Editorial Review

For thousands of years humans have enjoyed the taste and nutrition of fermented foods and drinks. We rely on the transformative, almost magical power of fermentation to preserve and improve all sorts of food, making them tastier, more digestible, and more appealing. Author Sandor Katz takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wild world of fermentation. The book is divided into chapters that focus on particular types of food and Katz provides readers with delicious recipes-—some familiar, others exotic—-that are easy to make at home, including vegetable krauts and kimchis; sourdough breads and pancakes; miso and tempeh; beers, wines, and meads; yogurt and cheeses.

The recipes provide a veritable smorgasbord of tastes, like homemade tempeh, sauerkraut, and borscht, along with a basic description of yogurt and cheese-making, complete with vegan alternatives.Whether you prefer to wash down your meal with Elderberry wine or Nepalese rice beer, there's something here to satisfy any palate.

Katz, a leading expert on the history of these foods, has written a revolutionary and informative culinary guide he calls "a cultural manifesto." He has experimented with many forms of fermentation and has developed and collected a wide range of techniques and recipes from around the world. ... Read more

Reviews

Wild Fermentation, September 15, 2003
This is the only cookbook that I know of that you will read from cover to cover. It is not the dry "do this in this order" kind of book, it walks with you on your culinary endevors like your mom or grandma would, telling you stories along the way, including the secrets that make not just sourdough bread, but unforgettable sourdough bread.

Sandor doesn't just tell us, he shows us, how to be self-sufficient about making and storing food (with little need for a stove or a refrigerator): making sourdough, cheese, miso, making tempeh, making wine, beer and, it seems, almost every other fermented food made the world over. And he gives you a list of resources where you can order the most mundane and exotic of starter cultures and even seaweed from our own Atlantic coast.

And your concept of "self" will never be the same again. He shows us how to reclaim and restore a part of ourselves that has protected us like the ozone layer protects the earth: the world of microbes in and around us, the protective cloak of the microecology that is meant to be a part of us like our skin.

Fermented foods restore a health balance like no probiotics and vitamins can. Happy reading, happy fermenting, happy eating!

viva fermented foods!, October 29, 2003
To refer to this as a 'cookbook' is disingenuous; it's a book about life and living foods! Having first read through a 20-ish page xeroxed copy of Katz' guide to fermented foods, I welcomed the increased breadth and volume covered in this published edition. I especially appreciate the cited references, although some works are relied on too heavily and there is a relative dearth of scientific citations. That said, there are some and the critique is balanced by the realization that Western science and nutrition have not been overly interested in such topics. A friend with Krohn's disease is hopeful it will help him to find foods he can more easily digest. Katz' book is an unconventional guide to storing foods with methods proven useful over centuries of preservation....and years in his own kitchen. It's detailed, thought provoking and contains a host of colorful characters worth reading about all on their own. It gets four stars because I look forward to a 2nd edition - thanks for a fine book!

OH So Good!!!, December 2, 2005
I love this book! I've tried a few of the recipes and just love the results! I can't believe none of the "back to nature" type books and publications I read talk about the simple and healthful ways of preserving food through fermentation!

Sandor does a fantastic job of taking the mystery and careful measuring out of fermentation. Most of the recipes I've read for fermentation say you must follow the recipe exactly or risk food poisoning. I'd rather play around with the recipes, so this is just perfect for me! I'm also impressed with his research into traditional recipes.

I just read that kimchi may cure Avian Flu, and the recipe in this book is a fantastic hit here! We use it as salad dressing with some sesame oil!

This is the cookbook of my dreams!, October 8, 2003
This cookbook has all the mundane and esoteric recipes I've ever wanted to own but have not been able to find all in one glorious place. Non-vinegar pickled pickles? It's there. Amazake? No problem! Kimchee? Likewise! And it's all written in a very intelligent, humorous and engaging manner with short and entertaining anecdotes that do not go on forever or stray far afield. **This book is a gem.** I recently attended a cooking class conducted by the author, who is just as amazing as his cookbook. He is full of energy and enthusiasm for spreading the gospel of these traditional and oh-so-nourishing foods. I own about 60 cookbooks, by the way, and this book is in my top five. I can't say enough good things about it. Buy this book!

Highly Recommended Modern Treatment of Ancient Technique, June 26, 2004
`Wild Fermentation' by Sandor Ellix Katz appears like a living fossil of the sixties counterculture, surfacing after forty years of being both shaped and scarred by the currents and tides of the last forty years. The author is a member of a very sixties hippie influenced rural community whose lifestyle seems to be grown directly from the soil laid down by `The Whole Earth Catalogue', `Easy Rider', `Alice's Restaurant', and the Hog Farm, but without any trace of the Merry Pranksters' antics or inclinations towards mind-altering drugs. The shaping of the last forty years is seen in the author's being HIV positive AIDs infected young man with a major interest in sharing his passion for fermented foods with the rest of the world through modern publishing and scholarly rigor.

Fermented food products are probably much more common in our lives today than they have been since the advent of the processed foods industry. And, this is a fact that even the average foodie may not be conscious. A quick inventory of fermented foods commonly used in modern American homes will show how widespread they have become.

The most obvious fermented product is beer, which has always been with us. Their cousins, wines and meads are also the product of fermentation. Virtually all cheeses are produced by fermentation, and our interest in and consumption of artisinal cheeses is rising fast. Yogurt is a close cousin of cheeses and consumption of yogurt has been rising since the early seventies. Sauerkraut and Choucroute have been with us since the beginning, but Asian fermented cabbage such as Kimchee and other fermented vegetables are becoming more popular. Pickles have also been a part of western cuisine for millennia Another part of the increasing interest in Asian foods is an increase in consumption of miso and tempeh, both from fermented soybeans. Asian fermented fish sauces from Thailand and Vietnam are also much more common today than they were 50 years ago. The granddaddy of fermented foods for Western cultures is yeast bread, especially sourdough breads.

Fermentation has at least four beneficial results, two of which have been known since prehistoric times. The first and most important effect is that fermentation is a method of natural preservation by the creation of acetic acid (acid in vinegar) or lactic acid (acid from milk sugar). The second, represented most clearly by the brewing of beer, is in the action of microorganisms on sugars to produce ethanol (alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor). The third is based on our physiological salivation response to acidic foods, or even the anticipation of acidic foods, thereby making the mouth feel of these foods more succulent by the combination of natural food moisture and our own saliva. Ancients may have sensed the last beneficial result, but it probably has not been fully realized until the 20th century. This is the ability of fermentation to break down foods which were hard to digest into different products which are both easier to digest and more nutritious. The two best examples of this action are the conversion of soy carbohydrates into miso and the conversion of milk into yogurt.

All of this has made fermentation into a darling of vegan advocates, as it broadens the range of useable non-animal protein and makes it all more palatable. It has also made fermentation into a favorite of alternate lifestyle nutritionists such as Sally Fallon, the author of the excellent book `Nourishing Traditions' who supplied a Foreword to this book. Fermentation is also one of the hallmarks of the slow food movement. Aside from the North African method for preserving lemons, I know of no other culinary methods that take as long to complete.

Anyone who has made pickles, sourdough bread, or beer should have a very good idea of the times involved in fermentation. And this doesn't even get into some of the olfactory `delights' that accompany the process of fermentation.

The author covers all of the types of fermentation mentioned above, devoting the greatest amount of space to vegetable, bean, and dairy fermentation. Bakers should not miss the lesser attention paid to breads, as for every book on yogurt, pickles, and kraut, there are ten books which cover artisinal baking with its sourdough sponges, poolishs, and begas.

On the political front, the most active issue regarding fermentation is the issue of unpasteurized cheeses being imported into or made in the United States. It is truly ironic that the home of Louis Pasteur relishes their raw cheeses while the squeaky-clean US won't let it in.

Aside from the thoroughly careful presentation the author gives of his material, the veracity of the book is strengthened by the extensively footnoted research behind his statements and the fact that the fruits of fermentation are essential to the lifestyle of the author and his comrades at their rural homestead. The similarity to both the hippie counterculture doctrines and the Amish lifestyle are unmistakable. One would almost take them for being scions of the Amish except for the names cited in the acknowledgments that I found myself checking against the names of the communities' goats. We owe this book in part to humans who go by the names Echo, Nettles, Leopard, Orchid, Spark, Book Mark, and Ravel Weaver.

I also thank Echo, Nettles, Leopard, et al and author Sandor Ellis Katz for this deeply thought out exposition of a pervasive and growing part of the modern culinary and nutritional environment.

This book may not be for everyone, or even for every foodie, but if anything I said sounds a chord in your psyche, I recommend you get a copy of this book and read it carefully.

There is no guide better than this one!!, January 31, 2004
This book is trully awesome. My husband has Crohn's disease which affects his digestive system and he was told that he needed to recolonize his gut with good bacteria and one of the ways is to eat fermented vegetables. This book guided me thru the process joyously and easily. Well researched and fun to read. Recipes for all kinds of vegies, dairy ferments and breads. Makes you pine for the simpler life in an intentional community.

Not a "Flip Open and Cook" Kind of Book, April 11, 2010
While the introductions to the chapters and the recipes definitely catch my interest and make me want to prepare these recipes, I am finding over and over again that the recipes are not written in a way where you could flip to the page and go.

Frequently, the instructions refer in an unclear manner to a different recipe that you need to follow in part, but make some changes.

Other times one of the ingredients is a recipe in itself, but no page number is given for where to find these extra instructions. For instance, many recipes call for "honey water," but give no information about how to prepare "honey water" or where in the book to find this concoction, leaving you to page through and search for it. Once you find honey water, you find that it is in a recipe for honey wine. Are the the recipes that call for "honey water" intending for you to use the ingredients from this honey wine recipe or use the final product? No answer is apparent.

I feel like I will have to re-write each of these recipes to include their FULL INSTRUCTIONS to make them user friendly. I don't know whether this was a choice made to save space, a sign of a disorganized mind, or simple laziness on the part of the author.

The stuff of life, January 17, 2004
I didn't expect how much I'd get into this when I picked it up, but Sandor's writing is clear and engaging and the subject is universal. I love that he talks about the history and the culture of fermentation alongside the concrete details of just making it work yourself with the kinds of things you have at hand.

It's true that fermentation is a fundamental chemical process that human beings have used for thousands of years to make food edible and tasty, but we've lost touch with that when we peel back the plastic on store-bought food. We've also forgotten the magical transformations involved, and this book lets you do that for yourself. Now I just have to find a good crock somewhere.

Awesome, October 19, 2005
I love this book, I have made sourdough bread and ginger beer. They both turned out great. I am now looking to make kimchi and sauerkraut. Recipes are easy to follow and taste great. Love it.

For those looking for an introduction to fermenting, April 9, 2005
In response to the two-star reviewer...could you direct me to the pages where you found those anecdotes and transexual behavior? Because I've had the book for a few days, read most of it, and didn't find any of those anecdotes. I skimmed through the whole book to check, and I didn't find any. The closest he comes to doing so is describing his experiences in dealing with AIDS, and how his passion for fermented foods have aided him in this process. That's far off from anecdotes about sexual behavior. Maybe you were reading an earlier edition of the book.

Anyways, I like this book because it addresses all of the subconscious thoughts that I had about fermentation, such as why we ferment foods, how we discovered the process, and the subjectivity of distinctions between foods fermented to perfection and rotten foods. Most of all, I like how he encourages us to experiment and tells us that fermentation does not require precision and control, as others may tell us. The simplest recipe in the book involves leaving fresh apple cider out. I also like his desire for us to recycle foods as much as possible, such as by making fruit peel vinegars. He gives us about fifty recipes, which includes all of the popular items, such as sauerkraut, miso, and beer, along with a few more obscure ones, and he encourages us to experiment with these. Although over half of the book seems to be anecdotes and stories, they give helpful knowledge for anyone new to fermentation. You may find his writings on the analogy of fermentation to cultural revolution and the process of life cheesy. (Damn, I spent more time on this review than I wanted to.) ... Read more

Editorial Review

An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries- old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, The Brain That Changes Itself will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential. ... Read more

Reviews

The Leopard Can Change His Spots, March 25, 2007
Neuroplasticity has recently become a bit of a buzzword. Long the preserve of neuroscientists, this is one of a number of new books on the topic written for the public.

I recently reviewed Sharon Begley's superb book - Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain - and this one is in a similar vein. Though it is rather different from Sharon's book in which the main focus was on the changes wrought in the brains of meditators, while this one looks at the extraordinary responses of the brain to injury or congenital absence of sensory organs. Since this book went to press, yet another study, this time from India, has shown that some blind children may be able to regain their sight, an observation that is helping turn a lot of neurology on its head.

Neuroplasticity is a topic of enormous practical importance. The increasing evidence that the brain is a highly adaptable structure that undergoes constant change throughout life is a far cry from the idea that we are simply the product of our genes or our environment. Our genes help determine how we can respond to the environment; they do not make us who we are. And we all have untapped potential. This is more than the old nature/nurture debate in a new bottle. It has implications for human potential: how much can you develop your own brain and mind? Can you really teach a child to be a kind, loving person who can dramatically exceed his or her potential? Can psychotherapy really help change your brain for the better? Can we help re-wire the brain of a psychopath? Do we have the right to try?

The author is both a research psychiatrist and a psychoanalyst who has interviewed many experts in the field. His book is full of well chosen and detailed stories about scientists and their discoveries as well as case reports of triumph over unbelievable adversity. There is also a good discussion of people who have remarkable abilities despite the absence of key regions of the brain.

This book is a good complement to Sharon Begley's and if you can afford it, then I strongly recommend that you get both books. If your interest is more in personal development and its effects on the brain, then Sharon's book will be the one for you. If you are more interested in the science and anecdotes about scientists and some amazing patients, then this book may be the one to go for.

Highly recommended.


Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

Excellent balance of case history, theory, and empirical research, July 11, 2007
This is one of the most interesting nonfiction books that I have *ever* read. I found the book fascinating, but lest that be chalked up to my being a psychologist, my husband the computer scientist found it fascinating, too.

Scientists used to believe that the brain was relatively fixed and unchanging -- some of them still believe that -- but recent research shows that the brain is much more mutable than biologists, psychologists, physicians (and any other scientists who studied brains) had ever thought.

For example, anecdotal evidence had long supported the idea that blind people hear better than sighted people, but scientists pooh-poohed this idea, saying that there was no mechanism for that to occur. Well, they recently discovered that the area of the brain usually called the visual cortex is taken over for auditory processing in blind people. So blind folks have twice as much brain space devoted to processing sounds, which means that they really do hear better, and now we know why. Scientists were astounded to discover that the "visual" cortex was really just brain space that could be used for anything.

Psych 101 and Bio 101 textbooks often have a picture in them that shows which areas of the brain control which bodily functions, and this is all presented as fixed and unchanging. Imagine our surprise to learn that the brain can make fairly large shifts in just a few days -- for example, if you blindfold somebody for five days, the area of their brains that's usually called the visual cortex starts using large sections of itself to process touch and sound, and this change is made in as little as two days. Two days!

The book is not just theoretical, though -- the author is interested in the theory, but he's even more interested in how all of this can be applied to better the lives of real people. He talks about people with strokes who've learned to walk again, people with vestibular problems who've learned to substitute something else for their missing vestibular system, people who've been helped with ADHD, autism, retardation, and many other "incurable" conditions by altering their brains.

The downside of the book is that the author is a Freudian, so there are some annoying comments about how Freud knew it all along, but if you can overlook that, it's all fascinating. The author does an excellent job of drawing the reader in with a story about a real person, then elaborating on the ideas by talking about studies that show the basic principles and their implications, then explaining how this can be used to ameliorate or even cure conditions that were considered incurable.

This book blew me away!

The chapter titles will give you more information about the subject matter:

1. A Woman Perpetually Falling...: Rescued by the Man Who Discovered the Plasticity of Our Senses
2. Building Herself a Better Brain: A Woman Labeled "Retarded" Discovers How to Heal Herself
3. Redesigning the Brain: A Scientist Changes Brains to Sharpen Perception and Memory, Increase Speed of Thought, and Heal Learning Problems
4. Acquiring Tastes and Loves: What Neuroplasticity Teaches Us About Sexual Attraction and Love
5. Midnight Resurrections: Stroke Victims Learn to Move and Speak Again
6. Brain Lock Unlocked: Using Plasticity to Stop Worries, Obsessions, Compulsions, and Bad Habits
7. Pain: The Dark Side of Plasticity
8. Imagination: How Thinking Makes It So
9. Turning Our Ghosts into Ancestors: Psychotherapy as a Neuroplastic Therapy
10. Rejuvenation: The Discovery of the Neuronal Stem Cell and Lessons for Preserving Our Brains
11. More than the Sum of Her Parts: A Woman Shows Us How Radically Plastic the Brain Can Be
Appendix 1: The Culturally Modified Brain
Appendix 2: Plasticity and the Idea of Progress

Highly recommended!

worth reading, with caveats, July 6, 2008
I have a general professional interest in psychology and brain science, which often leads me to be frustrated by the tendency towards reductionism and exaggeration. This book looked promising to me because the author is advertised as a psychoanalyst--something that usually does not mesh well with neuroscience. I was intrigued to see how Freud might think about modern psychology's biological determinism. On that score, I found The Brain That Changes Itself reasonably satisfying; the chapter on how neural plasticity can help us understand the impact of psychotherapy was among the best in the book. I very much appreciate the emphasis on how experience (including talk therapy) and culture, not just genes and drugs, shape the brain. That is something that is easy to miss in viewing the pretty brain scans of contemporary popular science. I also found the appendix on how culture works through neural plasticity interesting, although I don't find it helpful to define culture as Doidge seems to--something akin to cultivation and taste (a definition that leads to a problematic hierarchy of cultures based on somewhat arbitrary criteria). It is, however, important to recognize that culture and the brain have a reciprocal relationship.

My main concern with the book is that much of the argument seems to imply that the brain is infinitely malleable with the right exercises and effort. Though Doidge does note at points that plasticity is not infinite, he also seems to endorse the very American cultural script that individuals have total control over everything that happens to them. If babies are properly stimulated they will all be geniuses! If ADHD children go through the proper attentional exercises they will suddenly excel! If the elderly go to brain gyms they will never lose their memory! These, unfortunately, are primarily openings for marketers rather than scientific realities. Of course we have some control, and the key findings of neural plasticity research have been helpful in supporting that, but there are some things that are not just about effort--but also about care and community. Overall, I did find this book interesting and worth reading, but also found myself worried about what seemed to me strategic exaggeration.

Helpful, hopeful, heartwarming, April 17, 2007
I have taken an interest in mind/brain science over the past several months. Having started my nursing career on a medical neurology ward, I "grew up" with the localizationist interpretation of brain function and of the irreversible nature of brain damage. One couldn't help, however, having seen evidence in the course of ones practice that overwhelmingly contradicted the accepted view, so I was very pleased to see that so much has been done lately in researching the plasticity of the brain and its ability to "fix" or at least bypass damage to its structure.

The author, a psychologist with a practice in Canada, approaches his narrative almost as a journalist. He has researched the field and interviewed many of those who have been responsible for breakthroughs in mind/brain science. He gives a brief personal biography and characterization of the scientist as an individual, and then goes on to report the results of their research and the contributions that the work has provided individual patients. Here too the persons' lives and experiences are provided so that each becomes real to the reader. In this way the actual advances are given very personal meaning and significance.

In my opinion, the book should be a must read for neurology residents--if it or something like it has not already been added to the core curriculum. The research and the individual representative cases provided are an amazing illustration of what has and may be done in the near future of neurological diseases and disorders. Certainly anyone with a neurological disorder will find the information inspiring and hopeful. No longer is he or she expected to learn to "accept" their disability or to "learn to live with it." More active approaches to treatment seem to work far better than had been believed by earlier generations of neuroscientists and physiotherapists. Most important is the issue of providing treatment for disabilities, of extending and intensifying therapies not just to a fixed time decided upon arbitrarily but to a point when actual change and improvement are seen to occur. Some of the illustrative cases are certainly exceptional, maybe even just "lucky" individuals, but many of them derived considerable benefit from the approaches used to treat their disability by researchers.

Among the most amazing stories are those of stroke victims who have recovered almost entirely from their neurological damage and returned to an active life. Others are about new technologies for providing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and greater autonomy to the movement impaired. Some of the findings about the aging brain are especially interesting and hopeful. In fact I was so impressed with some of it, that I gave the book to a friend who also worked in neurology in "the old days" and who is now dealing with the issues of living with her mother whose memory is gradually failing and whose everyday life is getting to be more and more difficult and complicated.

A superb book.

The Review That Wrote Itself, March 27, 2007
A revolution is now sweeping through the field of brain science, and this book chronicles the stories of the men and women who have ushered in a new age. The brain is no longer viewed as a machine that is hard-wired early in life, unable to adapt and destined to "wear out" with age. Instead, we learn that scientists are beginning to unlock the secrets of the powerful, lifelong, adaptability - or "plasticity" - of the brain. The implications are enormous for treating neurological disease, for addressing the aging process and for dramatic improvements in human performance. Author Norman Doidge is a psychiatrist on the Columbia faculty and he tells one spell-binding story after another, as he travels the globe interviewing the scientists and their subjects who are on the cutting edge of a new age. Each story is interwoven with the latest in brain science, told in a manner that is both simple and compelling. It may be hard to imagine that a book so rich in science can also be a page-turner, but this one is hard to set down.

Astonishing Stories of Damaged Brains Repairing Themselves, June 15, 2007
"The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science" by Norman Doidge, is an easily readable, enjoyable, and thought-provoking book that gives the nonprofessional an overview of the new science of neuroplasticity--the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections over the life span. We learn that the brain is no longer thought of as being hard-wired, that people are no longer believed to be merely products of their genes and environment, and that damaged brains have the remarkable ability to repair themselves.

