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"A fierce and lively book. . . .This is one of those rare books that could make people think about their intimate lives in a new way." — New York Times Book Review

“A rousing defense of imprudent ardor and romantic excess. . . . It’s difficult to deny that [Nehring] is on to something.” — Wall Street Journal

A thinking person’s “guide” that makes the case for love in an age both cynical about and fearful of strong passion. Bold and challenging, A Vindication of Love has inspired praise and controversy, and brilliantly reinvigorated the romance debate. A perfect choice for readers of Alain de Botton’s How Proust Can Change Your Life and Pierre Bayard’s How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read.

Drawing on history, literature, and the lives of defiant women, this passionate polemic asks a daring question: What if our fear of strong passion is the real tragedy?

Love as Wisdom: Challenges the cliché that love is blind, arguing that passion is the only state that allows us to truly see another person. A Critique of Modern Love: Exposes how today’s culture has streamlined, safety-checked, and demystified Eros, leaving it unendurably bland. Love as Heroism: Through the lives of figures like Mary Wollstonecraft, Nehring reveals how the quest for love can be a heroic act of strength and creative enlargement. A Feminist Re-evaluation: Confronts the anti-romantic bias within feminism, making the bold case that a woman who feels deeply can also think deeply.