David Servan-Schreiber Rodale Press, 2004, HB, 288pp, £26.18, 978-1579549022

This must be a first — a book review in English for a French book that I have read in the German translation. First of all, don’t be put off by the title, it is a complete misnomer. This book is not about any ‘instinct’, it is as much about physical illness (morbidity and mortality) as mental health, and David Servan-Schreiber supports both drug treatments and talking therapy!

The German title, Die Neue Medizin der Emotionen (The New Medicine of Emotions), is more to the point, unfortunately with essentially the same terrible subtitle. This almost 20-year-old book has been sitting on my bookshelf unread for at least a decade, and what made me pick it up is my recent interest in the history of emotions (see my latest book review1). So I probably wouldn’t have picked up the English version!

Servan-Schreiber was a French physician, neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and author. He sadly died in 2011 aged 50 from a malignant brain tumour. This book has been written for the general public, but it has an extensive reference section and bibliography. His academic credentials are …