The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain As Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction) - Hardcover

Kean, Sam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 141047156X ISBN 13: 9781410471567

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2014

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

"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"""

"Put your Netflix queue on hold. Sam Kean's "The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons" will command your full attention from the first page. It's not just an engaging guide to mysteries of existence; it's compelling story-telling for anyone with a taste for the bizarre and metaphysical." "William Poundstone, author of "Rock Breaks Scissors"""

"In tale after tale, best-selling author Kean provides a fascinating, and at times gloriously gory, look at how early efforts in neurosurgery were essentially a medical guessing game.... 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""

"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 "New York Times "best-selling author of the terrific "The Violinist's Thumb," early neuroscientists saw such traumas as an opportunity to study the brain's wondrous workings." "Library Journal, "Barbara's Picks"""

"To pick up one of these stories is to lose oneself in them. 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." "Donna Chavez, "Booklist"""

"The author's skill in illuminating how the brain functions and malfunctions manifest themselves in people's lives makes for absorbing reading....These avowals ultimately raise weighty, compelling questions about the nature of identity and what it means to be human." "The Wall Street Journal""

"Beyond paying tribute to the scientific advances these patients made possible, Kean humanizes the patients themselves." "Scientific American ""

"After tackling DNA and the periodic table in his previous books, Kean has moved on to the human brain, which he dissects via dozens of vivid anecdotes.... His subtle meta touches are a heady delight." "Joe McGovern, "Entertainment Weekly"""

"Sam Kean can spin a tale as well as any fiction writer....Kean is a rare writer who approaches science writing as a child would a playground at recess. It's a wide-open field full of possibilities, limited only by the surroundings and what our imaginations can do with them." "PopMatters""

"In the capable hands of science writer Sam Kean, stories of brain injuries shine just a bit brighter, illuminating not only the interesting characters delivering bedside diagnoses or lying on the examination table, but general principles of scientific discovery that are still relevant today....Kean breathes life into the patients as well as the physicians and scientists tasked with understanding the injuries." "The Scientist""

Book Description:

From the author of the bestseller The Disappearing Spoon, a new history of the brain told via fascinating tales of the greatest and most astounding injuries in neuroscience

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 141047156X
• ISBN 13: 9781410471567
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 679