees

"Groundbreaking...."--Kirkus

"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience."--SeedMagazine.com

"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. With passion and precision, these two internationally renowned scientists expose the invisible webs that connect each of us to the other, and in so doing cast our lives here together in an astonishing new light. We think we are individuals who control our own fates, but as Christakis and Fowler demonstrate, we are merely cells in the nervous system of a much greater beast. If someone you barely know reads CONNECTED, it could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out."-- "The book has all sorts of interesting information about how our friends influence our lives, for better and for worse."--Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness

"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world."--The New York Times

"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking."--Publishers Weekly

"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. [Connected] has profound implications."--New Scientist

"Intriguing."--SmartMoney.com

"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks."--O, The Oprah Magazine

"The book has all sorts of interesting information about how our friends influence our lives, for better and for worse."--MarieClaire.com

Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Drs. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide.

In CONNECTED, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, CONNECTED overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.