Doidge recounts stories of real people who have benefited from advances in neuroplasticity. He gives us just enough background information about each case so that we find ourselves genuinely caring about these people--each person comes to life, like characters in a fine novel. He tells us stories about stroke victims with major physical dysfunction who were able to recover nearly everything that they lost, and then go on to live normal lives again. There is an astonishing story of a woman who lost her balance mechanisms; with help from neuroplasticians, she was able to rewire her brain to use other senses to achieve the same goal. We learn that neuroplastic physicians can design high-technology devices capable of bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and movement to the paralyzed. We learn about an utterly courageous woman who, completely on her own, was able to rewire her brain to compensate for a large number of severe learning disabilities. Eventually, she goes on to found a very successful network of schools devoted to the methodologies she used.

The basic concept is simple: the brain can change itself--rewire itself, so to speak. Often it needs only a little structured help to force it into making the new connections.

The implications of this new science are staggering. Imagine retraining the brains of the severely mentally disadvantaged--the learning disabled, the autistic...perhaps even the psychopath--so that they are able to function almost normally in society. Imagine the impact this new science may have on prison rehabilitation, special education, psychiatry, and rehabilitation therapy, to name but a few. This is a truly astonishing new frontier, and Doidge makes the concepts easy and enjoyable. I recommend this book highly.

Exciting new understanding of the brain written by 'true believer', May 28, 2008
This is a book that my men's book club enjoyed. I also enjoyed the book, but found the author to be a bit of true believer - if what he claims is true most every case of autism, paralysis, tinitis, and other neurological disorders can be fixed by taking advantage of the new understanding that the brain can create new routes and perhaps new nerves. The range of impact of this approach is staggering and will have implications for many years to come. The topics covered include sexual attraction, social skills, 'itches' of amputated limbs, fetishism, spatial reasoning, stroke recovery, feelings from phantom limbs, pain of phantom limbs, pornography addiction, cognitive decline, OCD, and even blindness. As you can tell, I found the information of various cases exciting and offering great promise, but I also found the lack of a balanced presentation by the author to be disconcerting.

Good Book but Definitely Not an Intro to Neuroscience, August 29, 2008
For decades now there has been a longstanding feud between biologists and psychologists on how the human brain forms and develops -- otherwise known as the nature versus nurture debate. Evolutionary biology teaches us that genes is destiny, and with his book the Canadian psychiatrist Norman Doidge makes his case for individual agency and cultural influences.

Like Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, & Steel" Dr. Doidge's book is not original research but rather a synthesis and summary from the frontiers of brain science. Supplemented with case studies "The Brain that Changes Itself" is about neuroplasticity, which argues that the brain is "plastic," or organic and malleable. For hundreds of years, thanks to thinkers like Rene Descartes, scientists have thought of the brain as mechanical, certain functions localized to certain sectors in this machine -- over time it rusts, with no chance of regeneration. Thanks to decades of research by a brave few who dared to defy their mainstream bethren and to the invention of brain scans neuroplasticity is now the accepted view.

The good news about neuroplasticity is that the brain you have is the brain you make it. New external stimuli (such as learning a new language) causes new neural connections in the brain (the "neurons that fire together wire together" rule of neuroplasticity). Often when we're learning a new language or skill after some fast improvement in the early stages we reach a plateau where we seem to have no improvement at all. Then after a while we suddenly make a great leap. That's because it takes time (as measured by nights of good sleep) for these neural connections to consolidate themselves but once they do we can move onto the next level. Of course if we don't keep on practising this skill these connections will weaken (the "use it or lose it" rule of plasticity) because space in the brain is, after all, limited.

Individual agency over our brains gives great hope to those who suffer from aging and brain damage. Scientists have developed brain exercises on the computer to help the elderly maintain a sharp and alert mind, and help stroke victims restore once lost cognitive functions.

The bad news is that the brain you have is the brain that you make it, and unfortunately most of us choose the path of least resistance and decide not to use it at all. As Dr. Doidge explains the plastic paradox means that exposing yourself to new stimuli can make the brain flexible but choosing to stay within your comfort zone will also make the brain rigid. Learning is fast and furious when we're kids but as we reach adulthood the brain becomes less plastic, making learning more difficult, and instead of choosing to learn most of us choose merely to rely on our current belief system. And when the world challenges this belief system we choose to ignore the world, and if forced we'll opt to fight the world. Thus, the plastic brain that allows us to learn new languages can also paradoxically make us intolerant and racist.

Indeed, as Dr. Doidge warns us, the individuals that he profiles who have managed to change themselves have done so because they make a honest and hard commitment to change themselves. Dr. Doidge's patients went into psychotherapy (which operates from the principles of neuroplasticity) to discover how trauma created unhealthy neural connections, and how through discussion, self-analysis, and will-power to create new neural connections. But this process is painful and costly and takes many years.

And it's so hard because the brain is so adept at protecting us. When we suffer a physical injury the brain will actually decide on what the appropriate level of pain we feel is. And when we're traumatized when we're young (for example, our mother dies or we're sexually abused) the brain will often decide to not convert this experience into long-term memory, and build defenses to disassociate ourselves from the possible pain of further trauma. The net effect is that our hippocampus -- the area of our frontal lobe that transfers experience into long-term memory, and thus what governs our ability to learn -- will shrink, thereby giving a scientific explanation to why adult victims of childhood trauma seem so adolescent and immature.

Neuroplasticity offers hope though: love. It seems that our neural network will automatically become more flexible in two critical periods of our adulthood: when we fall in love, and when we have children. Presumably it's because in both instances we need to urgently learn a new skillset to match the two most important circumstances we could find ourselves in. So being in love with someone does allow you to change who you are. Of course, being the circumspect doctor, Dr. Doidge reminds us that if we find ourselves in love with the wrong person we can change for the worst as well, seeing our confidence and healthy attitude suddenly shatter.

I'm not sure how Dr. Doidge would view my summary of his book, because I've taken great liberty in summarizing it. It's a pithy book and there's really a lot of refreshing and insightful material in the book but I'm not happy about the writing style -- which seems rushed and choppy to me -- and the organization, which hurts the clarity and effectiveness of the book. I've read quite a lot on the workings of the brain so I could follow through most chapters but I think a novice will have a particularly hard time reading this book. For a great introduction to how the mind works I suggest watching the BBC documentary series "The Human Series," hosted by Robert Winston -- possibly the greatest documentary series ever made.

Unhappy porn addicts, check out chapter 4, January 8, 2010
Doidge's chapter on acquired sexual tastes is much needed for today's heavy porn users, some of whom are experiencing miserable unexpected side effects from their Internet porn habits. He addresses familiar symptoms like desensitization to normal sex, erectile dysfunction, escalation to watching things the viewer doesn't even like just to climax, and the deterioration of relationships.

Without moralizing Doidge explains that, "Pornographers promise healthy pleasure and relief from sexual tension, but what they often deliver is addiction, tolerance, and an eventual decrease in pleasure." He makes the interesting point that if mankind's attraction to porn were purely the product of millions of years of evolution, tastes would be similar and wouldn't change over time. Instead,

"Hardcore pornography now explores the world of perversion, while softcore is now what hardcore was a few decades ago. ... When pornographers boast that they are pushing the envelope by introducing new, harder themes, what they don't say is that they must, because their customers are building up a tolerance to the content."

So if you want to understand the mechanics of how you (or your beloved) got hooked, this book is useful. Unfortunately, Doidge's patients were apparently mated men, and he seems to underestimate the difficultry of withdrawal from porn addiction for single guys whose addiction has resulted in social isolation. Single men need lots of social contact and support during the lengthy, often agonizing, withdrawal required to unhook from Internet porn use. (See "The Road To Excess" [...]) Still, Doidge's book offers hope just by virtue of explaining what has happened in guilt-free terms, and can motivate an unhappy user to face the challenge of withdrawal.

Seriously flawed, November 2, 2009
The most fascinating thing about this book is the nearly complete lack of honest critical response to Doidge's book.

Doidge, a Freudian psychoanalyst, has no training in neurobiology, and prior to this book has published next to nothing relevant to the topic. He makes two fundamental errors in the way he tells his story.

The first of these is the division he makes between "localizationists" and "neuroplasticians". No one working in neuroscience would take seriously the straw man position that Doidge puts forth for localizationists, that there is "one location, one function" and that the brain operates as an unchangeable machine. It is one of the most fundamental axioms of neuroscience that neural changes underlie any learning mechanism. No one would seriously postulate that brains *don't* change a great deal during the life of an organism. Even those involved in the practice of understanding how functions are localized (e.g., speech in the left hemisphere) would not suggest that there is anything special or unchangeable about the physical location, that this location couldn't change after brain injury. Mainstream neuroscience, not a marginalized fringe, has long been aware of the adaptations and plasticity that can happen after a stroke or other brain damage. Doidge seriously misrepresents himself as the champion of a movement.

The second error is the implication that brains are infinitely malleable. He presents a cherry-picked set of case studies and select experiments that might suggest that this is the case, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest exactly the opposite conclusion. Doidge even goes as far as to intimate that any neurological condition can be fixed with the right training. Autism, dyslexia, maybe even Alzheimer's. This is seriously misleading at best.

One of the traps that Doidge falls into is the excessive use of "brainspeak". Many of the examples and implications that he talks about are behavioral, and a brain description is really not the appropriate level. After a while, the term "brain map" has lost a good deal of it's punch as it's applied to anything at all. He suggests that Freud was ahead of his time because, in essence, psychotherapy is "changing your brain maps". Well, yes. But so is any learning at all; there's no privileged place for psychoanalysis. In essence, Doidge is trying to convince you that evidence for brain plasticity should let you know that YOUR brain (and life) can be changed. But in many ways the brainspeak is an unnecessary diversion. The world is full of stories of personal triumph, and those enough are evidence that personal triumph is possible. ... Read more

Editorial Review

“Over the past four decades no reporter has critiqued the American South with such evocative sensitivity and bedrock honesty as Curtis Wilkie.”
—Douglas Brinkley
 
The Fall of the House of Zeus tells the story of Dickie Scruggs, arguably the most successful plaintiff's lawyer in America. A brother-in-law of Trent Lott, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Scruggs made a fortune taking on mass tort lawsuits against “Big Tobacco” and the asbestos industries. He was hailed by Newsweek as a latter day Robin Hood, and portrayed in the movie, The Insider, as a dapper aviator-lawyer. Scruggs’ legal triumphs rewarded him lavishly, and his success emboldened both his career maneuvering and his influence in Southern politics--but at a terrible cost, culminating in his spectacular fall, when he was convicted for conspiring to bribe a Mississippi state judge. 
 
Here Mississippi is emblematic of the modern South, with its influx of new money and its rising professional class, including lawyers such as Scruggs, whose interests became inextricably entwined with state and national politics.
 
Based on extensive interviews, transcripts, and FBI recordings never made public, The Fall of the House of Zeus exposes the dark side of Southern and Washington legal games and power politics: the swirl of fixed cases, blocked investigations, judicial tampering, and a zealous prosecution that would eventually ensnare not only Scruggs but his own son, Zach, in the midst of their struggle with insurance companies over Hurricane Katrina damages. In gripping detail, Curtis Wilkie crafts an authentic legal thriller propelled by a “welter of betrayals and personal hatreds,” providing large supporting parts for Trent Lott and Jim Biden, brother of then-Senator Joe, and cameos by John McCain, Al Gore, and other DC insiders and influence peddlers.
 
Above all, we get to see how and why the mighty fail and fall, a story as gripping and timeless as a Greek tragedy. ... Read more

Reviews

The antithesis of Atticus Finch, October 25, 2010
Growing up in the 1960s, I remember my love of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The novel that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of publication portrayed Atticus Finch as an attorney fighting injustice and bigotry in America's south. Played by Gregory Peck, Finch became a shining example for many of my generation who chose the law as a noble and honorable profession. One-half century later, the legal profession is no longer viewed with the same sense of inspiration. Lawyers, especially trial lawyers, are now considered to be greedy, evil and dishonest practitioners who will take any client for a fee, and are frequent targets of political and media scorn.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS by Curtis Wilkie tells the story of Dickie Scruggs, an attorney whose career represents the antithesis of the fictional Atticus Finch. Both were products of the Deep South, but Scruggs stood for everything that Finch abhorred. Wilkie, a reporter for more than 40 years and currently a professor at the University of Mississippi, was familiar with Scruggs and many of his contemporaries. After Scruggs was indicted by a federal grand jury, Wilkie began working on this book. He interviewed Scruggs, his son Zach, prosecutors, FBI agents and many attorneys. The result is a fast-paced drama that readers might well confuse with a John Grisham novel.

Wilkie's narrative is far more than the story of Dickie Scruggs, however. It is a tale of the modern South, its political past and present, new money, rising professional class and richly held traditions. All of these ingredients are vividly portrayed to weave a story that has substantial parts good and evil as well as success and failure.

Were it not for his eventual downfall, the life of Scruggs would be a modern-day Horatio Alger story. Scruggs, who grew up poor in Mississippi, once remarked, "We were so poor that if I hadn't been a boy, I wouldn't have had anything to play with." He served in the Navy and graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School. After a brief stint as an insurance defense lawyer, he opened his own office and won his first major case handling asbestos injury claims for workers in the Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. He also married the sister of powerful U.S. Senator Trent Lott. Although Scruggs was an active Democrat, the political connections of the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate were helpful.

Beyond asbestos, Scruggs represented Mississippi in its litigation against the tobacco industry. His legal fees were in the hundreds of millions. Suits against drug manufacturers and litigation surrounding Hurricane Katrina followed. Mississippi became a haven for plaintiff's lawyers who did their best to cultivate a plaintiff-friendly judiciary with enormous political contributions.

Like most successful trial lawyers, Scruggs was not shy about his success. He led a lavish life, built a multi-million-dollar home, and was a major contributor to his alma mater, Ole Miss. But his achievements brought him enemies. Ultimately he was indicted for attempting to bribe Mississippi state court judges. He eventually pled guilty and is presently incarcerated in federal prison, due to be released in 2015.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS is an honest and thorough portrayal of a man who had great success as an attorney at a steep price. Anyone interested in the law and its interplay with industry and politics will find this to be an important and compelling book. America's national pastime is the law, and fans of that pastime will enjoy this noteworthy work.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

Curtis Wilkie at his best, November 22, 2010
Curtis Wilkie has had a remarkable career as a journalist, from his days as a cub reporter at the Clarksdale Press Register to his work for the Boston Globe and now as a professor at Ole Miss. He is a born story teller and the Fall of the House of Zeus is a wonderful work of contemporary history. Unlike some of the other reviewers on Amazon, I would not compare him to Grisham -- Wilkie is a far better story teller. In addition, he tells a remarkable story about Dick Scruggs, making Scruggs into a human being, not quite Atticus Finch but a sympathetic human being, with real virtues. Congratulations to Wilkie for telling a remarkable story about corruption in politics, about Mississippi, about humanity.

If it were not true, it would be hard to believe, November 21, 2010
As a Mississippian who now lives in Georgia, I was mesmerized by a story that included so many people who were so familiar to me. As I read I continually wondered how the writer could know so many intimate details about the nefarious dealings in the shadows of the legal community. Although his research was impressive, the amount of detail could be intimidating; but he tells the story in true "thriller" fashion in spite of the outcome being obvious from the very beginning.

Having sat on one of Ed Peters' juries, I thought he was a prosecutor above reproach, only to learn that he was just as sleazy and underhanded as the other players in the complicated money-swap that resulted from the lucrative class action cases. And yet, Wilkie gave a sympathetic slant to the Scruggs family that had me feeling very sorry for Zach and Diane. By the end, I was very sad that the Mississippi I love has been besmirched by people who could have been great leaders.

for fans of legal thrillers, November 29, 2010
"The Fall of the House of Zeus" by Curtis Wilkie tells the story of Dick Scruggs, a lawyer from Mississippi who comes frfom humble beginnings, achieves his wildest dreams, and nearly loses everything in a legal scandal that ends in his imprisonment.

First off, I was not familiar with Scruggs when I picked up this book, but enjoyed legal thrillers enough to be interested in a real story. And this story pretty much lived up to my expectations.
Scruggs grows up in Mississippi, an only child who lives with his mother. Early on, Scruggs yearns to succeed and is lucky enough to get accepted into the "right" college, where his social circles are greatly enhanced and he is exposed to kids from wealthier families. Shortly afterwards he spends a couple years as a navy pilot, until he decides to go to law school. After graduating, Scruggs uses a connection--a senator friend of his mother's--to get his first two law firm jobs, but both end badly. Scruggs is fired from his first job, because he stands up to a partner who mistreated him. Then Scruggs quits his second law firm job after it's clear that he will never be fairly compensated for his efforts. And that's when Scruggs decides to start his own law firm.

His first success comes when he links up the individual asbestos lawsuits--coming from former employees of a local shipyard company--into a class action, which transforms him into a millionaire. Then Scruggs uses his winning strategy to successfully bring a class action law suit against the big tobacco companies, suing on behalf of states whose government healthcare programs financed the medical expenses of ex-smokers. And just when Scruggs seems untouchable and on the brink of a third class action suit, this time against the insurance companies who denied coverage post Hurricane Katrina, disaster strikes.

If you're a fan of legal thrillers like I am, then you will probably enjoy this book, two thirds of which focuses on behind-the-scenes actions that ultimately lead to Scruggs' indictment. This is not the fairy tale story of Robin Hood, but rather a cautionary tale of too much greed, power, and betrayal.

Stranger than fiction, December 11, 2010
If this were a novel, the byzantine plot line would be hard to believe. Wilkie starts slowly, building a solid foundation for the quickening pace which by the end has the reader unable to put the book down. Other reviewers have compared the plot line to Grisham. I say, Grisham should eat his heart out and so should Scott Turow. Zeus is far more exciting than anything either has written. This former Mississippian thought New York politics was complicated and sharp-edged but not compared to the world so ably depicted by Wilkie. Anyone interested in politics, law, the South, and/or a good read should not miss this book.

Interesting Read For Those Interested, December 3, 2010
Fun read about the rise and, more so (obviously) the fall of incredibly successful class action lawyer Dickie Scruggs. The author writes impartially about the subject, which is actually not as clear cut as I had previously thought. It was fairly fast paced, especially when the book turns from his background to the crime, investigation, and ultimate outcome. A great book for lawyers interested in some light reading.

Better than Grisham!, December 23, 2010
Although this is nonfiction, it reads just like a Grisham novel ... indeed if you like legal nonfiction such as a Civil Action, or Erin Brockovich, you will enjoy this book!

Well written, November 29, 2010
Excellent capture of excess gone wrong. While some might simply attribute this novel to "just Mississippi" the real story is that scenarios like this serve as a remainder these stories are playing out throughout our country. Money does corrupt.

My thoughts on this book, November 12, 2010
I am from a small Mississippi town that is 30 minutes from Oxford. My daughter and son both graduated from Ole Miss. My son and his wife live there now. Many names and places I am very familiar with. As a matter of fact, I know some of the people mentioned in this book. Dickie Scruggs law firm should be renamed--"Dewey, Cheatem, and How!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Reviews

good...but lacking. an incomplete edition., January 11, 2006
While this story is truly an essential writing of Dostoevsky, it lacks the appropriate context to be read as sold in this copy. If you are interested in reading "The Grand Inquisitor" without reading the rest of The Brothers Karamazov, I would recommend the Guignon edition, sold for only a little more. This work includes the two chapters preceeding "The Grand Inquisitor" as well as what Dostoevsky intended as the refutation for this tale, "The Russian Monk," which follows this legend. Dostoevsky did not intend for this to be separated from the book as a whole, but I think it could be legitimately done when read with a little more context than is present in this copy. Additionally, this alternate edition includes a very complete introduction by Charles Guignon, which is much more informative than the brief one by Anne Fremantle provided in this copy.

It is important to remember that "The Grand Inquistor" was not Dostoevsky's final answer in The Brothers Karamazov. Reading this edition alone provides a flawed view of both Dostoevsky's writing and philosophy and The Brothers Karamazov.

I would recommend reading the book as a whole instead [and I particularly recommend the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation for that: it is much more accurate to the original Russian]. Or at a minimum, reading the other edition of this book. Either way, you will get a more complete glimpse to the genius of Dostoevsky, which this fails to provide.

The Grand Inquisitor is truly an essential read, but not in this presentation of it.

Powerful, provocative, and more relevant today than ever!, October 25, 1997
This is the best short piece I've ever read. This fictional dialogue between the head of the inquisition and Jesus is more than just a metaphorical commentary on the debate over whether or not humans willingly give up their existential freedom in order to avoid the sometimes awesome responsibility that accompanies it. Dostoyevsky's classic also serves as a powerful critique of institutional religion and, by implication, all institutions (gov't, education, corporations, welfare system, etc.) who offer "bread" in exchange for the sacrifice of free choice. A "must read" for educators, social scientists, politicians, organizational consultants, policymakers, and corporate executives.

The Grand Inquisitor reveals much about Human nature, November 16, 1998
The Grand Inquisitor argues that the coming of the Messiah during the Spanish Inquisition is a hindrance to the Catholic Church and to humanity as a whole. He explains, ?nothing has ever been more insupportable for a man and a human society than freedom.? The returning of the Messiah can only disrupt what the Catholic Church has done to rid humanity of this cursed freedom that God has bestowed upon humans. The Inquisitor goes on to list three temptations that the Catholic Church has remedied. ?The first temptation: the problem of bread.? The Inquisitor feels that it is better for the Church to give human society the gift of human bread -- declaring falsely that it is heavenly bread -- than it is for humans to take the actual heavenly bread. ?And we alone shall feed them in Thy name, declaring falsely that it is in Thy name. Oh, never never can they feed themselves without us.? ?The second temptation: the problem of conscience.? The Inquisitor says, ?Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering.? He proposes that the Church has successfully lifted this freedom and hence the suffering. ?The third temptation: the problem of unity? The Inquisitor goes on to say, ?But with us all will be happy and will no more rebel nor destroy one another as under Thy freedom.? The Church provides unity for the people. All of these temptations have been lifted from the human conscience by the church. ?We have corrected thy work and have founded it upon miracle, mystery and authority.? Thus, the Messiah has no duty coming back to this world and will be destroyed, as a heretic would be. This book gives many insights to human nature. It does not answer any questions, it simply asks the right questions. All who have at one time questioned human nature should read this novella.

