Michael Schaub of NPR has a concise and informative roundup of five recently released books on the human brain, all of which either discuss or have implications for morality:

When the sun finally comes out and the sweaters get tossed in the basement, we’re all at least a little tempted to turn off our brains. Don’t do it! Summer reading — in this case, summer reading about the science of the mind — can be a lot more fun than dodging volleyballs on a beach. Neuroscience isn’t just about parts of the brain and hard-to-pronounce chemicals; the books listed here cover everything from religion to pornography, from die-hard optimists to remorseless sociopaths. Sure, there’s a lot of knowledge to be mined in these volumes, but most importantly, they’re all fast, fun reads. As subject matter, the brain, it turns out, makes for the ultimate page-turner and science (don’t tell my high school bio teacher I said this) the epitome of cool.

Click the link above to check out his short reviews of the five newcomers.