The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam KeanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A really interesting, easy to read popular science look at neuroscience and the brain. Long before modern imaging, brain function was determined through dissection and the observation of what went wrong when the brain is damaged. Starting with the titular neurosurgeons who observed and treated King Henri II of France when he was injured in a joust, the author examines famous and not-so-famous cases of brain injury. The function revealed by a damaged brain is sometimes more interesting than a dry explanation of the different brain regions and how they function, and the author takes full advantage. Even the treatment of one of the most famous damaged-brain cases out there, the story of Phineas Gage, was interesting and more in-depth than many I've read. If you have an interest in neurology and want something entertaining and easy to understand, definitely give this book a try. (I will say that some of the images and descriptions are pretty graphic, so reader beware.)
Because I read the paper copy of this book, I'll include my highlights here:
"Are there any who imagine," Holman asked, "that my loss of eyesight must necessarily deny me the enjoyment of such contemplations? How much more do I pity the mental darkness which could give rise to such and error." p. 97
[On Capras' syndrome] Faces, though, cannot conjure up the proper feelings, and it's the chasm between what they once felt upon seeing a loved one and the deadness they now feel that inflicts the agony. p. 254
...while we joke about a poor memory as a sieve, that's actually the wrong way around. Sieves let water leak through, but they catch substantial things 0 they catch what we want to preserve. In the same way, a mind functions best when we let some things, like traumatic memories, go. All normal brains are sieves, and thank goodness for that. p. 295
Memories are memoirs, not autobiographies. And the memories we cherish most may make honest liars of us all. p. 297
"Consciousness isn't a think in a place; it's a process in a population." p. 337
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