Yes, Read the whole thing!, May 8, 2005
I don't see how you can isolate "The Grand Inquisitor" chapter from the novel in which it is situated, The Brothers Karamazov. I think that knowing who is telling the story, who he is telling the story too, what the story means to each of these people, and what the consequences of what the Grand Inquisitor have to say, are ALL important; important because it is a great novel and important in understanding the grand inquisitor!!!!!!! My suggestion: Buy The Brothers Karamazov instead of this. It's excellent.

Perfect edition!, February 5, 2010
There are some books that everyone should read, and this is one of them. The idea was so fresh for its time and remains intriguing to this day. Whether or not it was Dostoevsky's intention to skewer the church, he certainly succeeded at doing so. He took the church's use of Jesus to achieve its ends to the next level by brilliantly constructing a tale that takes place during the Spanish Inquisition in which the church decides that a newly returned Jesus is wrongheaded and a hindrance to the church's power thirsty ways and condemns him to death. It's a brilliant work, full of truths, and excellent food for thought. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thought Provoking, July 8, 1998
Dostoevsky does a wonderful job portraying a tainted church (Spanish Inquisition and the catholic) in an effort to prove how important a pure religion is as well as a pure government and other authoratative institutions. His depiction of man's self-induced hopelessness in the work is a call for man to empower himself through his faith, something the prisoners of the society under the Inquisition have not done. The final action between Christ and The Grand Inquisitor is not ambiguous, but in fact shows the man that God is all-encompassing and all-forgiving.

A Story witnin a Story - One of the Greatest., October 18, 2009
When I first went to Russia, I was told by a Russian friend that Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" was required to understand the Russian. I read it and learned so much. I discovered in the chapter titled "The Grand Inquisitor," not only great writing, but as usual, a "third side" of the Russian coin that I always talk about. For if the author was giving Ivan, the narrator of this chapter, a tirade against the Catholic Church, which seems obvious as it was a tale set in the Spanish Inquisition. But it was and is something much greater than that. It was also a veiled attack on the autocracy of Czarist Russia and a prescient view of causes of the violent revolution that followed shortly after this was written. But even beyond that, it is a clever and grand statement for the silent omnipotence of the Christ.

In Ivan's story (he being an atheist) to his brother Alyosha (he being a wannabe priest) the Grand Inquisitor in Spain sees a returned Jesus walking out of a city having healed a girl. The Inquisitor orders Jesus arrested and then visits him in jail. The wizened Grand Inquisitor lectures the silent Jesus on the folly of freedom and individual choice and says to him, "There are three forces, the only forces that are able to conquer and hold captive forever the conscience of these weak rebels (the people) for their own happiness--these forces are: miracle, mystery, and authority." As the monologue continues, the whole rationale for an autocracy (be it religious or political) is explained. Also growingly obvious is the fact that Jesus, in his silence, is winning the argument. In the end, Jesus is set free.

My post-Soviet experience in living in Russia and doing business there I at times ran into this mentality: the idea that good, if any, will come from some unexpected outside source (miracle); that man is not ordained to be responsible for his own welfare and progress (mystery); and that guidance and protection come only from constant dependence on and obedience to someone else (authority). Today that situation is changing with the young, but it still pops up at times.

Yes, I agree with some of the other reviewers that in is better understood as part of the whole novel (hence the 4-stars.) But, it still has a stand-alone lesson to teach us all.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author, "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia"

Very Interesting Premise, October 11, 2009
I loved the premise of the Grand Inquisitor. There is something all so curious about what Jesus was thinking during the Grand Inquisition. It is also interesting to see Dostoevsky's perspective of the church and human nature as they surrender their freedom to the church so easily. It is a very interesting read.

The Grand Inquisitor is a Russian Russian story, January 25, 2006
The 'Grand Inquisitor ' is the central chapter of Dostoevsky's great work , "The Brothers Karamazov". In it the brother of intellect Ivan tells a story to the saintly Karamazov brother, Alyosha. He tells of how Jesus came once to Spain in the time of the Inquistion .He tells how Jesus performed a series of miracles which caused the people to cry out for him. He tells how the 'Grand Inquisitor ' whose exposition fills a good share of the text, tells why Christ must be banished and the Grand Inquisitor must continue to rule. The essence of his message is that the people cannot endure freedom. They are not really able to bear responsibility for themselves and must be fed, spiritually protected by an authoritarian power, the Grand Inquisitor and the Church.
This assumption that the people cannot bear their own freedom seems to me very Russian. It is I think quite difficult for an American who supposes that freedom is natural and most desirable, to understand this.
Dostoevsky as usual in powerful, dramatic, psychologically penetrating prose creates in this work one of World Literature's great chapters.
A number of readers have rightly commented that it is preferable to read this chapter in the context of the whole novel. But it too can be read and understood on its own terms.
One more point which comes to mind is that here the Church is made to be the instrument of interfering with true freedom. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The paperback edition of Daniel H. Pink's groundbreaking book, A Whole New Mind.

Described by reviewers as "an audacious and powerful work,""a profound read,""right on the money," and "a miracle," the book reveals the six abilities individuals must master in an outsourced and automated world.Several publications named A Whole New Mind one of the best business books of 2005.It is now being translated into 12 languages -- and will appear across Europe and Asia in 2006.

For this updated and expanded edition, Pink has added dozens of new tools, tips, and exercises to help individuals and organizations sharpen their right-brain capacities.Find out why Thomas L. Friedman, author of the mega-bestseller The World is Flat,calls A Whole New Mind his "favorite business book." ... Read more

Reviews

Our emerging Age is the Conceptual Age
Dan Pink's book "A Whole New Mind" has joined my `must have' list for my MBA students. It joins "Cluetrain Manifesto", "Rules for Revolutionaries", and "Crossing the Chasm."
5 star reviews that have preceded me, have explained the outline and thrust of the book quite well. I concur with them.
One highlight item that I would add, is when Pink went to India and met brilliant MBA's that make $14,000 per year, and enjoy a lifestyle at relatively 10x in many measures to the US worker at $25,000.
It is refreshing to have a journalist put names, and faces, and dreams to some of the emerging high middle class of India.

Pink is not being a 21st Century `Cassandra' by detailing his three "A's" of Asia, automation, and abundance. His early chapters lay out the threat and opportunity of Asia creating tens of millions of middle class workers and entrepreneurs, in India and China particularly. His general data and postulations for automation and abundance are spot on.

But rather than write a book like Reich or Thurow, demanding protectionism, Pink devotes roughly 2/3's of his book on what a thoughtful US or EU citizen should do, or assist their children in doing or learning to do.
In the later half of the book, Pink outlines and defines how Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning will give "First World" citizens the acuity to respond to globalization, rapid technological change, and changing demographics.

I was very fortunate to meet Dan Pink in Phoenix, the week beginning his book tour. His speech for 80 to 100 Phoenix based designers and graphic artists, was terrific.
His line of the `MFA is the new MBA' was the key tag line, that caused many of the artists in the room, and all the `quants' in the room to recognize they have a `designed' and collaborative future together.
It is my hope that this book will have the wide audience that Alvin Toffler's `Future Shock' had, decades ago. Pink's device of the `Conceptual Age' following the `Information Age' might just earn him a citation in the pattern of Tom Wolfe, who labeled the 1970's as the "Me-Decade".
I highly recommend the book. As a graduation gift for high school, college, and graduate students, I recommend it even more.

Why right brain people MAY be in demand in the future
>
This book, like Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself is written for people who live in an ivory tower, a gated community, or a corporate palace. It is completely out of touch with the 90% of humanity that is comprised of the Working Poor in America, or the destitute and disenfranchised everywhere else. For that it loses one star.

However, and this is high praise from me, it is a "must read" for any knowledge worker, and I am particularly recommending it to the new breed of warrior in the U.S. Government, the Information Operations specialist. A **major** part of our government's failure at foreign policy and national security--including its failure at homeland security and its mis-steps in the global war on terror, going back to the Viet-Nam era, can be traced to a combination of excessive reliance on "metrics" (remember the "body counts?") diluted by ideological preferences absent historical or cultural contexts.

This book, while simplistic, is a superb over-view of the alternative methods of **perception**, integration, understanding, and outreach--empathy and strategic communication to others in terms they can "receive," and for that reason I consider it a "must read."

The six senses, design, story-telling (see Steve Dunning), symphony, Empathy (none to be found in this White House), Play (intertwing work and play, mixing it up to energize both), and Meaning, are well covered by this book, and in a way that makes sense, where the value of listening is clear to the reader.

It is a well-put-together book, with the right amount of white space, good illustrations, good notes and recommended readings, and over-all a pleasant and instructive contribution to my library and my reflections.

Right Brain Epiphany
A Whole New Mind is the kind of book that many life coaches will love. Pink presents ideas that will reassure us we can have fun while reaching success. Creativity wins. Meaning matters more than money. Your job (and even your industry) could be automated or exported out of existence.

This book reminds me of newspaper articles about "new jobs for aging boomers," where the fine print describes a few boomers in exceptional circumstances who continued their jobs, rather than moved to new ones. Or we get warned about "shortage of management talent," but thousands of managers can't find jobs.

Similarly Pink optimistically reports evidence that we're moving to a more creative, right-brained society. Executives attend seminars on humor and story-telling. Design is used to differentiate me-too products.

But for the most part, corporate jobs and rewards continue to accrue to the left-brained. Maybe a few top execs at a few companies go to seminars on story-telling. The rest of the employees get measured on hard numbers and are lucky if they find time to tell bedtime stories to their kids.

Another example: Pink identifies medical training aimed to create kindlier, more empathic doctors. But in reality, once physicians are forced into managed care systems with mandated 7-minute consultations, they're lucky to find time for a civil "Good morning."

Pink's book seems targeted to a comfortable segment of the population -- those who have done well but are just now feeling restless and ready for more meaningful lives. They want to believe the world is moving in the direction Pink describes.

But they're a minority and they don't seem to have a lot of power. Most of our institutions remain stuck in 19th century hierarchical left-brained systems: education, government, health care, justice and more. The Wall Street Journal just reported (October 14, 2006) a trend in philanthropy favoring disease and hunger, not the arts.

I really liked Pink's book Free Agent Nation so I was optimistic for A Whole New Mind. I suspect many who are forced into the Free Agent Nation yearn for a world that rewards the Whole New Mind. Alas...we might do better to practice creativity in what's left of our free time rather than try to imagine a right-brain dominated world at work.

A Vision for an Improved Way of Solving Problems
Ever since Peter Drucker pointed out that the future performance of organizations in the developed world would be in the hands of knowledge workers, we've been blessed with an understanding that the dominant economic focus can shift rapidly into new directions. Prior to that, the industrial age had lasted for over two centuries. The agricultural age that preceded it lasted several thousand years, and the hunter-gatherer age had lasted even longer.

What is the conceptual age? It's a time when due to applying all of our brain's many functions and the many advances of technology that we enjoy, a person can imagine totally different ways to serve and entertain others. Imagination is the limit.

A number of people have preceded Mr. Pink's message in partial ways such as those who have written about the entertainment economy, works about serious play, cataloguers of storytelling best practices and those who consider emotional intelligence.

But I think Mr. Pink's concept is both bigger and more accurate than that which has preceded this book. Most methods of making improvements only harness parts of our capabilities and serve only parts of our needs. Anyone who has sat in a traffic jam recently realizes that. What good is s beautiful sports car if traffic is bumping along at 10 mph? Put that same driver into a Grand Prix simulator, and the person comes alive in a way that's almost beyond belief.

Mr. Pink points out six key opportunities to supplement traditional, linear thinking. These are design, story, symphony (integration of disparate elements), empathy, play and meaning.

I think, however, that Mr. Pink is wrong about these being the primarily undeveloped senses. Given what I've read about brain research, I wouldn't be surprised if aroma, physical touch, musical stimulation, simulation and directed meditation didn't end up being as, if not more, important.

Some will be disappointed that Mr. Pink doesn't give them a manual to operate in the new age. Given how little we know about how to engage one another in these other ways, time will have to pass before we have what amounts to instructions. In the meantime, Mr. Pink does a good job of pointing towards experiences and books that can help with whole brain development.

If you think the problem with the economy is that we have too few engineers, you should read this book. It'll take you ahead into a future you need to start preparing for now.

To give you a sense of how important I think Mr. Pink's concept is, I made this book the focus of this week's briefing for The Billionaire Entrepreneurs' Master Mind. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Winner of the American Book Award and the Oliver C. Cox
Anti-Racism Award of The American Sociological Association

Americans have lost touch with their history, and in Lies My Teacher Told Me Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying eighteen leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past.

In this revised edition, packed with updated material, Loewen explores how historical myths continue to be perpetuated in today's climate and adds an eye-opening chapter on the lies surrounding 9/11 and the Iraq War. From the truth about Columbus's historic voyages to an honest evaluation of our national leaders, Loewen revives our history, restoring the vitality and relevance it truly possesses.

Thought provoking, nonpartisan, and often shocking, Loewen unveils the real America in this iconoclastic classic beloved by high school teachers, history buffs, and enlightened citizens across the country. ... Read more

Reviews

Why kids hate history (but shouldn't have to), May 5, 2009
This is a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks they learned about U.S. history in high school. Loewen spent eleven years reviewing the 12 most commonly-used U.S. history textbooks and found all to be seriously wanting. Textbook publishers want to avoid controversy (so, apparently, do many school systems), so they feed students a white-washed, non-controversial, over-simplified version of this country's history and its most important historical figures.

To make his point, Loewen emphasizes the "dark side" of U.S. history, because that's the part that's missing from our education system. So, for example, we never learned that Woodrow Wilson ran one of the most racist administrations in history and helped to set back progress in race relations that had begun after the Civil War. Helen Keller's socialist leanings and political views are omitted and we only learn that she overcame blindness and deafness. John Brown is portrayed as a wild-eyed nut who ran amok until he was caught and hung, rather than an eloquent and dedicated abolitionist who uttered many of the same words and thoughts that Lincoln later expressed.

Loewen's book vividly illustrates the maxim that "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Ignorance of our real history also renders us incapable of fully understanding the present and coming to grips with the issues of our time. For example, from the Civil War until around 1890, real racial progress was underway in the United States and civil rights laws were Federally enforced in the South. The military was integrated and former slaves had the right to vote, serve on juries and as witnesses in trials, own property and operate businesses. They also received mandatory public education, which was automatically extended to white children for the first time in the south. But, between 1890 and 1920, the Feds gradually disengaged and allowed southern racist governments to strip these rights from blacks and relegate them to virtual non-citizenship. Only within the last half-century has that policy been gradually reversed, again through Federal intervention. This history casts current racial attitudes and issues in a different light than most of our high school graduates are likely to see unless they are taught the complete history of their country, warts and all.

Despite some of the reviews posted here, it is clear to me that Loewen is NOT out to bash the United States or offer up an equally one-dimensional, negative version of its history. He gives a balanced account of many of the figures whose weaknesses he exposes. Thus, we learn that, although Columbus was an unimaginative fortune hunter, a racist tyrant and slave trader, he (and Spain) were not much different than most people at the time. He points out that all societies, including Native Americans and Africans, kept slaves, for example (the very antithesis of "revisionist" or "post modern" approaches) and that it is unfair to single out Columbus as singularly evil.

The problem is that our kids never learn both sides of these stories, so history becomes a bland repetition of non-confrontational "events" that appear to have had no or vague causes. Historical events are not related to issues that people disputed or serious conflicts that placed them at irreversable odds with one another, the very stuff that drives history. No wonder kids are bored and disinterested. They are left with the distorted impression that, down deep, the United States always means well (rather than acting in its own best interests, like any other country) and, in the end, is always "right." With that view of our history, these students become putty in the hands of politicians who appeal to that dumbed-down, distorted view.

Loewen has presented fair accounts of key events in our history and indicated why our high school graduates know and care so little about it. He also suggests ways to correct this serioius shortcoming and every American ought to applaud that.

AW

Excellent content, excruciating delivery, April 6, 2010
My initial impression of this was very positive. I was appalled at how much I did not know of my own history. Worse, I am dismayed at how much my ignorance affects my understanding of current affairs. The Haitian response to recent hurricane relief efforts makes much more sense now that I know how recently we invaded that country. I was grateful and enthusiastic at getting a new perspective on history.

The fascinating historical content, however, was undercut by the repetitive and pedantic delivery. High school history textbooks are inadequate - okay, I got that after the first fifteen times. I don't need to be beaten over the head with endless quotes proving and reproving the point.

This was not so much a corrective history as a diatribe against history textbook authors. Rants have a place but that's not what I hoped to get from the text.

I also found the author to be a bit hypocritical in his criticisms. He repeatedly accuses textbook authors of having a single reason (heroficiation) for their biased and inadequate coverage. He never strays from his own narrative that the textbook authors are bigots. He never acknowledges that, like history, the real story is probably more complex - that a textbook may be inadequate without the textbook author being evil.

For example, he repeatedly berates the textbooks for oversimplifying and removing controversy. He argues persuasively that textbooks need more and deeper content. That's a wonderful ideal - if you are unconstrained by space, teaching capacity or time. Real textbooks have practical limits on the feasible size and scope and are written for a specific audience. These are high-school texts, after all, not graduate-level material. The material is meant to be digested in one class of one year by students with a reading level that's... Well, that's a different rant. My point is that history textbooks must take the available time, reading level and cognitive skills of the students as a given. Some simplification is essential. High school physics textbooks include lots of simplifying assumptions and reduced detail which college texts then revisit, correct and expand upon. That doesn't make the high school versions evil or inadequate - merely appropriate to their respective audiences. The author of this seemingly endless rant never suggests how a teacher can realistically get through his proposed version of the material in the classtime available.

Could the high school textbook authors do a better job? Absolutely. Is this the recipe to doing it better? Hardly. This book defines the problem but offers little in the way of practical solution to the better teaching of history. Personally, I would have been much happier with a Cliff Notes version of this book that presented the historical content and context without all the editorializing about textbook failings.

Fantastic, August 15, 2008
I purchased this book years ago and I still have it. I purchased it after high school (catchy title - what can I say) and have been a history fan ever since. This book should be required reading. Who decided that dry facts and dates are what should comprise a history class? History becomes fun and fascinating when you move past the whitewashed versions of people and truly examine their motivation, inner demons and flaws. I have gone on to read a multitude of history books and continue to search for the soul in people who have accomplished things that aren't regulated to footnotes.

Fascinating History Demonstrating Limited Weak Public School Texts: Needs Some Postives, Not All Historical Warts, May 24, 2008
A very interesting book as the author's main premise is that many standard school history books provide superficial history and quite often only put a positive spin on all subjects whether actions by the government (Vietnam) or individuals such as Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson. For example, he debunks the importance of Columbus and explains why modern Native Americans despise Columbus as one who was very harsh to Indians he encountered and he documents that fairly well and he contrasts his facts with what is typically printed virtually as pabulum in several history books he quotes. Other contrasts include the image of John Brown as a violent religious fanatic in contrast to being a fervent abolitionist, Lincoln as doing what was politically expedient regarding race relations and slavery, Woodrow Wilson's support of the Klan and segregation of government employees, the post Civil War treatment of blacks in America that was frequently and geographically severe and the U.S. government's questionable involvement in Vietnam. A number of the points the author makes are fascinating and in particular the post Civil War race relations needs to be told as the "Jim Crow" laws were very harsh and discriminatory. The criticisms of the book lie in that it tends to be too negative and part of the culture of total destroying all heroes. The book would be much better served to discuss the relative positive points of those in our history with more balance. For example, Columbus was harsh to many Indians he encountered but most if not all the Conquistadors were extraordinary cruel to the Indians particularly Desoto. Columbus is not exempt from those cruelties but there is evidence that he may not have been directly involved in them certainly to the extent of others of his vain. The author does show some individuals very positively such as Helen Keller who's early modern controversial politics were deemed unworthy to mention. Lastly, I was more interested in the historical nuggets that the author writes about and became a little tired of the time out documentation of all the school books' with weak descriptions, I got the point early and would have preferred limited references to these public books as time went on as the history was much more interesting. This is a very good book but emphasizes too many of mankind's warts without balance, thus not for the faint of heart. A greater mix of human positives would have enhanced the book.

Needed by parents everywhere, October 11, 2009
This was an excellent book and I recommend it to anybody and everybody. I was a history minor in college, a business major, having decided not to teach history somewhere around my second year, I relegated my knowledge of history to something useful on trivia night. That is until the kids came around. I first realized there might be a problem with my son's education when he told me that Adolf Hitler had been a Genius, and that he had simply suffered from bad luck, later I heard that the Civil War wasn't about slavery, and even that Puritan settlers taught the Indians to farm and saved them from starvation...I had trouble believing that a teacher ever told my son such lies, and that he must be mistaken somehow; either way I began taking the education of my children much more seriously than our public schools do. In his book James Loewen takes on some of these myths, explains why they have persisted, and gives reasonable solutions for teachers and parents. He manages to present some new information (at least for me), and writes an extremely important critique of the textbook writing process and the approval process still used today. This book should be read by every parent and given as a gift to every teacher of History and Social Studies you can find. Teaching happy history doesn't make it so-lets teach our kids the truth so that they can engage the world with a clean slate.

