How have our emotions shaped the course of human history? But many of the most important moments in our history had little to do with cold, hard facts and a lot to do with feelings. Events ranging from the origins of philosophy to the birth of the world’s major religions, the fall of Rome, the Scientific Revolution, and some of the bloodiest wars that humanity has ever experienced can’t be properly understood without understanding emotions. In A Human History of Emotion, Richard Firth-Godbehere takes readers on a fascinating and wideranging tour of the central and often under-appreciated role emotions have played in human societies around the world and throughout history – from Ancient Greece to Gambia, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and beyond. Review A Kirkus Best Science Books of 2021 ‘A fascinating look at the profound ways in which the harnessing of human emotions has shaped world-wide history and culture. Eye-opening and thought-provoking’ Gina Rippon, author of The Gendered Brain ‘Emotions are a much bigger part of the experience of being human than most people would ever realise. A book like no other’ Thomas Dixon, author of Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears About the Author Richard Firth-Godbehere, PhD, one of the world’s leading experts on disgust and emotions, is an independent researcher and consultant in the history, language, science and philosophy of emotions, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the History of the Emotions, Queen Mary University of London. He received a first-class degree from the University of London, during which time he won two awards for academic excellence, alongside a Masters (MPhil) from the University of Cambridge and a PhD From Queen Mary, University of London, where he was a Wellcome Trust Scholar.