Overview

From the author of the bestseller The Disappearing Spoon comes this tale of the brain and the history of neuroscience. Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain's secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.

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9781478901181

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Reviews

Neurosurgery has come a long way since the sixteenth century, and this series of historical anecdotes traces the many people who, often by suffering horrific injuries, allowed the study and treatment of brain trauma to evolve and become the sophisticated field it is today...Entertaining and quotable, Kean's writing is sharp, and each individual story brings the history of neuroscience to life. Compulsively readable, wicked scientific fun. -- Kirkus Reviews Science writer Kean delves into the strange ways we've learned about the workings of our brains, rejuvenating with invigorating detail anecdotes that otherwise receive only brief textbook mention...Reading this collection is like touring a museum of neuroscience's most dramatic anomalies, each chapter taking us to a different place and time...Kean's colloquial language and intimate voice bring all of this series of mini-histories to life-all of which are sure to stimulate a wide range of brains. -- Publishers Weekly Science writer Kean explores the vagaries and inconsistencies of the human brain via diverting stories that chronicle medical science's fits and starts...Where does the brain end and the mind begin? Curious readers will find both brain and mind fully revved up while engaging with this powerfully appealing and thought-provoking work of neuroscience history. -- Booklist Strokes, seizures, accidents: if they don't kill, they can traumatize the brain so badly that an individual's personality can be significantly changed. But, explains the New York Times bestselling author of the terrific The Violinist's Thumb, early neuroscientists saw such trauma as an opportunity to study the brain's wondrous workings. -- Library Journal This is Sam Kean's finest work yet, an entertaining and offbeat history of the brain populated with mad scientists, deranged criminals, geniuses, and wretched souls. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons is one of those books that will have you following your friends around, reading passages out loud, until they snatch the book away from you and read it for themselves. Good luck getting it back. -- Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

This is Sam Kean's finest work yet, an entertaining and offbeat history of the brain populated with mad scientists, deranged criminals, geniuses, and wretched souls. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons is one of those books that will have you following your friends around, reading passages out loud, until they snatch the book away from you and read it for themselves. Good luck getting it back. -- Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist Neurosurgery has come a long way since the sixteenth century, and this series of historical anecdotes traces the many people who, often by suffering horrific injuries, allowed the study and treatment of brain trauma to evolve and become the sophisticated field it is today...Entertaining and quotable, Kean's writing is sharp, and each individual story brings the history of neuroscience to life. Compulsively readable, wicked scientific fun. -- Kirkus Reviews Science writer Kean explores the vagaries and inconsistencies of the human brain via diverting stories that chronicle medical science's fits and starts...Where does the brain end and the mind begin? Curious readers will find both brain and mind fully revved up while engaging with this powerfully appealing and thought-provoking work of neuroscience history. -- Booklist Strokes, seizures, accidents: if they don't kill, they can traumatize the brain so badly that an individual's personality can be significantly changed. But, explains the New York Times bestselling author of the terrific The Violinist's Thumb, early neuroscientists saw such trauma as an opportunity to study the brain's wondrous workings. -- Library Journal Science writer Kean delves into the strange ways we've learned about the workings of our brains, rejuvenating with invigorating detail anecdotes that otherwise receive only brief textbook mention...Reading this collection is like touring a museum of neuroscience's most dramatic anomalies, each chapter taking us to a different place and time...Kean's colloquial language and intimate voice bring all of this series of mini-histories to life-all of which are sure to stimulate a wide range of brains. -- Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Disappearing Spoon, and The Violinist's Thumb, all of which were also named Amazon top science books of the year. The Disappearing Spoon was a runner-up for the Royal Society of London's book of the year for 2010, and The Violinist's Thumb and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons were nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Award for literary science writing in 2013 and 2015, as well as the AAAS/Subaru Prize. Kean's work has appeared in The Best American Nature and Science Writing, the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, Mental Floss, and other publications, and he has been featured on NPR's Radiolab, All Things Considered, and Fresh Air. Henry Leyva, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is a classically trained actor with extensive work in theater, television, film, and radio. He has appeared off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country in many plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Street Car Named Desire. He has also performed in audio dramas for the Syfy Channel and National Public Radio

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