An important book to read, but..., June 22, 2010
This is one of the books that changed the way I look at history and modern current events. So much of what I thought I knew about American History was overturned or cast in a new light, and some aspects of modern life make a lot more sense now. At times it can feel like you're getting beaten over the head with negativity, but if you can get past that you'll gain some valuable knowledge and insight. It's well worth the read.

Loewen makes a very good point that we shouldn't unthinkingly accept what textbooks teach us, but we shouldn't unthinkingly accept what Loewen teaches us either. He's not immune from his own historical misrepresentations and simplifications in service of making his point. I'm a liberal and his digs at Bush Sr. were tiresome even to me. The whole truth isn't here--the whole truth is best learned from multiple books, sources, and viewpoints. But, please don't let the above criticism stop you from reading. This book gives a great starting-off place for finding out more of the whole truth about American History.

The author's premise is good, August 7, 2009
The author does his best to encourage those who may have been discouraged by their high school history books to re-investigate this great subject. He has valid points, including the tendency to ethno-centrism, as well as a lack of honest discussion about the failures of the United States, in history textbooks. He also criticizes the tendency to use 'historical fiction' in textbooks as a teaching tool. While I believe that historical fiction is very valuable, I don't believe that that kind of subjectivism ought to be presented in textbooks.

My criticisms are that the author has a tendency to sway back to his sociological roots. At times he criticize the textbooks for not including enough sociology, which, as history textbooks, is not their purpose, in my opinion. He also writes from a left-wing viewpoint, which is acceptable as long as the reader recognizes the author's bias.

I recommend that you read this book to increase your knowledge about our great country, both its successes and failures. Just be aware of the author's subject and political viewpoints, and take everything with a grain of salt.

Making History Interesting, July 10, 2008
I want to focus on one particular aspect of this wonderful book; the description of the typical high school history textbooks. Looking back at the texts I realize that for an adult to even want to continue reading non-fiction after having to go through the bland, washed out, noncommital non narrative that is American high school history is a wonder in itself. He did a pretty good job of describing just how high school text books portray events and it's no wonder I never connected with the text; there was nothing to connect with.

American Textbooks Are Bad, December 15, 2010
Having used both American and British textbooks to teach history, I think that American textbooks are definitely wanting. I didn't even use a textbook that much when I taught in the states. I think that the book title was misleading. It's not so much "lies my teacher told me" but "omissions my teacher left out." If we take the already large American textbooks, and add all of the stuff that Loewen thinks we need to add, the book would weigh 30 pounds and take 5 years to get through. He even spends a good part at the beginning of the book complaining about how big textbooks are. I thought his book was very dry and boring even though I did learn a lot. I also think he goes too far in his point about trying to please everyone. The British textbooks I use now, hit on important topics no matter who they talk about or leave out in history. The textbooks in America try to please everyone so you have chapters on African civilizations that have little to do with our history because they are trying to please the African-Americans. Loewen's book mentions others that might have made it to America before Columbus (Phoenicians, British, Chinese, etc.) and says that we should teach about them so that those groups can feel good about themselves. The Phoenicians or Chinese possibly making it to America means nothing in our history. So why include it? The part on John Brown was also a little distorted. He glosses over John Brown's involvement in the killing of random people and the fact that he raided a federal armory. Can you imagine if someone today attacked a federal armory and said it was for a good reason? They would not be considered a hero, so why should John Brown? He does hit on Woodrow Wilson's racism, but that has to be left out of history books because Wilson was a big government, progressive and the Department of Ed wont allow bad things about him. I don't think that Loewen has any political motives in the topics he chooses to talk about but I also don't think he has a good solution to the problem that he presents at the beginning of his book. I think that American history should present the important points, even if they involve dead, white guys and leave out a minority group or two. If everyone stopped acting offended we could have good textbooks that focus on things of importance (and teach kids to think and form arguments), not these large monstrosities that talk about irrelevant people and events.

Good concept but could have been more interesting, August 28, 2010
This is an interesting concept and an especially good book for someone who likes history. After doing extensive research and reviewing 12 history text books, Loewen sets the record straight about everything from Columbus discovering American to Helen Keller to the First Thanksgiving and who were the real settlers in America. I agree with Loewen's premise that children today view history as boring because the text books leave out the interesting backdrops to give readers mere "sound bites" and that not only is history destroyed but it is dumbed down and boring. Students do not understand causal relationships because of this so the solution should be to write history books that are engaging and exciting. The ONLY negative with this book, in my opinion, is that in doing his research and writing his book, Loewen has corrected the history but his book isn't much less boring. Maybe it's the nature of the beast ie: if you're researching history and trying to prove something is wrong or add more detail, you have to support your position with lots of details and belabor your points. This I think dragged the book down a little. However if you, like myself, like history but would like to know "why they got such and such wrong" or to learn more about Helen Keller than that she was blind and finished college, you'll enjoy this book. ... Read more

Editorial Review

With a new chapter. The phenomenal bestseller—over 1.5 million copies sold—is now a major PBS special.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Guns, Germs, and Steel is a brilliant work answering the question of why the peoples of certain continents succeeded in invading other continents and conquering or displacing their peoples. This edition includes a new chapter on Japan and all-new illustrations drawn from the television series. 32 illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews

I guess some folks don't have the patience, July 13, 1999
I think some of the reviewers here didn't read the book closely enough to understand the context of some of Diamond's arguments. He never says that biogeographical effects are the ONLY causes history. His main purpose is the search for the ultimate, extremely general causes for the broadest of trends in human history and prehistory.

By the time the Mongols roared across Asia, or the Moguls invaded India, many cultures around the world already changed so much that bioregional factors, though seminal in the creation of these broadest trends, weren't nearly as important as the political, religious and economic ones. He is not ignoring religion and so on but, he states plainly several times that isn't his focus. He is looking for ultimate causes--before humans had extremely advanced mental concepts like religion.

He also wanted to point out the devastating influence of disease on history. It was surely the European germs that did most of the conquering of Native Americans. The guns and horses were almost incidental. Later on, once Europeans had established themselves, then we can focus on economic and political systems. But we can't ignore the effects of the diseases unleashed on the Americas. These plagues gave the Europeans a very lucky boost that catapulted them beyond the wealth and power of China, India or the Middle East--long before the Industrial Revolution made this gap obvious.

Another thing that some people seem to be having trouble with is his assertions about the native intelligence of tribal peoples around the world. (If you read the book, you notice that he is not just saying this about the New Guineans.)

He takes pains to point out what he means by this. He not talking about some mysterious genetic superiority of tribal peoples. It's all straight up culture. Tribal culture forces people to be better generalists than they'd have to be in literate civilizations. They can't rely on embedded support structures like books for memory or experts for obscure fields. They have to be pretty good at a lot things. Otherwise they die. They have to be better at memorizing things because they can't count on computers or books to remember things for them. Living in a dangerous, wild environment makes them cautious and aware of all that is going on around them. That was all he meant. The circumstance of tribal peoples force them, only in very broad ways and only on an individual basis, to be smarter and more curious than civilized people.

And in the end it does them no good. Because civilized societies are SMARTER than tribal societies. That is why tribal society has been steadily disappearing over the millenia. They just can't compete.

Finally, of course the book is repetitive. In fact he sums up his argument in the preface of the book. You needn't even read the rest if you don't want to. The rest of the book consists of him reiterating his points from different angles to point out the objections he has managed to answer and the many questions that still remain. He is just following scholarly practice and exposition--just to make things clear that he has thought about this.

He knows that his theory can't explain everything. In the epilog he points out that China, India and the Middle East are good counter examples to his idea. They each had an expansionist rise to great power--a time when they were unafraid to try new ideas and explore new ways of doing things. If the highly complex forces of economics, politics, religion had arrayed themselves differently. We might all be speaking Arabic now. Or Cantonese. Europe was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time for things to come together as they did.

Science in the service of History, October 4, 2000
In one compelling volume, the famous biologist Jared Diamond tackles the most important question of global history: Why did Europeans come to dominate the New World?

This question has been answered by others before; Diamond's idea that Europe's geography is the cause ("geographical determinism") has also been proposed before. Any student of history can drag up a case or two of this thesis. Baron Montaigne, for example, proposed that Europe's primacy stemmed from its superior government, which could be derived directly from the coolness of its climate.

The deep significance of this book is that Diamond's thesis is not simply idle speculation. He proves that the Eurasian land mass had by far the best biological resources with which to develop agricultural societies, and was thus more able to form large, coherent, and powerful social entities.

To support this idea, Diamond introduces thorough set of well-researched data on what kinds of plants and animals are necessary to support a farming society. He investigates the biological resources available to potential farmers in all parts of the world. The people of Eurasia had access to a suite of plants and animals that provided for their needs. Potential farmers in other parts of the world didn't-- and so their fertile soil went untilled.

After establishing this strong foundation, Diamond falls into repeating ideas about the formation of large-scale societies. These ideas, while unoriginal, are still compelling, and Diamond presents them in a very clear and well-written way.

His other major original contribution comes when he discusses the diseases that helped the Old World conquer the New. Building on his earlier chapters dealing with Old-World domesticated animals, he shows that these very animals were the sources of the major plagues (such as smallpox) which virtually annihilated New World populations. The fact that Old Worlders had immunities to these diseases was a direct result of their agricultural head-start.

Along with these monumental contributions to History, this book has its drawbacks. If you're looking for a narrative explaining Great People, Great Events, or Modern Ideas, you will be sadly disappointed. Diamond's thesis offhandedly assumes that it is difficult to believe Shakespeare's plays or Newton's laws could have been written by hunter-gatherers.

If you are looking for reasons why Europe came to dominate the world, rather than, say, China, Diamond presents mixed results. He mentions the 14th century self-isolation of China, but does not analyze it. He also brings up the odd theory about the relationship between the coastline lengths of Europe and China and trade potential; this idea is provably wrong.

If you are looking for a book that explains the world's history of the past 500 years, look elsewhere. Guns, Germs and Steel exhausts itself by effectively, coherently, fundamentally, definitively, and entertainingly explaining the preceeding 15,000.

I do not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in world history. The scholarship is first-rate, and the thesis is incredibly significant. The technical details, while complete, are presented in a very easy to understand way, and Diamond's writing style is fun and engaging. It fully deserved the Pulitzer prize.

A strong theory convincingly argued, but marred by bias, January 24, 2001
According to Diamond, four factors are responsible for all historical developments: 1) availability of potential crops and domestic animals, 2) the orientation of continental axis to facilitate the spread of agriculture, 3) transfer of knowledge between continents, and 4) population size.

Diamond states that "those four sets of factors constitute big environmental differences that can be quantified objectively and that are not subject to dispute." Fair enough, but what *is* subject to dispute is that there might be some other factors at work. Thomas Sowell in Race and Culture does a good job of developing the thesis that the exchange of information among European cultures, facilitated by Europe's plentiful navigable rivers, was the key to Europe's technological and economic rise. David Landes in the Wealth and Poverty of Nations attributes China's conscious decision in the 1400's to isolate itself form other nations as the key event (decision) that caused it to lose it's technological advantage and fall behind Europe. (Diamond briefly touches on 15th Century China in the final chapter, but manages to boil this as well down to an accident of geography.)

This is unfortunate, because the book contains a wealth of excellent material which is excellently explained. Many of the core causes which Diamond explores ring very true, and his points are persuasively argued. The connection between the development of agriculture and the subsequent unequal rise of military capability worldwide is very convincing. But convincing though they may be, reading these theories one can't shake the sneaking suspicion that Diamond is selectively presenting evidence which he's has found to support his previously drawn conclusion, and neglecting evidence which runs counter.

Diamond plants these doubts through his sometimes-careless prose. Consider the following statement, which he includes in the introduction to his chapter on the rise of food production:

"My fellow farmhands were, for the most part, tough whites whose normal speech featured strings of curses, and who spent their weekdays working so that they could devote their weekends to squandering their weeks' wages in the local saloon. Among the farmhands, though, was a member of the Blackfoot Indian tribe named Levi, who behaved very differently from the coarse miners - being polite, gentle, responsible, sober, and well spoken"

I thought for a moment that I'd wandered into the script for "Dances With Wolves." Note that had this statement been turned on its head - had he, for example, recounted an unflattering anecdote about Native Americans or Hispanics -my instincts would immediately warn me that the author's biases might be influencing how he chooses to present the evidence. I myself am a Black American, I'm all too painfully aware that we've had to wade through some pretty grim stuff penned by authors clutching at straws to support their racist white supremacist views of the world. In this case Diamond does the reverse by aiming his negative bias towards Caucasians, but if I'm truly interested in unbiased science then my skepticism should remain the same.

That I lead with these criticisms is evidence of my disappointment in what could have been an excellent book, and indeed much of it *is* indeed excellent. This is a book that taught me much and has indeed changed my view of world history in many ways. I do recommend this book - the details are good and many of the theories ring true, but in the same breath I would warn against accepting Diamond's conclusions in their entirety without a bit of skepticism.

In summary, Guns, Germs, and Steel contains an important feature which David Landes's Wealth and Poverty of Nations so conspicuously lacks: a grand unifying theory which links the disparate growth rates of diverse societies worldwide. But Diamond's tidy conclusion that world history is simply a deterministic result of geography and nothing else is not entirely satisfying, especially in that it might cause us to be complacent about the future. I accept that accidents of geography have had a huge effect on mankind, and Diamond convincingly argues this. But culture and human decisions do matter. Diamond argues that human ingenuity is simply the result of the accident of having a larger population from which to draw innovations - but societies that internalize this philosophy do so at their considerable peril.

A new view of where the fertile ground is found..., October 3, 2001
GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL is a persuasive discourse of competitive plausibility regarding the challenging question why population groups on different continents experienced widely divergent paths of development. Contrary to the voluminous objections cited in the many of the reviews below, Professor Jared Diamond, clearly an enthusiastic proponent of environmental determinism, presents a set of premises consistent with evidence provided from a wide range of disciplines, but he does not attempt to answer the question of genetic diversity, including differentiated intelligence, among racial groups as many reviewers have inferred. If anything, implicitly, the author appears to support promulgations of differentiated intelligences; he sets out to demonstrate intelligence was not the root cause to Eurasian dominance.

On at least two occasions Diamond, without equivocation, stated he found on average the New Guinean to be more intelligent than the average European or American. He was prompted to undertake this investigation as a result of a question posed by a New Guinean friend - Why white people developed so much cargo (material goods) and brought it to New Guinea while the indigenous had so little. Diamond summarized his findings as follows: "History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples environments, not because of biological differences among people themselves."

Beginning 13,000 years ago, the author illuminated the conditions or circumstances that may have facilitated growth for some groups and inhibited the same for others. Diamond accepts the out of Africa theory for the dispersion of Homosapiens to the other continents (for purposes of his treatise Europe and Asia are indivisible), and like the old axiom of real estate, the importance of location, location, location becomes readily apparent. For Diamond, food production is the ultimate cause of variable rates of development for different peoples. He illustrates how the abundance of wild plants subject to domestication and availability of large mammals served as immediate factors to transition from hunter/gatherer bands and tribes to sedentary agriculturally based chiefdoms and states.

Diamond lists what he proposes as proximate causes to European dominance:

1) Germs - based on close proximity to domesticated animals, immunities were developed infectious strains Europeans would carry to other areas, resulting in the decimation of non-immunized populations. In turn, those groups had few autochthonous diseases that would affect the invaders.
2) Invention of writing- relatively sedentary lifestyles facilitated devotion of more time and effort to the creation of methodologies to control and coordinate commerce. These systems eased transfer of information among society members, and had further implications to the establishment of hierarchical political organization.
3) Axial orientation of the different continents - east/ west orientation was conducive to transmigration of people, products, and technologies. Plants best suited to specific climatic conditions were readily transferable; geographic encumbrances were less severe and population isolation was not as significant.
4) Establishment of hierarchical organizations - food production instigated the growth of artisan classes focused on technological improvement, leisure classes devoted to functions unrelated to subsistence, organization of massive armies comprised of professional soldiers, and religion, which allowed individual groupings to live together under codification without killing one another.
5) Continental Isolation - Landmasses that were separated by geographic or ecological boundaries were under less pressure to develop or adopt new ideas, products or technologies from competing civilizations.

Some of the author's theories were not defended as successfully as others. His explanation why Sub-Saharan Africans were unable to identify species (the water buffalo and Zebra are two prime examples) that may have been used in farming and commerce seemed rather weak. Capture, taming and subsequent selective breeding for temperament seems as viable here as he indicates was the case on the Eurasian plains for other species. Similarly, he does not offer a convincing argument regarding the American Indian's failure to domesticate the Bison, although the inference seems to be the lack of cultivatible plant life was certainly a factor.

Overall, Diamond provides a compelling theory of the differences in development rates among different peoples, linking a wide set of factors that are not generally considered in parallel in the historical record. For anyone with even peripheral interest in the evolution of different societies, this is an enthralling book.

Love it or hate it, you should read this book, September 24, 2002
As an avid reader with absolutely no previous contact with the field of anthropology, I found this book to be mesmerizing. Jared Diamond has achieved great success with "Guns, Germs and Steel" (national best-seller, Pulitzer Prize), but it has also made him the target of strident, often venomous criticism...

Diamond's general thesis is that the West conquered the world rather than vice versa because of a fluke of nature. In short, Eurasia was home to an important number of crops and animals that readily lent themselves to successful domestication. This domestication resulted in mass food production, which the author claims is the "ultimate" cause of Western dominance. Food production, in turn, led to a number of "proximate" causes related to the rise of the West: farms and animal herds led to stationary populations and excess food to support a specialized class of bureaucrats and soldiers; it also increased population density, which, along with close contact with animals, led to germs and the subsequent genetic resistance of Westerners to those diseases. Finally, Diamond concludes, the unique East-West axis of Eurasia and the absence of any impenetrable geographic barriers fostered the spread of new crops, technologies, etc., which gave rise to many competing communities, whose competition further increased the western lead over the rest of the world.

Diamond's arguments are persuasive on the surface, and even the biggest skeptic will have reason for pause after reading his book. However, the final chapter reveals that he can't really resolve a fundamental question: why did Europe, rather than the Middle East, India or China come to conquer the world? Almost the entire book is dedicated to explaining why the Eurasian landmass was blessed with the prerequisites for large civilizations rather than the Americas, Africa and Australia. His terse explanation for why Europe in particular dominated leaves much to be desired and explained.

In this reviewer's opinion, the recent book by classicist Victor Davis Hanson ("Carnage and Culture") provides a plausible epilogue for Diamond's piece. Hanson completely and explicitly rejects Diamond's geographic determinism, but I don't think the two theses are incompatible or in any way mutually exclusive. In fact, it seems to me that Diamond and Hanson support one another, as the latter's assertion that the war-making efficiency of liberal democracies beginning in the Hellenistic period explains Europe's ultimate triumph.

In closing, as an introduction to anthropology and a cogent depiction of one school of thought on the rise of the West this book is marvelous. Approach it with an open-mind, reflect on the thesis and the supporting evidence, and then draw your own conclusions. Love it or hate it, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

An overrated book, November 9, 2003
Jared Diamond is a thoroughgoing geographical determinist. His book highlights both the strengths and the weaknesses of this approach.

Diamond's major topic is the Neolithic Revolution. His intention is to demonstrate that environmental conditions were not equally suitable to the development of agriculture on different continents. Eurasia, he contends, was the most appropriate place. It had the largest number of domesticable plants and animals, an east-west axis favoring the diffusion of inventions, offered good possibilities for inter-continental communication, and was the largest and most populous continent. So the Eurasians were first in developing agriculture, gaining thus a headstart in history. Agriculture led to rising polulations and created a dynamic that prompted the evolution of states, writing and a sophisticated technology (guns and steel). These social and technological advantages, plus immunity to the most dangerous infectious diseases (germs), allowed Eurasians to easily subdue the natives of the Americas, Australia and Southeast Asia.

On the whole this argument, which takes up the first 410 pages of the book, is convincing. Diamond is also right to insist on adopting a long time-frame. As early as 8000 years ago Eurasians had a substantial edge over their rivals on other continents, making it unlikely for those peoples and civilizations to catch up.

Had Diamond stopped writing at this point, he would have published a good work.

However, he was not content to treat only the Neolithic Revolution, but wanted to cover all major turns in world history. Hence the last 15 (!) pages of the book are devoted to a completely different subject. Having explained the rise of Eurasia, Diamond now wants to explain the rise of the West. Quickly the question becomes: Why Europe, not China? Borrowing an idea from Eric Jones ('The European Miracle'; but beware: Jones' approach is much more sophisticated than Diamond's, avoiding any kind of monocausal determinism) Diamond provides a simple answer: Europe was geographically more diverse than China. Therefore it did not become politically unified. Political fragmentation led to openness and openness to progress - ideas and inventions that were rejected at one place could succeed at another.

This speculation is not plausible at all.

First, there is no geographical NECESSITY for European fragmentation and Chinese unity. Europe has many features favoring political unity. Its long coastline and a great number of navigable rivers allow for easy transportation by water, offering an important asset to any would-be imperial power. The Romans took advantage of this to the utmost, and if they were able to conquer a great part of the continent, there can surely have been no compelling GEOGRAPHICAL reason for later powers to fail. Diamond himself seems to realize this, when he admits that India had even more agricultural core areas than Europe. Yet India was ruled as a unified empire for most of its history.

Second, Diamond's explanation - even if assumed to be correct - accounts only for INNOVATION. It tells us why certain inventions made by Chinese craftsmen were never introduced into the production-process of China's economy. A more important question to ask would have been why many significant inventions were not made in China in the first place. A prime example coming to mind is modern natural science, which was never developed in the Middle Kingdom.

