The topic of "love" has been addressed in books that range from collections of syrupy aphorisms to "how-to" books on relationships. But love is far too broad and interesting a topic to be limited in this way. Although this book includes three chapters on romantic love, it broadens the scope to include the role of love in the developmental process of infants and children, on physical and mental health and illness, on violent criminality, and other social aspects of love. The literature reviewed for the book includes anthropology, biology, brain anatomy/physiology, chemistry, genetics, immunology, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, and zoology. The emphasis is on what various scientific disciplines have discovered about the role of love, but Anthony Walsh also presents historical, mythological, and philosophical insights where appropriate.