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Modern man knows firsthand about obsessive states. How often we literally can't stop, frantically checking messages on our smartphone, trying to complete a level in a video game, or buying things when there is nowhere to put them. But where is the line between the norm and pathology, and most importantly, when purposefulness and obsession are the path to creativity and success, and when is it a fruitless and dangerous waste of effort and time? In the book, the author talks about the history of studying the issue, about how obsessive behavior differs from addiction, and how the "compulsive brain" works. The urgency of the problem, conversations with leading experts on obsessive behavior, the fate of real patients make this book informative and fascinating in equal measure.