Third, it is easy to see that Diamond's argument is undermined by his own evidence. As he tells us, China was scientifically and technologically ahead of Europe (and the rest of the world) for more than 1000 years. If China could achieve this superiority despite its supposed geographical disadvantages, we cannot escape the conclusion that those disadvantages either did not exist or were of minor importance. Europe, on the other hand, remained a cultural backwater for most of its history despite its supposed geographical advantages. Again, we cannot but conclude that these advantages either did not exist or were of minor importance.

Thus Diamond's environmentalism is completely refuted by Chinese and European history before 1500 a.d. Moreover, no other version of geographical determinism is likely to fare better. Since China's geography did not change within the last 2000 years, every purely geographical interpretation of its history must be wrong. It will either fail to account for the period of Chinese superiority or for the period of Chinese backwardness.

Diamond's errors are grounded in his method. Geographical determinism can explain the Neolitic Revolution, because this transformation was brought about by small bands of hunter-gatherers extremely dependant on their environment. Even so, Diamond needs FOUR causal factors to account for its different outcome on each continent (1. The wild plant and animal species available; 2. Orientation of the major continental axis; 3. Possibilities for inter-continental communication, 4. Size of area and population of a given continent). When we look at the great Eurasian civilizations, we have to deal with a type of society vastly more complex and far less dependant on its environment than are bands of hunter-gatherers. Yet Diamond wants to explain the history of these civilizations with reference to just ONE causal factor (the impact of geography on political unity). Instead of becoming more sophisticated in accordance with its subject, Diamond's approach turns brutally simplistic just as it is applied to the most difficult problem of world history.

It is unlikely that the rise of the West can ever be explained geographically. Any serious attempt to write global history for periods after the Neolithic Revolution will have to be sensitive to the complex interplay between geography, economy, technology, politics and culture that shapes the development of large societies. The work of Max Weber and Fernand Braudel provides good examples of the kind of scholarship needed for this task. Jared Diamond's book not only fails to rise up to this standard, but is crude, superficial and disappointing even from a geographical point of view.

Clearly Diamond did not know when to put his pen down. His book would have been better if he had refrained from addressing topics unsuited to his method.

A Question for the Ages, February 12, 2000
Many years ago a New Guinea native asked Jared Diamond a simple question: "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" Only slightly rephrased, Diamond devotes this book to answering the question why, from the depths of the primeval forests of Africa, mankind emerged at different rates, some achieving the heights of civilization and technology while others remained virtually in the Stone Age? And why did people on some continental landmasses prosper while people on others lagged behind, especially because some locations, like the California Coast, are mild and desirable while others, like Northern Europe are harsh and forbidding?

Diamond's thesis is that some populations got a head start over others in the development of civilization. But the head start resulted from favorable geography and natural resources, not from any innate superiority. Given the same location and advantages, any group of people over time would have reached the same result. The first beneficiary of geography happened to be the Fertile Crescent. The "cradle of civilization" not only had all five major large mammals (sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, and horses) available for domestication, but they also possessed the major wild seed groups that would become domesticated grain and cereals. Not all areas are so favorably endowed.

Once hunting and gathering gave way to food production, population density took hold, which in turn made possible civic development and technology. The head start then spread roughly along the same parallel east to Asia and west to Europe. Diamond contrasts Eurasia's wide girth and similar climates with America's and Africa's narrow waist and elongated longitude. Technology and culture can shuttle back and forth vast distances between east and west, but climatic zone differences as well as mountain ranges and deserts inhibit flows north and south.

I have two criticisms of the book. One, it has no footnotes so that one can source out the author's materials. For example, on page 108 Diamond asserts that early man, because of his ego, would rather hunt giraffes than gather nuts. Is that theory his, or someone else's? The very nature of a book such as "Guns, Germs, and Steel" requires that it pile theory upon theory to make a picture puzzle of a distant and hidden past. If key pieces don't fit, the picture may take a decidedly Cubist theme. A few footnotes would help the reader who wants to delve deeper into a topic.

The second criticism is the author's failure to address the role of human intelligence in the development of civilization. Considering the grief Charles Murray took into for writing "The Bell Curve," which held that certain populations have actually raised their intelligence level through centuries of using their brains to solve problems, one understands why Diamond steers clear of the topic - no academic can afford to be tinged with even a hint of racism or euro centrism. Plenty of professors on the leftist fringe stand ready to point the accusing finger any anybody who deviates from the acceptable norm. But surely scholars can deal with the role human intelligence in a non-racist way; after all, the physiology of the human brain is the same in all Homo sapiens. Diamond owes it to his readers to complete the mosaic he has created.

Diamond has an excellent hammer that he uses too often, January 3, 2003
As the saying goes, when you have a hammer, everything looks like nails. I found Diamond's basic hypothesis that the march to civilization is accelerated (if not determined) by availability of useful, domesticable plants and animals and a geography suited for the transmission of the plants and animals (and later ideas) over a large distance very compelling.

The two places he fails in what would otherwise be one of the best books I've read is he seems to be working toward a personal agenda, and he applies his theories to inappropriate situations. His personal agenda is not hidden, with his discussion of New Guinea's tribesmen fairly glowing. I guess it's better to have it out in the open than hidden, but it makes the work seem like a justification for his preconceptions rather than an unbiased research into the broad strokes of history.

His very compelling basic point is that when numerous small groups (tribes, etc) compete, the rate of adoption, modification, and usage of available resources will be fairly constant across any group of people. The rate is only modified by the quality of those resources and the number of people with access to them, because if one society fails to use its resources at the best rate of human invention, a competing society will force the adoption either through competition or conquest.

The problem is, and he acknowledges it in one sentence and ignores it in another, is that when societies (especially dictatorial ones) no longer feel competitive pressure, they can behave in largely unpredictable ways governed only by happenstance and psychology. He tries to explain the failures of the Aztecs and (especially) the Incas to use the wheel by describing them as "Island Cultures" since they did not have competing societies nearby. He later uses the same argument about China.

The problem is that there is a range between small tribes and enormous islands where his theory only partially applies, and where much of written history has occurred. His arguments to explain why Europe was not one big island (meaning politically unified) were not very compelling, but given the fact that Europe wasn't unified his theory does explain why the West outpaced China in the past 600 years. His troubling assertion that the fertile crescent couldn't compete with Europe in modern times merely due to resource depletion (since it had been civilized for so long) was only in passing and lacked much backing in statistics or research.

Unlike some other reviewers, I don't feel he was too hard on the West's modern conquest of the native peoples of the Pacific, the Americas, and Africa. He points out that disease made the lands empty, and that much of the pushing out of the natives was inadvertent due to the actions of people behaving just as our prehistoric ancestors did (and every other continent's ancestors did) for thousands of years. And when he chooses the words "exterminated" (in modern colonization) over "displaced" (in prehistoric colonization) he does it because he has the historical facts to back him up in one case, and only conjecture in the other, and he acknowledges the difference at least a few times.

I definitely recommend this book if you are unfamiliar with the geographical element of the prehistoric move to civilization. Just keep in mind this is a theory that by nature no longer applies, and stopped applying somewhere between 100-600 years ago as modern communication destroyed geographic separation.

interesting theory - difficult to read, February 28, 2002
In July 1972, Author Jared Diamond, was walking along
a beach on a tropic island of New Guinea, where as a
biologist he studied bird evolution. By chance, he
ran into a local politician, named Yali, who was
working to liberate what was then Papa New Guinea from
the Australia government. After hours of
conversation, Yali posed the question, "Why is it that
you white people developed so much cargo (technology)
and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had
little cargo of our own?" Why did wealth and power
become distributed as they are now, rather than in
some other way? Diamond was troubled that he did not
have an adequate response to Yali's Question. Fast
forward 25 years -- Diamond writes a 425 page answer.

The most common explanation to this question involves
implicit or explicit assumptions based on biological
inequalities. Usually these racial explanations are
cast in some sort of Darwinian argument where
causality is often left in question. Diamond thesis
attempts to refute these theories with an alternate
theory. Relying on a combination of history,
archeology, and microbiology, and genetics, Diamond
suggests that the most striking differences between
the long-term histories of different cultures have
been due not to innate differences in peoples
themselves but to differences in their environments.
These environmental factors include: continental
differences in the wild plant and animal species
available as starting materials for domestication;
environmental factors affecting rates of diffusion and
migration; and continental differences in area or
total population sizes. Diamond believes that these
geographical inequalities set different civilizations
on pre-determined trajectories to develop political
organization, technological advancements, and immunity
to disease that allowed them to encounter and conquer
other civilizations.
A cultural historian in a past life, I get all excited
about this sort of thing.

As one can imagine, trying to explain the history of
civilization in one volume is an arduous task.
Diamond chooses to explain his theory in broad strokes
then uses natural experiments at distinct points in
history to demonstrate how his ideas play out. This
is a general problem with all meta-histories.
Historical methods teach us that it is virtually
impossible to forge a bulletproof argument without
delving into the minutia. But when focusing on the

"big picture" issues, there is just too much
information to cover. Diamond does a very good job
managing this balance. He begins by outlining his
methods and follows through on his explanation with
dedication and accomplishment. He goes into just
about the right amount of detail on every subject and
infuses the traditional historical approach with a
healthy dose of scientific discovery. The chapters
concerning the domestication of plants and large
animals are a joy to read. While speaking on the
familiar new world conquest, Diamond is balanced in
the application of his detailed examples to forward
his theories. Notably, Diamond uses Australia and the
south pacific to demonstrate the dissemination of
technology and China to discuss the application of
unified language and political entities. In fact,
with my American History background, I was more
partial to the Euro centric examples.

So what's bad about the book? One of my pet peeves
involves arguing by anecdotal evidence and I cringed
every time Diamond brought up some story about a
bushman to illustrate his point. But this was a minor
annoyance. Another problem is Diamond's paucity of
footnotes. There were several portions of prose that
I felt should have been annotated with further
discussion and evidence. I should also warn you that
this book is a little dense. Be prepared for a 20
page discussion about the cross pollination of
language. It's a good idea to remember that I've got
a degree in this stuff. Back when I was younger,
smarter, and more exciting, I used to pour through
thousands of pages of this garbage every week. Beaten
into submission by a desk job and dearth of ...
pitchers of beer, I found the last 100 pages of Guns,
Germs, and Steel difficult to get through

So if you are up for the challenge, "Guns, Germs, and
Steel" is a insightful and rewarding book. For me, it
was probably a good substitute for chasing women and
the cultural/political theories almost kept me warm at
night. All joking aside, I guarantee that this book
will change the way you think about European conquest.

Captivating, Flawed Scientific Review of Human Prehistory, July 6, 2000
Once in a while a book comes along compelling enough to bring mind altering new perspectives, spark extended contemplation, and arouse fresh interest in overlooked fields of study. This is one of those books. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Diamond investigates human prehistory from a scientific perspective drawing on numerous disciplines to develop a hypothesis that the globally unbalanced rise of civilization and technology was primarily a function of advantageous environmental conditions and resources available to those societies where civilization arose. Though the present landscape may suggest that early societies were on a relatively equal environmental playing field, Diamond's scientific review of the evidence indicates convincingly otherwise. A particularly persuasive point in the book argues that environmental conditions amenable to agriculture (mild climate, indigenous protein-rich plants, and large indigenous domestication-ready animals) facilitated a food surplus and consequently denser populations with surplus time for some members of the society to take on trades, invent, engineer, lead, develop government, heal, build, paint, etc. Innovations then fuelled more surplus time perpetuating a tornado of advancement, sparked in large part by the proverbial flapping butterfly wings of agriculture.

Diamond's book challenged my fractured knowledge of human prehistory leaving worldview shattering ideas in its wake. His book also sparked my renewed interest in geography, anthropology, archaeology, weather, and geology among others. The book's fusion of the scientific method with the study of history was quite potent and refreshing, though at times overly reductionist. As such, less scientifically reducible elements like culture and religion are not considered within his hypothesis.

At times the book did seem to forgo scientific rigor for political correctness. For example, though Diamond relies on numerous examples of relatively recent non-human elements of natural selection and genetics to build his case, he is unwilling to discuss the potential role of human biological variation created by our settling contrasting environments. Considering modern humans resided and/or began migrating to new and varied lands over 100,000 years ago, there seems sufficient time for some physiological variations to develop that may be relevant to Diamond's case. Unfortunately for this reader, anticipating a compelling argument either way, Diamond just states that environment-induced genetic variations are irrelevant to societal development (and "loathsome" to even think about) as if it were a self-evident axiom. Curiously, he challenges this axiom himself by postulating that the people of New Guinea are likely smarter than the average human considering the mental acuity necessary to survive in their harsh environment.

Overall, besides some minor disappointments, this was a spectacular book and I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Smithsonian Handbook of Rocks and Minerals combines 600 vivid full--color photos with descriptions of more than 500 specimens. This authoritative and systematic photographic approach, with words never separated from pictures, marks a new generation of identification guides.Each entry combines a precise description with annotated photographs to highlight the chief characteristics of the rock or mineral and distinguishing features. Color--coded bands provide a clear, at--a--glance facts for quick reference. In addition, each mineral entry features an illustration showing the crystal system to which the mineral belongs. Designed for beginners and experienced collectors alike, the Smithsonian Handbook of Rocks and Minerals explains what rocks or minerals are, how they are classified, and how to start a collection. To help in the initial stages of rock identification, a clear visual key illustrates the differences between igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, then guides the reader to the correct rock entry. A concise glossary provides instant understanding of technical and scientific terms ... Read more

Reviews

Great for Identifying Rocks and Minerals!, February 18, 2001
When I took Geology in college, I loved the course. I only had one problem. It was very difficult for me to identify rocks and minerals in the field. If I had had this pocket field guide, the course would have been a snap.

Now, I enjoy taking my children to study outcroppings, and this book will be a great addition to our investigations.

First, the photographs are stunning. In fact, any temptation I might have had to develop my own samples is set aside by having these wonderful images to use.

Second, the information is detailed and thorough. There is a lot about the crystalline structure of each mineral, the hardness, and many tests that are specific to that particular mineral. There is a very good section that describes how to apply the hardness tests (I always had trouble memorizing that area for some reason). There is plenty of good safety information for how to use the various acids that can be employed to identify minerals. Everything is nicely summarized so it is easy to find.

Third, all those subtle distinctions about various kinds of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that used to puzzle me are very clear here. Whew!

Fourth, the book has great directions for locating good spots to examine rocks.

Fifth, you also receive a wonderful description of the equipment you need, and ways to use it safely.

Whether you think you like rocks or not, you should give this book a try. It will open up a very interesting world full of ways to locate and identify interesting rocks and understand the stories they can tell. As a result, you will have immensely more understanding of the world around you.

I also suggest that you read up on plate mechanics as well, so that you understand more about how the landscape is formed before erosion takes over. The combined knowledge of these two areas will greatly add to your understanding and appreciation of evolution.

Get in touch with the physical world around you as foundation knowledge!

a must have for any rockhound or gem and crystal lover, September 5, 2005
I am more of a gem and crystal lover myself, yet I am happy to own this book. Whenever I go thru it I have a real URGE to go out hunting! Very comprehensive, quite technical, classifies rocks and minerals according to chemical formula (sulphides, oxides, halides, carbonates etc) or type of formation (sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous), and then works thru ecah subgruop alphabetically. Detailed descriptions, chemistry, hardness, tests, BEAUTIFUL photos, detailed index and glossary. Only thing I am missing is WHERE ON EARTH am I most likely to find them (especially the ones I absolutely LOVE), so I can plan my next vacation :D

GeoNewbie, September 6, 2002
I am new to the study of geology and have found this book to be indispensable in identifying rocks and minerals in the field. It even has a few tips at the beginning about how to do tests, and each mineral suggests tests to further aid in identifying them. It has also been a great reference when reading texts about geology. I use it to look up the rocks and minerals mentioned there. Very helpful for later field study. The least I can say is: buy this book, it is EXCELLENT!!

I enthusiastically recommend it!, October 1, 1999
After wading through a half-dozen mineral guides i found this one to be a gem (pun intended). It has large labeled photographs to aid in identification and a very user friendly format. There is enough information here for the extremely curious and features enough to excite dormant curiosity. At the same time, the author's concise style and avoidance of excessive technical jargon make this book appealing even to the very young. I also appreciate his avoidance of pat answers where none have been conclusively found, as when he states that tektite "were once believed to be meteorites" but that "they may not in fact have an extra-terrestrial origin". In short, this is a great addition to any home library.

Great Picture Resource, March 8, 2007
I have been looking for a field guide for my 6-year-old son and could only find books for children that gave a general overview of rocks and minerals. This book is the one I have been looking for. I knew that DK would be the publisher to give me what I wanted. In DK fashion, the pages are easy to read without a lot of text clunking up the page. The rocks are organized in nice boxes with information laid out neatly and unobtrusively. Each page features two new rocks with a large full-color picture of each. This is now his favorite book. It has all of the information we have been looking for in a concise, easy-to-read format. Each profile gives the name and visual outline of crystal system; specific gravity; cleavage; fracture; chemical test to confirm identification; mineral-forming environment; main text describes mineral's identifying features; standard name of the mineral; chemical group to which the mineral belongs; chemical formula for the mineral; hardness according to the Mohs' scale; variations of the mineral shown in full-color when applicable; annotations identifying mineral's main identifying features. I LOVE this book. It is a great book for kids(who eat, sleep, and breathe rocks and minerals) and adults. I am thinking of getting another one just for me. I think this would also be an invaluable resource for classroom teachers. I will be teaching First Grade and will use this book to introduce scientific concepts.

Beautiful photography, October 6, 2000
Dorling Kindersley's Handbook of Rocks and Minerals is a more systematick approach to identification. Each entry has a sharp color photo, group name, composition, hardness, SG, cleavage, fracture, formation and tests for id. Thes is a nice basic reference book and a good size (8.5"x6") to tote along. A glossery defines technical terms, common in scientific descriptions.

Clear & Beautifully Presented, June 29, 2007
I bought this for my 7-yr. old daughter - budding rock hound and naturalist! Like other DK books, the photography is luscious and the layout is casual and very inviting - full of beautiful images.

It provides a great overview of rocks and minerals, including tools used to find them, the different characteristics and where specific types of rocks and minerals can be found. It also provides detailed "specifics" such as classification, occurence and cleavage - as appropriate.

This is a thoroughly engaging book for all ages and it is highly recommended.

Rocks and Minerals, March 30, 2006
This is the one book I was looking for, with good close-up pictures. Pictures that point out the small things on rocks or minerals you want to look for. It could be a small mass of fibers or small group of crystals. It sections off a mineral so you know what the different colors are. If you have any type of sight problems, this is more that helpful! I recommend this book for all beginners and anyone who just might be curious. It is well worth your money!

Great handbook!, January 28, 2000
I too am in Science Olympiad (div. B), and I found this to be one of the most reliable handbooks that I have used when participating in this event. Its sleek organization and excellent presentation of information make this the best choice among the myriad others that are available.

Rocks and Minerals, August 14, 2007
Great Book...full of useful information. The pictures really give you an indepth but brief description of the item discussed. This book is absolutely essential to the amature hobby collectors out there. ... Read more

Editorial Review

SHIPS WITHIN 24 HOURS NEW BOOK FROM PUBLISHER US HARDCOVER 7TH EDITION STILL IN THE PLASTIC WRAP WITH ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE BOOK INCLUDED GREAT BUY!!! ... Read more

Reviews

Most opaque prop text out there - be mad at ur prof if they choose this one, December 11, 2010
Dukeminier has the unique gift of making even simple topics as opaque as possible. You will need supplements, lots of them, because of the awful way this book is structured, cases chosen, the odd phrasing and, in particular, how future interests are presented. Want proof - Look at "Acing Property" supplement where they give you a special appendix for the way Dukeminier presents things, particularly Rule Against Perpetuities - something already too complicated on its own that Duke manages to foul up further. I really wish law professors would destroy the forced demand for this terrible (more so than most prop casebooks, and achievement in itself) text.

Ok, September 20, 2010
This was the only book out of the ones I ordered that I had expedited. It unfortunately was one of the last books to arrive. Just wish it would have arrived sooner. In great condition though. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Good Summary of Health Care Insurance Issues, November 16, 2010
Wendell Potter was formerly in charge of public relations for Humana and then Cigna. Potter's intent in "Deadly Spin" is to expose the deceptive techniques of public relations in the insurance segment of health care. He does this quite well, and also provides readers with insight into the two events (the large turnout, including many with illusionary health insurance, for a free Pennsylvania dental and medical clinic; the death of a young girl after his employer dithered and delayed approving a necessary transplant) that turned him against continuing to defend the industry he had been part of for some 25 years. Potter begins by introducing readers to a sampling of tested phrases that have served the industry quite well, such as 'socialized medicine,' 'government-run' medicine, and 'government takeover' of medicine. Readers also gain exposure to other P.R. favorites, such as identifying with patriotism and the American way of life, testimonials, name-calling, smearing opponents (eg. Michael Moore and his "Sicko"), identification with plain folks, fake grassroot campaigns, junk science and statistical analyses, and euphemisms. A brief tour of the darker side of health insurance practice likewise is given - rescissions (retroactively canceling policies of those with large medical bills, using whatever pretext possible), and purging less than profitable accounts via large rate increases. Missing, however, is any comment on the fact that if the uninsured paid the same rates as insurance companies, much of the need for health insurance would go away, and a large proportion of medical bankruptcies avoided.

Universal health coverage began under Germany's Otto Von Bismarck in 1883, with Social Security following in 1889. The motivation was neither altruism or socialism, but to provide leverage against the labor and socialist movements of the day. Health insurance quickly spread - Austria (1888), Hungary (1891), Norway (1909), England (1911), Russia (1912), and the Netherlands (1913). Unfortunately, the momentum took almost 100 years to get to the U.S.

