Finally, an owner's manual for the one thing we use the most: ourselves! From subatomic particles to supernatural experiences, Oliver takes us on a tour of what it means to be a person that is both impressively deep and wide-ranging. A tour de force full of interesting facts and findings that your self will be happy to have read and won't forget.--Nicholas Epley, author of Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want

A frank and seductive exploration of what it means to be you. Oliver's tone is deceptively light, but his richly documented account of multiple influences on the self is seriously thought-provoking.--Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution

How to Know Your Self is a refreshingly engaging and honest attempt to grapple with the elusiveness of self-knowledge. Avoiding easy answers and soothing bromides, Oliver brings together insights from many fields to move us closer to the knowledge we both crave and studiously avoid.--Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us

This freewheeling tour of human history and psychic life...captures the tone of the charismatic professor. A restorative guide to living a life of self-awareness, acceptance, and taking responsibility for our own fulfillment.-- "Kirkus Reviews"