Modern people know firsthand about obsessive states. How often we literally cannot stop, frantically checking messages on our smartphone, trying to complete a level in a video game, or buying things that we have nowhere to put them. But where is the line between normality and pathology, and most importantly, when is determination and obsession 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, how obsessive behavior differs from addiction and how the “compulsive brain” works. The relevance of the problem, conversations with leading experts on obsessive behavior, and the fates of real patients make this book equally informative and fascinating.