Some of the most disturbing revelations in "Deadly Spin" are that 'ObamaCare' is not a 'cure-all.' For example, it will not stop employers from only offering high-deductible plans such as the $30,000 for some families in Maine. Nor does it remove the ERISA liability protection for employer-sponsored plans. However, it will sharply reduce medical bankruptcies, the key reason for 62% of personal bankruptcies in 2007. Hopefully, it will also reduce the amounts paid for executive salaries and retreats - WellPoint spent over $27 million on staff retreats in 2007-08, while William McGuire, United Health CEO for 12 years, was paid almost $2 billion for his leadership ($620 million was 'clawed-back' because of fraudulent option back-dating). (Comparison: Dr. Donald Berwick, an extremely well-regarded expert in charge of care for the 103 million receiving Medicare or Medicaid, receives only $176,000/year.) Hopefully, the $52.4 billion spent on stock buybacks instead of medical care by the 7 largest insurers from 2003-08 will also either cease or be drastically diminished.

An important side effect of our market-based health-care system is the very high administrative overhead - about 31%, per some estimates, compared to 3% for Medicare. Duplicity and high lobbying costs are two more - America's health insurance plans donated $86.2 million to the U.S. Chamber's lobbying against 'ObamaCare' in 2009, while promising President Obama on tape that they were in support.

Mr. Potter is unquestionably qualified and sincere in his effort. Unfortunately, limiting the scope to his personal expertise both enormously understates the size of America's health care problem, and unfairly skews the focus towards insurance firms. The U.S. spends 17.3%+ of GDP on health care, despite not covering some 40-50 million. Compare that to competitors Japan (about 7.2%), Taiwan (about 6%), and China (4%). Reducing our expenditures to Taiwan's level would save about $1.7 trillion/year, and also reduce unfunded Medicare and other health care liabilities for retirees by close to $30 trillion. Most of the problem is due to excessive service charges (about 2X those of other nations), and excessive utilization by profit-maximizing physicians. Solutions require not just Potter's recommendations for limiting monopolistic practices by health care insurers (providers are also guilty) and mandating higher MLRs, but also restructuring health care to combine insurance and care provision in the manner of Kaiser Permanente (California), the V.A., the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Bassett Health Care, and Geisinger Health System. Physicians must be predominantly paid by salary, to discourage excess care. It will also require that the U.S. emulate every other developed nation that I'm aware of by mandating strict price-controls for medical services, and limiting the ability of drug makers to mislead patients and providers with overly expensive 'new' products that are no better than existing ones.

Fascinating glimpse at the "men" behind the curtain, November 19, 2010
Health care continues to limp on in the United States. We are ranked 46th out of all the Top 50 nations for health care in the world. Part of the issue is that health care is run like any other business and yet it isn't truly a business--profiting on someone's else's health or denying coverage for a pre-existing condition (or stating that a technique is experimental when, in fact, it isn't so as to deny coverage and keep the patient alive)is a form of gambling but it gambles with people's lives which makes it Wendell Potter worked for what he would probably characterize as the "enemy" now for over twenty years. As a PR executive he would weave lies into a positive "truth" for the company he worked for (Cigna) making it appear that they were always doing the right thing for their patients. Using statistics to lie is one thing (for example dropping people off the unemployment rolls that are reported to make it appear that the nation is covering when it isn't)but Potter would often twist the truth or help craft messages to appeal to middle America to scare the public from reform in health care.

One day Potter had an awakening and realized what he was doing was wrong leaving the industry that had nurtured him and becoming an advocate for proper health care and a government based system to force corporations to play fair. He just couldn't stomach hiding greed behind the veneer of double speak falling into a rabbit hole with language that only George Orwell would recognize. He chronicles his rise in the industry and his disillusionment and how the media is manipulated, patients, government to make decisions that are profiting major corporations at the cost of our health and lives. This is as much the story of his awakening as it is about the PR manipulation of the public around health care issues and trying to demonize the discussion of universal healthcare as part of the debate.

Potter's exceptional book "Deadly Spin" takes us behind-the-scenes into the wheeling and dealing that goes on with multiple PR flacks that try and spin doctor any change that threatens their profit as bad for the average consumer. Potter gives us a history of the PR game to help us understand WHY and HOW this is unethical (especially by the ethics guidelines dicated by the PR association).

The health care industry from health plans to pharmaceuticals have for too long had access to lawmakers (using the money that we pay them) to push forward their own agenda and "buy" politicians in Washington; that's nothing new it just just become more blatant than before. Using misinformation, front groups to suggest that any sort of reform is bad, these organizations have been directing America down a path with overgrown foilage and rough terrain where the patient must always suffer. Potter's book takes the curtain that these companies hide behind and let's us see the thought process, innner workings and how misinformation manipulates the public to make the wrong choices while allowing politicians to make those choices knowing they are wrong without ramifications.

Is "Universal Healthcare" the way to go? I don't know but I do know that the insurance industry is scared of it. Potter points out how people like him would manipulate the media and politicians to paint Universal Healthcare as "communist" or "socialist" in nature to taint any and all intelligent discussion about the positives and negatives scaring people away before dialog had even begun.

Potter suggests that having some sort of system like this in place would be helpful in redefining the way we take care of our health. The recent changes with Obama Care he points out aren't perfect but is a step in the right direction (--his complaint was that corporate America shaped it (this is Potter's opinion mind you I don't know that I agree with him on this point but it is food for thought).

I don't know that I agree with all of Potter's suggestions (for example I think that given our economy Obama Care should have been a lower priority--right in the middle of the worst economic downturn in ages-- and when it did become a priority it was so badly compromised that the changes--small as they were and some positive--are meaningless in the over all big picture)but I have to admire him for waking up from the money inspired opiate-like dream that has entranced everyone else in his former industry. I also feel that Potter would have done better to give us more in depth examples of why the system breaks down consistently but what we do get is pretty embarrassing.

Regardless of where you stand on healthcare-- if you believe or don't believe in universal healthcare--Potter's book is essential reading for understanding the flaws in our system and how corporate profit continues to dictate who gets coverage, who doesn't and why we are ranked so poorly compared to other nations when it comes to health care.

Recommended.

Fascinating, yet lacking look at Health Care PR..., November 11, 2010
I'll keep this short because, well, I can be lazy sometimes...
This book kept me engaged thoroughly enough that I finished it in two readings. It has interesting, relevant information on the history of heath care PR that does give a glimpse into what motivates these companies.
The problem is, most people already know or believe that money, profits and (sometimes) greed, is a detrimental factor behind the (sometimes) crappy service and treatment Americans can potentially receive.
While this book did keep me engaged, it did feel a little thin. Maybe it's more of the cynic in me but I really wanted something more damning of the current system and didn't feel it.
I personally did not like the reform enacted in this nation in the last year because of something the author touches on, the fact it won't do too much to control cost. I sort of wish this book did a better job of what could be possible remedies to that issue.

A quick point also; the author does not in any way shy away from showing his progressive nature, however, this book seems to be written well and in an even fashion, mainly sticking to policy and behind-the-scenes information over partisan bickering...

Anyways...I did rate it a 4, as it does have it's interesting moments and I do believe would be an interesting book for anyone not actually immersed and working in the health care or insurance process.

A gift to America from a very brave man, November 20, 2010
Thank you, Mr. Potter, for your bravery in speaking out against a very evil and powerful industry. Regardless of the outcome for the millions of uninsured and underinsured in America, I will always be grateful to you for fighting for what is right. Giving your book to my doctors for Christmas.

Great insights into an industry, November 27, 2010
As Wendell Potter writes, this is "like watching sausage being made". If you think we live in a democracy where all subjects are openly discussed, this gives you some additional information. There is indeed open discussion, but some voices are much louder than others and some are distorted.

What struck me most was Potter's description of how the health industry tried to neutralize Michael Moore's film "Sicko" and, in their words, "make him radioactive", i.e. inacceptable for journalists and politicians. BTW, Michael Moore currently has this book chapter as a sample read on his web site.

If you are interested in public relation and how public opinion is shaped, this is a book from a real expert writing openly about his experience. I bought the Kindle version because the paper version would have taken too long to deliver. Thank you to Amazon for the excellent Kindle App.

Should be required reading for every member of Congress, December 2, 2010
The title of this book, "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans" is a bit off-putting. Reading it, I mentally prepared myself for a diatribe written by a disgruntled low-level employee out to get his pound of flesh. We all know that health insurance companies are in the habit of denying coverage and raising premiums, occasionally exorbitantly, but they aren't all that bad, right? Surely not as bad as the Wall Street firms that first took away our retirement savings and then our jobs.

I worked in the financial industry for 25 years. Nothing I saw there was as heinous as what is revealed in this book. Put simply, Wall Street may take away people's money, but health insurance companies take away people's lives.

Author Wendell Potter was an insurance company executive, heading up a PR department. For years, he participated in the shameless pursuit of profits over lives until he finally came face to face with the effects on real people of what he was doing. Visiting a clinic set up on a fair ground offering free health care to those who had no insurance and no means to pay for health care, he saw ordinary hardworking people reduced to being treated in animal stalls.

He has written about his experience in the health insurance industry, as well as his epiphany, in a straightforward manner, making it more powerful than if he had penned an hysterical screed. He takes us, step by step through the changes in the health insurance industry from a privately held companies offering true health insurance to the modern publicly owned companies whose focus is on profits rather than health.

The lengths to which health insurers go and the collusions in which they participate are extraordinary. They routinely deny coverage to people who need it and drop coverage of people who become ill. They hire outside PR firms who form bogus grassroots groups who lobby in favor of health insurers. They provide statistics to back up all of their false claims that any kind of healthcare reform is bad.

Potter devotes an entire chapter to revealing how health insurers torpedoed Healthcare Reform using all of the dirty tricks he had discussed in previous chapters. The reason we have no public option is because it would put the health insurance industry out of business prompting them to wage all-out war against it.

It took the death of a child who was denied a liver transplant to convince Potter to leave his job with CIGNA. He devotes his time now to healthcare reform advocacy and as a health insurance critic. He testified during the healthcare reform debates, but obviously not enough people listened to him.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for every member of Congress. They need to know how they have been bribed and manipulated by the health insurers to do what's best for the health insurance industry instead of what is best for the people who elected them to office.

Must Be Good...Borders Didn't have it....., November 25, 2010
I tried to buy this at Borders at National Airport in D.C. this week, and it was "unavailable." The clerk could not say if that was because it had never been carried, or was sold out.

If it was not carried, perhaps like the movie, _Sicko_, it is too dangerous to have a wide distribution...makes me want to buy it all the more.

This book itself apparently provides evidence from Potter that censorship occurs in the U.S, but it is not lead by the government...Censorship is led by corporate insiders who prefer to make people hate the government so that people do not form unions to collectively bargain for better conditions from corporations.....all the corporations are in collusion, and they are far more powerful than any government....in fact, governments are just puppets of corporations, and do everything the corporations tell them to....

Need more evidence? Look no further than the U.S. Supreme Court _Citizen's United_ decision...

Eye Opening !!, December 15, 2010
I just finished Wendell Potter's book and, to be perfectly honest, am somewhat depressed about the state of politics and public decision making in our country.
As a former healthcare executive in a for-profit company, I do understand the pressures and ofttimes conflict between the best possible care and the most profitable course. "Deadly Spin" portrays this accurately but goes much farther to show exactly how public opinion is molded and how decision makers at all levels are motivated to do the companies bidding. This book shows how out of whack our whole manged care and health insurance industry is where a few companies control prices and costs on both sides of the supply and demand equation. I have purchased a quantity of this title and will send it out to friends with the caveat that they too pass it on. This book is a must read for Americans looking to understand what is really happening in Washington regarding current and future health care. Thanks Mr. Potter.

Best book I have read this year, December 3, 2010
If you care about health care, your kids health care, or hope to HAVE health care in the future, then read this book. We are being screwed in the name of profits

If the health care industry continues in it's current direction, the only people with health care with be healthy people. The rest with be governments problem

READ THIS BOOK, GIVE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, READ THIS BOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is nice to see acknowledgment of what has always been apparent to me..., December 2, 2010
This is not a great book, and like so many "issues" books, it tiptoes along, holding off on this or that great revelation. It's message can be easily summarised as - "The healthcare insurance industry is indeed just as greedy, self-serving, and unprincipled as most big businesses across the globe, and is apparently making its lies and misrepresentations work successfully." In other words, just because their business involves healthcare, it does not mean that they are concerned about people's welfare, or even their health. They are, like all insurance companies, primarily concerned with making the biggest profits they can. (Think of Bob's boss in The Incredibles...) They do NOT want the pressure of a cheap public health insurance option to keep them honest.

I did not find this surprising. Nor did I find the stories of the publicity management and news suppression surprising. Though it IS nice to have my suspicions validated!

However, the scariest part of this book is at its very end. Wendell Potter has put together the buying-up of the newspaper industry with the new age of spin-dominated politics, and warned us of a future with less and less honest information available to the masses. This is a threat in all areas of life, not just healthcare. If ranting politicos can convince the very people that need it most that public healthcare is bad, what CAN'T they convince them of?? It bodes very ill indeed.
... Read more

Editorial Review

New for 2010, this book matches the lastest version of the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) that is used as a pre-entrance exam by nursing schools across the country. The proctored TEAS test, developed by Assessment Technologies, Inc. (ATI), measures basic essential skills in reading, mathematics, science, and English and language usage. With revised and updated questions throughout, this study guide contains instructional content in each of the four key areas, along with practice tests and answer keys, and a comprehensive test and answer key. ... Read more

Reviews

Book Helped A Lot, July 6, 2010
This is the version of the test that is currently being administered. I used this book and got a 94% on the TEAS. There are a few life science type questions that aren't in this book like fault zones and rock types.

Excellent!, May 10, 2010
This book has been a great review for the actual test. It's way better than the last TEAS manual study guide! I recommend it to anyone! Buying it from Amazon was cheaper and a pleasant, quick experience!

Helpful., October 12, 2010
This TEAS review book is directly from ATI testing, which is responsible for production of the TEAS, so the material in the book definitely has a chance of showing up on your version of the test. There are explanations of concepts and example problems that correspond. The example problems show you how to find the correct answer. There are also practice problems (with answers in the back of the book). Also, there are 3 comprehensive practice TEAS tests (with the answers in back). Amazon had the cheapest price on this guide that I could find, by far.

Essential!, November 7, 2010
I would absolutely recommend picking up this book if you're taking version 5. I borrowed a version 4 book from a friend, and it just didn't cover a lot of the stuff I saw when taking the exam, and covered outdated material, such as tectonic plate movements, weather patterns, etc, none of which was on version 5.
As a side note, I would recommend waiting to take the TEAS until after you've taken anatomy, physiology and microbiology, as there were some questions on the exam that I knew only from having taken those classes.
I am SOOO glad I spent the money and bought this book. It allowed me to review areas I needed to review (like mitosis and chemistry). I started studying a month prior to taking the exam, and I got a 96%! I'm really pleased!

Very good book, December 4, 2010
I purchased this book about a month prior to taking the test. I found it to be very helpful in math, reading, and language usage. Those sections were very similar on the actual test and quite easy. I only missed 3 questions in those combined. However, the science section was way different. There were many questions and topics that were not covered in the manual. I recommend additional study material for the chemistry sections. I had several questions where I had no clue. Fortunately, I still scored in the 99th percentile. The other three areas certainly compensated for my lower score in the science section. Amazon price was very good and shipping was lightning fast!

Study Guide, December 9, 2010
Without this study guide for the Teas V, I would be lost! I take the exam on December 20th, 2010 and feel confident that I will do fine. The book covers all the subjects that are in the exam, and gives you practice tests. I would recommend this study guide to anyone who wants to score high on this exam! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The best-selling book ever on classroom management and teaching for student achievement with over 3.3 million copies sold. The book walks a teacher, either novice or veteran, through structuring and organizing a classroom for success that can be applied at any time of the year at any grade level, pre-K through college.

The book is used in thousands of school districts, in over 100 countries, and in over 2,000 college classrooms. It's practical, yet inspiring. But most important, it works!

The new 4th edition includes updated research, photos, and more examples of "how-to" along with an implementation DVD, "Using THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL" featuring Chelonnda Seroyer.

This is the most requested book for what works in the classroom for teacher and student success. ... Read more

Editorial Review

From one of the most significant neuroscientists at work today, a pathbreaking investigation of a question that has confounded philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists for centuries: how is consciousness created?
 
Antonio Damasio has spent the past thirty years studying and writing about how the brain operates, and his work has garnered acclaim for its singular melding of the scientific and the humanistic. In Self Comes to Mind, he goes against the long-standing idea that consciousness is somehow separate from the body, presenting compelling new scientific evidence that consciousness—what we think of as a mind with a self—is to begin with a biological process created by a living organism. Besides the three traditional perspectives used to study the mind (the introspective, the behavioral, and the neurological), Damasio introduces an evolutionary perspective that entails a radical change in the way the history of conscious minds is viewed and told. He also advances a radical hypothesis regarding the origins and varieties of feelings, which is central to his framework for the biological construction of consciousness: feelings are grounded in a near fusion of body and brain networks, and first emerge from the historically old and humble brain stem rather than from the modern cerebral cortex.
 
Damasio suggests that the brain’s development of a human self becomes a challenge to nature’s indifference and opens the way for the appearance of culture, a radical break in the course of evolution and the source of a new level of life regulation—sociocultural homeostasis. He leaves no doubt that the blueprint for the work-in-progress he calls sociocultural homeostasis is the genetically well-established basic homeostasis, the curator of value that has been present in simple life-forms for billions of years. Self Comes to Mind is a groundbreaking journey into the neurobiological foundations of mind and self.

Reviews

Good news and bad news, November 19, 2010
The deep enigma of consciousness has been explored from many directions, including contributions by neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers and a few physicists (both quantum and complex systems scientists). An important study area consists of injuries or diseases that destroy specific brain structures; these clinical events are often closely correlated to nuanced effects on selective aspects of consciousness. Professor Damasio's book makes good use of these data to describe many known neural correlates of consciousness. For purposes of this book, he adopts the working hypothesis that mental states and brain states are essentially equivalent. While many (including this reviewer) find this idea questionable, such tentative hypothesis is quite appropriate for a book of this kind. In science we often adopt useful, if highly oversimplified, models in the early stages of our studies with no illusions that they are perfectly accurate. In this manner "Truth" is (hopefully) approached in a series of successive approximations. Thankfully, Damasio does not claim to "explain" consciousness.

The book's title is based on Damasio's suggestion that our evolutionary history reveals many simple creatures with active "minds" (defined broadly), but only much later did self (awareness) develop; in other words the human self is built in steps grounded in the so-called "protoself." An essential step is the development of homeostatis (life regulation needed to survive) in single cell creatures like bacteria, followed by progressively more complex "societies of cells" in more complex creatures like insects, reptiles, and mammals. Thus consciousness, rooted in our evolutionary past, helps to optimize our responses to the environment so that we may continue our existence. Damasio also describes the self in terms of stages: the protoself, core self and autobiographical self, along with specific brain structures that may support these distinct stages. He concludes that conscious minds emerge from the brain's nested hierarchy of neural networks operating at multiple spatial scales (levels); I will expand on this last point later.

Several chapters consider brain structures that are most essential to mind and consciousness, providing more status to the brain stem and its sub structures than is normally acknowledged by neuroscientists. Damasio's arguments here are based on observations of children born without a cerebral cortex and on several evolutionary considerations. The book cites quite a bit of detailed brain anatomy so non experts should probably read the excellent Appendix on brain structure before tackling any material beyond chapter 2. Normally this suggestion would be offered in a Preface, but this book has none.

I gave the book four stars based on my evaluation of both the good and not so good features: 1) the nice development of a number of important ideas on conscious correlates, 2) the fluff, e.g., some unnecessary technical jargon and the belaboring of obvious points, 3) important omissions. In an example of the latter, I found the memory chapter inadequate given its central role in consciousness. I would have liked to read more about how, where, and at what spatial scales are various kinds of memory stored, or at least given some sense of which parts of the memory puzzle have actually been solved. By loose analogy, if I ask how a TV works, I am unsatisfied by explanations of how to dial in specific channels. Rather, I want to hear about electromagnetic fields and electron guns.

Many readers avoid Endnotes; this may be a mistake. Here is one shining gem involving an interchange between Damasio and Francis Crick, who pointed to several provocative definitions in the International Dictionary of Psychology (1996), providing both these guys quite a laugh. I will not spoil the story by relating the dictionary's definition of "consciousness," but here is this dictionary's definition of "love," "A form of mental illness not yet recognized by any of the standard diagnostic manuals." (Note to my wife, I do not endorse this definition.)

The apparent critical importance of the brain's nested hierarchy to consciousness seemed to me to be substantially understated in Damisio's book. I say this because nested hierarchy is a hallmark of many if not most complex systems, and brains are considered by most to be the pre-eminent complex systems. Think of social systems, for example. They typically consist of persons, neighborhoods, cities, states and nations; their observed dynamic behaviors are fractal-like (scale dependent) and the essence of their behaviors is rooted in the nested hierarchy of interactions at multiple scales, both top-down and bottom-up, the so-called "circular causality" of Synergetics, the science of cooperation and self organization (see books by Hermann Haken). The brain's nested hierarchy and its apparent critical importance to consciousness are discussed in Todd Feinberg's From Axons to Identity Neurological Explorations of the Nature of the Self [HC,2009] and my new book Brain, Mind, and the Structure of Reality, 2010, which also explores the possible fundamental role of information in both the physical and mental realms. This latter topic is also covered in a series of essays edited by Paul Davies and Neils Gregersen Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics, 2010.

Piecing It All Together., November 22, 2010
Dr. Damasio says that, "This book is dedicated to addressing two questions. First: how does the brain construct a mind? Second: how does the brain make that mind conscious?" Do I think he does an exceptional job of tackling these two questions? Yes, I do.

