Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

This book by Helen Simonson was genuinely recommended once in the episodes we index, on Lex Fridman. The people who vouched for it on air: Lisa Feldman Barrett. It comes up in conversations about brain health, consciousness, relationships. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut.

• “some of my favorite uh love stories are major pedigree Last Stand by Helen Simonson it's a love story about people who you wouldn't expect to fall in love”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “some of my favorite uh love stories are major pedigree Last Stand”
  Lisa Feldman Barrett · Lex Fridman Podcast · Nov 202002:10:54

  Said during "Lisa Feldman Barrett: Love, Evolution, and the Human Brain | Lex Fridman Podcast #140". The episode features Lisa Feldman Barrett: A neuroscientist at Northeastern University and one of the most cited psychologists in the world, known for her theory of constructed emotion. She is the author of How Emotions Are Made and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett joins Lex Fridman for a freewheeling talk on love, brain evolution, free will, and consciousness.