Earlier views associated cognition with the cortex, and effort with sub-cortical, non-cognitive structures. In this intriguing volume, Jay Schulkin explains an emerging perspective, that cognition runs throughout the central nervous system, and the perceptual/effector systems are pregnant with cognitive resources. One neurotransmitter, dopamine, underlies the diverse tasks that require effort, or the will. As Schulkin notes, one adaptation is to pre-commit oneself to future recursive actions consistent with one’s plans. Diverse brain regions are tied to the conflicts of competing interests that require willpower to persevere towards our longer-term goals. While it is debatable to what extent we are conscious of our willpower and our causal efficacy, the concept of the will is a fundamental category in understanding our mental architecture and is also a piece of our evolutionary history. Cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychobiologists, evolutionary psychologists, philosophers, social psychologists, and anyone curious about how humans persist will be interested in Effort.