I believe the greatest strength of this book lies in Dr. Damasio's capacity to take account of vast amounts of information and viewpoints related to mind and consciousness. He has included large swaths of issues that are usually books in and of themselves (Body Maps - The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better, Extended/Embodied Cognition - The Extended Mind (Life and Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology and Psychology), Efficient Computational Theory of Mind - Your Brain Is (Almost) Perfect: How We Make Decisions, Selfhood - The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self, Free Will - Distributed Cognition and the Will: Individual Volition and Social Context (Bradford Books), Neuroeconomics - Rationality for Mortals: How People Cope with Uncertainty (Evolution and Cognition Series) and Neuroanatomy - Mapping the Mind: Revised and Updated Edition). Furthermore, Dr. Damasio is very forthcoming in demarcating the known from the unknown and the probable from the possible in regards to neuroscience. The only downside I experienced while reading this book is that I felt a little lost, or perhaps impatient, while waiting for Damasio to tie everything together. It was only towards the last half of the book that the big picture began to emerge.

That being said, I believe that this book is a significant advancement in neuroscientific research. Most importantly, I actually understand what Damasio means when he speaks of the proto self, core self, and autobiographical self. His explanation of Convergence-Divergence Zones (CDZ's), as well as anatomical structures, is very effective and his manner of description is so unsophisticated that even a layman like me can understand exactly what he is illustrating. Also, there are many pictures, diagrams, and charts to help too.

In conclusion, I very much enjoyed the substance of this book (the style is somewhat lacking, but hey, it's not supposed to be Shakespeare!). I also took pleasure in the way in which Damasio took a back-handed approach to dismissing a certain philosophers (Daniel Dennett, ahem) approach towards consciousness; I liked it because when it comes to Mind/Brain/Consciousness issues, I think philosophers must necessarily take a supporting role to the neuroscientists. "I see the neurology of consciousness as organized around the brain structures involved in generating the lead triad of wakefulness, mind, and self. Three major anatomical divisions - the brain stem, the thalamus, and cerebral cortex - are principally involved, but one must caution that there are no direct alignments between each anatomical division and each component of the triad. All three divisions contribute to some aspect of wakefulness, mind, and self." A great book, I highly recommend it.

For bumblebee scholars, too., November 25, 2010
As I write this I am trying to assess the three previous reviews which were written by those more scholarly than I. That said, I encourage "bumblebee scholars" such as I to dig in to this seminal work. It can't hurt and might be good for you.

Cautionary Note: If you read the Endnotes you may construct a reading list that will prompt you to delay your demise for at least twenty years beyond your current biological expectancy.

Puts William James on a Modern Foundation of Neuroscience, November 21, 2010
"Self Comes to Mind - Constructing the Conscious Brain" is Antonio Domasio's latest landmark book on the nature of consciousness and how it is created. In his previous book "The Feeling of Knowing" Damasio provided an account that was logically consistent with third party perspectives of philosophy, psychology, plus the latest findings in neuroscience.

In the "Self Comes to Mind" he announces his intention to "start over" with explanations, and he stakes out new ground with a daring first person subjective perspective that is akin to William James view of "my" objects of attention versus "I" as the self or protagonist who is the active agent in the changing stream of consciousness, and "owns" the other objects as "knower". He successfully brings off this new venture of understanding.

He names the two questions to be addressed: how does the brain construct a mind? and how does the brain make that mind conscious? He affirms James' idea of the importance of a self, and brings it alive with his own earlier ideas of the three aspects of self (the proto self, the core self, and the autobiographical self) but develops them more fully in the "Self Comes to Mind" with the active protagonist in mind.

The shift to Damasio's first person subjective protagonist perspective from his prior third person objective prospective takes place when he makes the distinction between neural maps constructed by the brain for information, and images formed in the mind (conscious or unconscious) for use by the protagonist in navigating their external environment to achieve goals having biological and cultural value.

He acknowledges in the Appendix that the mind-brain equivalence hypothesis is not universally liked or accepted. I believe the Domasio's mind-brain hypothesis is logically correct for two main reasons. First, the equivalence of subjective mental images and objective brain neural maps is quite convincing - after all, people can communicate their mental images with one another by talking and listening while paying close attention to each other. A "sentence" can be spoken, listened to, and repeated back to the speaker to confirm error free communication, high fidelity, and understanding of the intended meaning. A third witness can verify the accuracy of the information exchanged. Second, Domasio avoids the common philosophical error of dualism which is so easy to make when moving from the outside objective view to the inside subjective view of the human brain and its mind. Mortimer Adler, renown American philosopher, reminds us that there are three object types (real, subjective, and intentional), and all three must be included when discussing the conscious mind. Intentionality was lost as a philosophical concept since Kant obliterated it. This is OK for mindless rocks, but not for human beings with meaningful language. Domasio puts the Protagonist process back in the Jamesian stream of consciousness with attention and intention. The stream of consciousness runs on a layered foundation of proto self, core self, and extended or autobiographical self.

Part IV is a nice wrap up for the non-specialist public with an deep interest in neurology, psychology, and philosophy of mind. Domasio takes care to not use suit case words that mean different things to different people, and in the process introduces delightful new words that are more general and less controversial.

He introduces the term Genomic Unconscious (page 278) to provide for the biological diversity of dispositions (another new term) to better convey psychological concepts (instinct, automatic behaviors, drives, and motivations) from a neurological foundation. Domasio acknowledges that the Genomic Unconscious has something to do with what Freud and Jung sensed, but avoids getting bogged down on Freud's emphasis on sexuality that caused Jung to break company from him. Jung went on to develop concepts of consciousness (personal consciousness, personal unconsciousness, and the collective unconscious or archetypal realm) and enduring patterns that arise in civilization as it ascends to the pinacle of consciousness. Yes, Genomic Unconscious covers this!

Damasio includes feeling and value as fundamental observables of the self and its objects. He briefly uses the "intuition" word without reservation (page 276). Jung included intuition in his functional classification of sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling. Jung identified four ways of perceiving and judging both the external and the internal objects in the field of consciousness. The subjective sensation function monitors subjective feelings, and the subjective rational valuing function makes judgments as to whether a privately held object of attention is good or bad, OK, or not OK.

On the last two page of the last Chapter, Damasio acknowledges imagination's ability to navigate the future as the ultimate gift of consciousness, and this depends on the intersection of self with memory, tempered by personal feeling, with consideration of the well-being of members of society. Damasio handles mapping vs simulating body states on pages 101-107, and touches on the recent discovery of mirror neuron's ability to simulate body state feeling of another creature (monkeys were the subject) in the observing self's brain-mind. He suggests that being able to simulate or imagine the other "object" would not be possible if the neurological network were not first in place to simulate and imagine one's own "self" in an "as-if" future. It is important that imagination is included in Damasio's new neurologically based model of the intentional attentive protagonist self-in-mind.

James devoted entire Chapters in his two books to imagination and attention. Jung, coming from an empirical study of the mental categories of objective and subjective knowledge, came up with the sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling categories of information that can be held in the conscious mind and witnessed by the small momentary "self", against a longer term unconscious background of the larger "Self". Jung included imagination as an actual perceptual content of the intuition function, but not as a separate intentional function. However, Jung included a fifth transcendent function that comes into play for reconciling opposing tendencies of the functional information about objects. This transcendent function works with symbolic images that may be developed and brought forth in a process described by Jung as active imagination. Jung also identified the two directions of attention and interest known as the extraverted and introverted attitudes of consciousness. Jung's terms extraversion and introversion are widely used today. They are included as options of attentional choice in the MBTI�(Myers Briggs Type Indicator), and as one of the five factors in the Five Factor Model of Personality. Geldart included attention and imagination as functions of intentionality, plus Jung's four functions of perception and judgment for both subjective and objective objects of attention in the EPIC model (Emergent Patterns of Individual Consciousness).

Damasio implicitly puts William James psychological and pragmatic concepts of self, attention, imagination, ideomotor force and steam of consciousness on a modern neurological foundation. I think it is time for Carl Jung's knowledge categories of consciousness (very suitable for the autobiographical self) to be considered for its pragmatic value by scientists of consciousness today. Why so? Jung spoke of the four functions (knowledge aspects) of consciousness (S, N, T, and F) or sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling. Jung described them in his Psychological Types in 1921. Beebe thinks of them as types of consciousness, not types of people [Beebe, J. (2004). Understanding Consciousness through the theory of psychological types, Cambray and Carter (eds.) Analytic Psychology: Contemporary Perspectives in Jungian Analysis]. Brunner-Routledge. Geldart included imagination and intention as functions of intention, along with Jung's four extraverted functions for real external objects and four introverted functions for subjective internal objects of consciousness in the EPIC model (2010).

Damasio has something to say on page 14 about attempts by others to relate a view of the mind as a nonphysical phenomenon with laws of quantum physics. He appeals to relying more on an unfolding understanding from neuroscience instead of possibilities from a more remote and less accessible quantum physics. He prefers not to explain the mystery of conscious mind with another mystery of quantum physics, and refers to several authors leaning on a quantum physics explanation. He does not refer to the work by Schwartz, J. and Begley, S. (2002). The Mind and its Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. Schwartz working with Henry Stapp found that the effect of attention can be modeled in Schrodinger's wave equations that are normally applied to physical matter at the sub-atomic level. They assume that attention can change the odds on which wave function wins and hence which thought wins (page 362, Figure 8 of their book). Obviously, this does not explain how consciousness emerges in mind with associated mental images, nor is this what they intend to do. But it is a creative effort to show that selective attention of the subject-agent (as James described it) is not something metaphysical, but something permitted in the laws of physics. This hardly needs to be proved because Schwartz's book provides ample evidence that learning new habits and unlearning obsessive compulsive habits can be accomplished by harnessing the self's power of attention to achieve actual free will or free won't choices in the transient moments of decision prior to a voluntary response. What makes this challenging is that Domasio's "core self" is a transient phenomenon that provides the only window of opportunity to make a new free will or free won't response in the real world where things are matter and do matter.

I went back to William James to study his understanding of attention as a macroscopic (not quantum physics) phenomenon on the conscious mind side of the mind-brain system. A closer reading of James found that he discovered (without naming it) a psychological quantum of action and intentionality on the scale of fractions of a second to a few seconds. James' indivisible ideomotor action released in body by the self as agent, and James' indivisible privately voiced mental statements about mental images (the pack of cards is on the table) are pragmatic evidence of a psychological quantum of action effect. This predates quantum effects in physics.

Antonio Domasio's new book "Self Comes to Mind:Constructing the Conscious Brain" is delightful, well worth waiting for, and well worth reading over and over. It's bound to become a classic.

Walter Geldart developed a logical model that integrates William James' intentional functions of attention and imagination with Carl Jung's perception (sensation and intuition) and judgment (thinking and feeling) functions of consciousness. The information is held briefly in working memory. The mathematical model predicts emergent patterns that are analogous to information patterns owned by a "core self" (Domasio). The predicted patterns can be interpreted with definitions from philosophy,psychology, and neurology. The EPIC model is inclusive. It omits no necessary categories of object types (all three real, subjective, and intentional object type categories of philosophy are present). Then it maps ten necessary and sufficient psychological functions from Jung and James to the correct object type categories and to their own position in ten intervals in the momentary indivisible event cycle of consciousness (the Jamesian quantum of psychological activity). It then becomes possible to predict emergent strings of functional content of consciousness using the mathematics of prime number division of the integral duration of the event cycle.


The Epic Roles of Consciousness: Emergent Patterns of Individual Consciousness - Paperback (Jan. 15, 2010) by Walter J. Geldart

Resolving the "Mind-body" Problem through Mental Cartography, December 20, 2010
Professor Damasio begins this incredible story using Darwin's Theory of Evolution as the driving force and centerpiece of a theoretical odyssey that is as intimate as it is cogent and thorough. For the author, the theory of how the mind becomes "self" is a labor of love, surely his professional life quest: the last remaining riddle of the universe, now finally solved by the life work of this author. It is told so carefully, so cogently, and with such clarity and depth that it amounts to a convincing love story that will simply take the breath away.

This book is sure to be one of the finalists in the National Science Book of the year Award. It certainly gets my vote!

At the center of this incredible story (and the author's theory) is the ever-evolving cell: that powerful "active" (but much underrated) building block of all living systems. With the evolution of the cell, which importantly, has, since its inception, always had the capacity to be a "stand-along," "purposefully surviving" functional living system and unit of life. That is to say as a "proto-animal," the cell brings intrinsically into being the functional aspects of an "intentional life." The mind is simply one of the latest evolutionary adaptations of this exquisite carefully balanced, living piece of architecture called (animal) life. One of the key remaining unanswered properties of a cell is that it comes with the "will to survive," built-in? How it does this?-- the author does not touch with a ten-foot pole; and this remains the only flaw in the design, as the research leaves unanswered, and thus begs this most important of questions. But more about that later.

As Professor Damasio demonstrates so elegantly, having a "proto-animal" as the functional building block of life is no small matter. But in fact is a very large matter indeed. It is qualitatively different than say that of having a dead (and thus passive) object (such as an inactive or dead cell or a brick) as the building block of a system. For as the cell has evolved, it's inherent (and unexplained) but powerful and purposeful "will to survive" has also evolved to promote much more specialized and infinitely more complex survival requirements, components and imperatives.

This increased specialization and complexity combined with the unexplained need for a cell to survive, alone appear to be the key elements explaining human motivation, the economics of value, "intention," "anticipation," the ability to predict, the need to reason and plan, as well as "will" itself. Arguably, it is these unexplained aspects of the cell that drive the machinery of life, self and the life of the mind. With it, the cell (as well as the body as organism), is motivated to adapt in order to live, and as a result of this built in imperative, it has "learned" over eons how to coalesce and combine with other cells to form "colonies," which over those years have also evolved into specialized sub-components (such as organs of the body, etc.) and ultimately into organisms and other larger living eco-systems themselves -- all engineered and controlled by the DNA of the genes (or their equivalents, mimes of culture).

It is the members of these specialized groups of cells, the neuron in particular, that is the protagonist and hero of this story: One that in my view finally gets the mystery of consciousness out into the open, and the story about consciousness, the self, emotions and feelings, right. The neuron is not just a cell, but the "micro system" at the cellular level that through its signaling, mapping, imaging and messenger roles, is pretty much responsible for sculpting, and controlling the activity of the larger macro system called the body (or organism).

Nothing in science is quite so dense, so elegant, so surprising, so cogent, or so beautiful as the author's carefully honed and incremental descriptions, that build into a crescendo, of how the neuron through evolution has resolved the long-standing and formidable "mind-body" problem. That problem is dispatched as a matter of course, and so easily and with such elegance that it reduces simply to a side issue dealing with the question of the need for the body to maintain less than a dozen or so parameters within very narrow homeostatic ranges.

In it role as the conductor of a symphony of a multilayered orchestra of cells, it is the neuron's job as the CEO of that operation to maintain the body in the necessary homeostatic condition. However, "body maintenance" is a job that predated even the brain and exists even in animals without a conscious mind. These "proto-mental" capacities were important antecedents to the mentality that eventually encompassed what we have come to know as "conscious mentality." Therefore the older brainstem, which still "maintains" the body through passive processes and processing, is strongly implicated and shown to necessarily have been a precursor to the more complex later set of brain operations that we have come to recognize as the "self" and as consciousness.

The neuron conducts the body's orchestra of both "normal body maintenance" as well as its self-reflective activities, which actually create the "self." The neuron does this by being a serious multi-tasker; one scripted to provide the charts for the music of the body: its feelings and emotions (which just happen to bring them into being). The sheet music comes in the form of interactive maps, images and bi-directional messages of the cell's and the organism's activities, all brought together as a symphony of managed anticipation, forward feedback and pre-processing, predictions, storage, retrievals and editing from memory, and the channeling of interests and attention -- all in defense of maintaining homeostasis -- that is to say in defense of the body's (or the system's or organism's) global survival interests. The summation of this mostly cartographic activity, called up as perceptions, maps and images, from either inside or outside the brain, is what constitutes the brain's response to the imperatives of life. We sense this constant teeming brain activity as conscious feelings and emotions that we can uniquely attach to the self. QED.

All of this exquisite complexity is resolved beautifully in the Occam's Razor sense. To wit: No other theory, so far, explains what the brain or the mind does quite as economically as does Professor Damasio's. No other theory explains how the "self" comes into being quite so cogently as Professor Damasio's. No other theory explains how evolution plays such a critical role in the development of this orchestra as does that of Professor Damasio's. And all of this knowledge is gained by him the hard way: through careful observation of diseased brains, of split-brain research, through the author's on over-sized introspective brain, and by the pulling together of the research of nearly every fruitful avenue in neurology over the last century. To say that this book is a tour de force would be an understatement.

Because Professor Damasio's theory does not even attempt to explain where the cell's "will to survive" comes from, it leaves the back door open for the "Intelligent Designers" to pounce on. I predict that it will be just a matter of time before they seize on this single isolated fact as an opportunity to say that: it is a god that implants this will to live into the cell? Surely, they will do this, but when they do, it will be a poison pill as surely they can then will be able to see that they have walked into a trap of their own making: as they then will have no choice but to accept Darwin's theory of evolution as god's own handiwork. If they want to do that, then fine. It simply makes god superfluous, as we already knew he always was. Fifty stars.

A few thoughts, December 18, 2010
I'm in no way a neuroscientist or someone with deep psichology or neurology knowledges. I'm just an interested layman that finds the subject at hand fascinating. I'm also perfectly aware from the fields that I study that there are frequently several contesting theories, and rarely there's consense over all the minutiae.

I must commend the other reviewers for the excellent commentaries on this work. I will not be so thourough and analytical.

This book might take some time to read and absorb the contents, specially if you lack bases of anatomy and neurology (like me), altough professor Damasio tries to simplify matters with many metaphors and practical examples. Many aspects are covered in this work, including the construction of maps through our "objectives"; how memory works and how do we reconstruct things from memory (although sometimes lacking details) through the Convergence Divergence Zones; the importance of homeostasis and mechanisms of reward-punishment; the construction of conscience and the importance of the Cerebral Cortex, but also of the Thalamus and the brain stem! Not forgetting the effects and relation between culture, society and biology of the brain among many other fascinating subjects (like the Qualia).

Naturally we are only scratching the surface on how our brain works and what makes the self, but with the work of Professor Damasio and several other top neuroscientists slowly we will take conscience on how conscience works. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The astonishing New York Times bestseller that chronicles how a brain scientist's own stroke led to enlightenment

On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized she was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was completely lost. It would take her eight years to fully recover.

For Taylor, her stroke was a blessing and a revelation. It taught her that by "stepping to the right" of our left brains, we can uncover feelings of well-being that are often sidelined by "brain chatter." Reaching wide audiences through her talk at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference and her appearance on Oprah's online Soul Series, Taylor provides a valuable recovery guide for those touched by brain injury and an inspiring testimony that inner peace is accessible to anyone. ... Read more

Reviews

Important
This is, indeed, a first-person description of stroke by a scientifically and dare I say it -- spiritually -- sophisticated person. The author describes a range of experiences that make sense given our knowledge of localization of function. I'm not sure that such a detailed and consistent report by a scientist is available anywhere else. As such, this story is unusual and important. Moreover the author reports how she turned her stroke into an opportunity for profound wisdom and insight. Amazing stuff! And this may save lives.

Personally, I don't share all the author's ideas about strict functional localization in the brain... but that is secondary and doesn't detract from my admiration of her remarkable contribution.

My enjoyment of this book was enhanced considerably by the material and links at the author's website. She has posted a number of video and audio presentations, radio shows, etc.

Stroke of Brilliance!
I first came across Jill Bolte Taylor, Phd when her speech at TED (an annual conference devoted to Technology, Entertainment, Design) went viral. In it, she describes how she witnessed herself having a stroke and the subsequent feeling of peace that enveloped her when her logical left brain shut down and her right brain became dominant. I became intrigued after watching the video and then read the book.

The book expounds on her experience while having the stroke and her subsequent recovery. It was amazing on many levels:
(1) She gives a 1st person narrative of her experience of the stroke and recovery but she doesn't portray it as something we should all pity and feel sorry for. Instead, she lays it out not unlike an explorer discovering new territory, full of suspense and wonder.

(2) She gives incredible tips on how to communicate with and care for stroke victims. For e.g., some people would yell at her after they saw she didn't understand what they were saying. However, she wasn't deaf. She could only process one word at a time. If those people would have spoken more slowly rather than loudly, she would have been able to understand them. This is something that would never have occurred to me if I hadn't read this book.

(3) She takes us on a tour of the 'mystical' right side of her brain which little is known about and whose capabilities in today's world seem to be dismissed. She says the right side of the brain is the gateway to enlightenment and nirvana. She shares tips on how to 'tend the garden of your mind' and to interrupt or stop those stories we all tell ourselves over and over again (usually about how we are deficient, not good enough, etc.). She calls them loops.

Dr. Taylor's tips about how we can all achieve nirvana by accessing the right side of the brain as a conscious process is worth the price of the book many times over. We all have a "loop of deep inner peace" wired into our neurological circuitry in our right brain and we can consciously choose to run this loop whenever we wish.

Closely related to this topic are books by Ariel & Shya Kane. They've written three outstanding books: Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life, How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life & Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. The Kanes have been teaching about accessing the magic of the right-side of the brain for over 20 years and their book is chock full of tips, and stories on how to recognize those loops Dr. Taylor talks about and how to bypass them. If you're serious about getting enlightened, get Dr. Taylor's and the Kanes' books NOW!

Required Reading
My wife is a "massive" stroke victim. Her survival and recovery themselves were miracles. We are very fortunate. But one of the god-given gifts that has not returned is her speech. And while as a husband of 45 years when asked how she is doing often facetiously say that her loss of speech "is not all bad", I feel for her occasional frustration as she stumbles in her attempt to convey her feelings - fortunately, it is only occasional. We were warned it would be much, much worse.

But the bottom line, this book has restored her faith in the possibilities of even further recovery. It should be required reading for all stoke victims whose speech was affected. Likewise, for all caretakers of those victims. For just to see the light shine in her eye as she showed me many passages in the book that still gave her hope was well worth the price and time involved.

Fantastic!
I've been recommending My Stroke of Insight to nearly everyone I know. Jill provides a great moment-by-moment account of her stroke, a potentially devasting event many of my relatives have experienced. I deeply admire her determination to work through it. She also does one of the best jobs of describing brain function I've ever run across. I came away with a renewed sense of understanding, wonder and hopefulness about the capabilities of the human brain. Highly recommended!

Glimpse Inside the Mind of Another
Dr Taylor shows there are many kinds of knowledge, but maybe only one kind of awareness. The specialjourney that "Stroke of Insight" chronicles is surprising. It's a lesson how new learning, understanding and benefit can come of an experience that most would consider a severe blow. If you have the courage to face it and see it.

The ability to experience something on several levels, beyond the daily vision of most of us, and then to share it in such a clear and thoughful account is rare. In this book, Dr Taylor shows her courage doesn't end with facing pain, loss or mortality, but she also now breaks convention and presents her ideas and experience in full view, with their emotional and philosophical content included. Not only was she inspired by her own journey, but she shares the inspiration directly with the reader.

More than just an interesting read, this is one of the books that lets the reader peek inside the mind of another and, in doing so, to learn more about the self and the nature of our existence. Well worth your time.

Great book
How often do you get to hear a neuroscientist describe her own stroke?
This is an amazing story on three levels; physical, emotional, and spiritual. Dr. Jill's description of her eight year recovery is both uplifting and powerful. But the spiritual aspect is alone worth the price of admission. (I won't spoil it for you.)

Dr. Bolte-Taylor is not a writer of prose. Her style is that of someone experienced in writing scientific papers; factual, concise and parsimonious. But the content! That is what makes this a great book in my opinion.

A quick read but a powerful story.

Danny

My Stroke of Insight
An absolutely wonderful journey by a brain anatomist who suffered a stroke. Her resilience, her deep understanding of the condition and lessons to be learned by her and other health care professionals is outstanding. A must read for anyone whether faced with a health problem or not. Is a mind awakening experience!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?

These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head.

Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of . . . well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Klu Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

Reviews

A less dismal side of economics, April 30, 2005
Steven Levitt, an economist at U Chicago, is less interested in numbers and more interested in why people turn out the way they do. He examines the influence of incentive, heredity, the neighborhood you grew up in, etc.

Some of his conclusions are less than earth-shattering. For example, African-American names (DeShawn, Latanya) don't influence African-American test performance. As a second example, Levitt compiled data regarding online dating websites and concluded that bald men and overweight women fared badly. Not rocket science.

However, Levitt livens up the book with some controversial discussions. He believes that the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s can be traced to Roe v. Wade. He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often.

He also writes about the man who more or less singlehandedly contributed to the KKK's demise by infiltrating their group and leaking their secret passwords and rituals to the people behind the Superman comic book (Superman needed a new enemy).

Interestingly, he also discusses how overbearing parents don't contribute to a child's success. For example, having a lot of books in the house has a positive influence on children's test scores, but reading to a child a lot has no effect. Highly educated parents are also a plus, while limiting children's television time is irrelevant. Similarly, political candidates who have a lot of money to finance their campaigns are still out of luck if no one likes them.

In the chapter entitled "Why Drug Dealers Live With Their Mothers," Levitt explores the economics of drug dealing. An Indian, Harvard-affiliated scholar decided to get up close and personal with crack gangs and got some notebooks documenting their finances. Levitt concludes that drug dealers' empires are a lot like McDonald's or the publishing industry in Manhattan - only the people on the very top of the pyramid do well financially, while the burger flippers, editorial assistants, and low-level drug runners don't (indeed, some of them work for free, or in return for protection!)

Overall, this is a lively read, with some obvious conclusions and some not so obvious.

An Entertaining Lesson on Breaking Out of the Mold, May 6, 2005
This book succeeds at analyzing sociological developments in a way that is entertaining because Steven Levitt, an economist who strays from convention, has a knack for unpeeling layers and layers of assumptions and myth and showing the real causes behind trends. He shows, to name some examples, how our names affect our career paths; how abortion and the crime rate are related; how a man used his cunning to humiliate the Klu Klux Klan rather than rely on conventional methods; how easy it is to identify the role of public school teachers when they help their students cheat on standardized tests; why drug dealing is only lucrative for the dealers at the top of the pyramid; the myth that real estate agents are looking for our best interests.

The book, co-authored by Stephen J. Dubner, is breezy and anecdotal, which is an effective format for presenting a lot of sociological trends without being dry or losing the scintillating reportage in dense prose.

The lesson of this book is that we should be leery of trusting society's common assumptions or common wisdom. In other words, the book encourages us to keep our mind alert and break out of the mold in the way we see things. By looking at social trends with a fresh eye, the book succeeds at making economic trends a fun, adventurous endeavor.

If I were to criticize the book, it would be that it is too short. It's barely 200 pages and if you take out the blank chapter pages, the charts, the lists, and so on, it's really closer to 150 pages. Because the material is so current and topical, the method of "freakonomics" presented here would make a good format for a monthly magazine. My guess is that there will be many sequels.

The Power of Data in a Master Economist's Hands, April 15, 2005
Having myself survived the economics program at the University of Chicago as a young graduate student twenty years ago, I know how decidedly eccentric their laurelled scholars can be. One of the most prestigious of the current crop there, Steven D. Levitt, along with journalist Stephen J. Dubner, has written a most intriguing and mind-bending book that uses Chicago-style econometric approaches and applies those to social and political issues that otherwise seem mundane and have no apparent basis in coherent theory which would support the behavior under study. In fact, this book of compelling case studies bears similarities to the approach taken by author Malcolm Gladwell in his recent best-selling book, "The Tipping Point", where he takes primarily historical events and analyzes them almost anecdotally as exercises in human behavior, in his case, making connections and how ideas become trends not by gradual insinuation but by a singular dramatic moment.

But Levitt's canvas is broader, his theories and findings are far more diverse, and his approach is far more quantitative in nature. For example, he challenges the perception that campaign spending determines elections. Levitt's analysis takes a fresh look by contrasting races in which the same two congressional candidates run repeatedly against each other. What he concludes is that a winning candidate can spend half as much as before and lose only one percent of the vote, while a losing candidate who doubles campaign spending picks up only one percent more. Basically they prove that no matter how much candidates spend on their campaigns, the results would not be marginally affected. In another example, the authors describe a seller's real estate agent, who lives on commission and has an incentive to sell a listed home for maximum dollar. Again, this is a misconception since the authors contend the small financial reward to an agent who sells a home for a few thousand more dollars is dwarfed by the greater money to be made by selling properties for less but quicker. Levitt's research into the sale of one hundred thousand Chicago homes found that agents keep their own homes on the market an average of ten days longer and sell them for more than three percent more than the homes they list and sell for clients.

The penetrating analyses provided by Levitt appear to have no bounds as he identifies Chicago teachers, who were proven to be changing their students' test answers and ultimately fired for their actions; sumo wrestlers who were found to be cheating as well; and even the alternative and more lucrative career options that crack dealers may have at McDonald's versus making sales. He even questions the impact of a good first name in a person's later life and if children become more literate if their parents read to them. The conclusions surprised me as they will you. But the most compelling study he presents is related to the impact of Roe vs. Wade. In a study he conducted with Stanford law Professor John Donohue, Levitt makes a seemingly broad-stroked conclusion in attributing much of the drop in the U.S. crime rate to legalized abortion. Their argument was based on the theory that abortion prevented the births of unwanted children who otherwise would have been statistically more likely to mature into criminals. The crime rate drop coincided with the time those aborted pregnancies would otherwise have hit their teen years, and the trend showed up earlier in states such as California that were the first to enact more liberal access to abortions. Through the data they gather, the correlation is startling, and the conclusion is hard to refute despite the naysayers who felt the stuffy to be politically motivated. But to Levitt's academically inclined credit, he never seems like he has an ideological agenda as he lets the numbers do the talking for him. His genius is to take those seemingly meaningless sets of numbers, ferret out the telltale pattern and recognize what it all means. A brilliant mind is at work, as he takes the most mundane open-ended questions and actually answers them. Strongly recommended.

An uncritical book, January 10, 2006
The scientific fidelity of social science is a topic of heated contention in academics. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner have successfully brought this debate to the mainstream in the form of their joint book, Freakonomics. But do they make a strong case for validating statistical analyses of an infinitely complex human society?

As any statistician will tell you, one of the major pitfalls of their field is the confusion of correlation and causation. Just because X and Y have similar trends does not necessarily mean that X caused Y or that Y caused X. Numerous times throughout the book, Levitt and Dubner chastise various experts, pundits, and conventional wisdoms for failing to observe this basic tenet. Yet so tempting is this trap that the authors fall right in along with their targets.

Take, for example, the chapter on parenting. A full six paragraphs are devoted to warning about correlation versus causation, the caution of which is thrown immediately to the wind with a set of highly dubious stabs at the causes of various correlations regarding parenting. The data in question comes from Levitt's regression analysis of numerous factors which conventional wisdom believes may play some role in the academic outcome of children. So, for example, correlations were found between a child's test scores and the number of books the parents have in their house, but not how often the parents read to the child. So far, so good. The authors then conclude from similar datapoints that it is the nature of the parents' lives that influence a child's scores, not what the parents do. Granted, it has a certain logical appeal, but it amounts to no more than an educated guess. What's wrong with that? you may ask.

The problems with this example illustrate some of the major difficulties associated with social science. What you may notice about the correlations is that - by necessity - they lack a certain level of detail. What *kind* of books to the parents have? What kind do they read to their child? How often does a child actually pick up one of numerous books? These are questions for which there are few or no practical solutions. The reasons are manifold, including: the number of data points may never be enough (consider how many categories you may have to break predominating book types into: comic books, encyclopedias, TV trivia, etc.); you never know which test subject is lying, exaggerating, or remembering incorrectly; and you can never be sure that test scores are the right thing to measure.

This last difficulty is made more extreme when you consider the following quote from Freakonomics: "Sorry. Culture cramming may be a foundational belief of obsessive parenting, but the ECLS data show no correlation between museum visits and test scores." There should be little surprise at the lack of correlation: there are very few things that a museum offers that would help on the SATs or state exams. But that doesn't mean that museum visits have no positive impact on the intelligence of a child. The authors make the mistake of equating test scores to intelligence. It may very well be true that a child that goes to museums will score no better on entrance exams than a child that doesn't, but it may affect which hobbies they take up, their job performance, and various other important aspects of life that have little or nothing to do with measurable intelligence.

Similar errors in thinking occur throughout the book. In the bagel-seller example, statistics are carelessly and bizarrely used to justify a stance on morality. Because only 13% of people failed to pay for bagels when left out with a payment box, the authors conclude that the majority - in fact, 87% - of people have an innate honesty. I was floored by this kind of uncritical thinking. People may have paid out of fear of getting caught or out of guilt, but not necessarily out of honesty. But more so than that, honesty in one small area of life does not an honest man make. If Dubner and Levitt wanted to conclude simply that statistics is useful for understanding human motivation, that would be fine. But to make sweeping generalizations about whether humans are born innately good or innately bad on a single study is simply irresponsible.

The only positive thing to say about Freakonomics is that it makes you think. But any controversial book can do that. Though there are some fairly solid examples in the book such as regards the real estate agents, the sumo wrestlers, and the cheating teachers, overall the book is uncritical of its own thinking. It would be fine if Levitt and Dubner acknowledged that there may be other interpretations at least as good as their own, but they choose instead to pontificate their own views, in flagrant violation of their professed objectivism. And oddly enough, I happen to agree with most of their views, just not with how they reached them. Levitt is clearly a brilliant man, and I hope he continues to churn out interesting statistical correlations on unusual subjects... but he and Dubner ought to leave the interpretations to others.

Highly Overrated, December 11, 2005
I expected much more from this book, including some actual economic theory and discussion of what separates insightful research from background noise. The only thought-provoking piece in this motley collection of entertaining (to some) factoids is the one about abortion being the cause of declining crime. Beyond that, everything the book touches is either mundane or rehashed from somewhere else, primarily the New York Times article by co-author Dubner.

A main premise in the book is that asking the right questions in life is important. It then proceeds to ask almost none of them. For instance, what do sumo wrestlers and teachers have in common? I guess the headline itself is good for a snicker, but then we assume that it will move on to discover some heretofore hidden connection of value to us. Don't get your hopes up. Instead, after pages of unnecessary background on educational competence testing, it is revealed that - no! - teachers have cheated to boost their students' scores. What's more, shhh, occasionally sumo wrestlers have cheated to improve a friend's ranking by letting him win. Again, shocking? Not at all. Both of these revelations have been explored before and cheating doesn't expose any commonality between teachers and sumo wrestlers that doesn't stem from both groups being merely human. People cheat. Teachers and sumo wresters are people. Therefore, they both cheat and that's what they have in common. Some groundbreaking research, eh? The authors could just as easily have chosen any arbitrary group of people, found a human trait, and then shown how both groups exhibit it. For instance, what do umbrella sellers and plumbers have in common? Both take advantage of urgent situations to charge higher prices. What do Balinese dancers and corporate lawyers have in common? Both eat smaller lunches during busy seasons.

This book's subtitle is, "A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything". A more appropriate one would have been, "An Ordinary Economist Ponders Too Long About the Widely Known Side of a Few Unimportant Subjects". Randomly put together, I might add, and that's another annoying point. The book has almost no organization whatsoever. Rather than taking the time to organize the book into a logical manner, the authors joke about it being a disorganized collection of points and claim that as proof of their rogue status. If that's rogue, I'll take conventional any day.

It's clear that these authors are intelligent men who probably have something worthwhile to write. Unfortunately, they didn't write it in this book. The "Freak" in Freakonomics is supposed to refer to offbeat analysis or an original perspective. Instead it refers to the strange fact that, so often in publishing, what's of lasting value goes out of print and what's fleetingly entertaining climbs the charts.

You would do well to skip this one.

Over-rated, simplistic, August 11, 2006
Between the generous margins, double spacing, gratuitous data tables and lists, quotes by various media sources attesting to the author's intellectual greatness, and the fact that they draw out their points and explanations so much, one wonders whether they are striving for clarity or just filling up space. There are some interesting issues discussed, but in such an unsophisticated manner why even bother with a book? I can get the same level of quality and depth of gee-whiz information from Headline News, and much quicker at that. And the, as the authors put it, "penultimate" chapter on how parents are unable to make any difference in their children's future is just downright confusing. Not because the point is difficult to grasp, just that it's so poorly explained. The point is that parents' actions do affect how their children turn out but there is really nothing that they can do through conscious effort to improve their parenting skills. Now this is nowhere stated explicitly in the book. And in fact the chapter seems to say that on the one hand parents do have an effect on their children based on such and such data, but on the other hand they do have NO effect. What?

Further, the book is sensational. Not that that should come as a surprise considering its title. Moreover, the authors have supposedly brought us all this profound and "unexpected" wisdom from a few studies and anecdotes and present it as if the questions it addresses are settled. But even the author admit that "... an expert whose argument reeks of restraint or nuance often doesn't get much attention (148)." Is this ironic or sort of a knowing wink at readers?

This book is an extremely easy read and I would seriously hope that anyone with a half-way decent college education would find very little value in this other than mindless entertainment.

A Dangerous Abuse of Statistics, July 17, 2006
In the beginning of the book, I found the author's use of simple statistics to find new ways of looking at social phenomenon interesting and refreshing. By the end of the book I was outraged when he started "proving" his theories by statistics. Linear regression is powerful tool in understanding simple systems with one or two variables. Applying it to the complex realm of the social sciences to draw the far reaching conclusions Leavitt draws is irresponsible. If you are going to use science, use it appropriately. If you read this book, PLEASE read a good book on the PROPER use of statistics and know that THIS is not it!

Provocative, eye opening, August 6, 2005
There are some very thought provoking ideas presented here and you don't have to agree with them to find "Freakonomics" valuable. Steven Levitt presents some interesting facts that will make you want to research further. Reading his take on the public school system was validating as it has been my opinion all along. Seeing first hand how standardized testing preparation has been substituted for a real education and then reading how all it really does is encourage cheating was powerfully illuminating. The abortion statistics and the ridiculous baby naming trends offered valuable insight.
I see this as a primer on sociology more than economics but it does show how it is all related. I will pass this one around because I think it is an important read. Maybe not for all the information included but for how it opens your mind and makes you want to look further. I enjoyed "Freakonomics" and recommend it.

Interesting read, with a few surprises and a few flaws, May 18, 2005
Depending on one's attachment to a mindset put forward by political correctness, this book is going to seem either full of stunning observations or light reading, with a few worthy surprises. There's some negative feedback on this site about the book being more a collection of articles, which is a legitimate complaint. At least they would be well-written articles.

Besides the easy and clear writing style, the main strengths of "Freakonomics" appears to be that much (if not all) of Levitt's observations come from research that is in peer-reviewed publications, and that the featured academic personalities (Levitt, Fryer and Venkatesh) are contemporary and working today. Thus, the primary sources of most of the material, as well as contemporary critics are around to defend or refute the discussion in this book.

The nice thing about many economists today is that they utilize the internet to spout off on many topics that would at first glance seem outside their field. The authors of this book, Cowen, Kling, Tabarrok and others have regularly-updated blogs. Levitt is therefore certainly not unique in applying economic "tools" to a variety of contexts, but he takes advantage of the internet himself to defend this book.

An obvious flaw of "Freakonomics" is how it heaps praise on one of the authors between the chapters. This ridiculous pap should have been left behind in the NY Times Magazine. Ignoring that, there's two other things that are seriously bothersome:

1.) The accusation of regular discrimination on "The Weakest Link," a game show. Yes, there is a paper referenced, but some presentation of data would have been useful in the book. I wonder why the details were omitted in this case and presented in all the other subsections of this chapter. My primary reaction to this statement was strong skepticism. Apparently, one needs a subscription to "The Journal of Law & Economics" to know the sample sizes involved. More details would have been nice to see, because Levitt/Dubner go on to point the discrimination finger at other groups, using collected data to show people's actions betraying their declared intentions. What patterns do the data need to show in order to signal discrimination? In the case of "The Weakest Link," most readers will never get to find out.

2.) Exclusion of Thomas Sowell. I recognize that this is a popular science book, and not a scientific book that's popular, but the elephant in the room is clearly the complete absence of the work of Thomas Sowell. Not only is Sowell a contemporary economist who has researched and published extensively on race, culture and incentives, but for many people he has already accomplished what "Freakonomics" attempts to do: introduce people to economics by viewing current social problems in the context of incentives. Sowell's "Basic Economics" and "Advanced Economics" are both clear and non-quanitative books that exploit economic thinking in a way superior to "Freakonomics." I also recommend his "Affirmative Action Around the World" and "Cultures" series.

"Freakonomics" is a nice little read, and most people who pick it up and read it will likely enjoy it. Be sure to check out the website.

Thoroughly engrossing!, August 23, 2006
Disclaimer: given the number of reviews already available, this one is not going to describe the contents of the book, cite specific examples, or go into any great level of detail. My objective here is just to share my point that irrespective of the quality or accuracy of the content of the book (although personally I have no complaints on that front), this is a book definitely worth spending time on. A good testimony to that is the high frequency of reviews of this book, even though all of them are not favourable.

So on to the quick summary: Freakonomics is less of a novel and more of a collection of quasi-scientific articles linked by the unconventional methods, or rather explorations, of a brilliant thinker - Levitt. Levitt's ideas, experiments and conclusions have been deservedly converted into a lucid and gripping narrative by Dubner. Levitt's answers to unconventional questions are genuinely eye-opening; forcing one to think long after the book has been put down.

In short, a very good read. ... Read more

Editorial Review

America’s most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladder

The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They’re intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith’s straightforward, jargonfree advice, it’s amazingly easy behavior to change.

Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price. ... Read more

Reviews

Too Late for Me
I love Goldsmith's style of incorporating what seems to be a refreshing Buddhist philosophy into the high-stress business world. I am not at the level of most of his CEO clients, but I still found very important tips and pointers on how to deal my boss from my "lower rung" perspective. I recommend this book to all .. especially the audio book version. So nice to have the author tell you himself about his 20 step approach to moving up in the business world ... He is so straightforward and unpretentious ... and obviously is an extremely successful businessman himself ... He's big on emphasizing the "human" element into the business world. Great intergrity at work here. I think he is a wise man ... worth the investment! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The intimate, fly-on-the wall tale of the decline and fall of an America icon
 
With one notable exception, the firms that make up what we know as Wall Street have always been part of an inbred, insular culture that most people only vaguely understand. The exception was Merrill Lynch, a firm that revolutionized the stock market by bringing Wall Street to Main Street, setting up offices in far-flung cities and towns long ignored by the giants of finance. With its “thundering herd” of financial advisers, perhaps no other business, whether in financial services or elsewhere, so epitomized the American spirit. Merrill Lynch was not only “bullish on America,” it was a big reason why so many average Americans were able to grow wealthy by investing in the stock market. 

Merrill Lynch was an icon. Its sudden decline, collapse, and sale to Bank of America was a shock. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what does this story of greed, hubris, and incompetence tell us about the culture of Wall Street that continues to this day even though it came close to destroying the American economy? A culture in which the CEO of a firm losing $28 billion pushes hard to be paid a $25 million bonus. A culture in which two Merrill Lynch executives are guaranteed bonuses of $30 million and $40 million for four months’ work, even while the firm is struggling to reduce its losses by firing thousands of employees.

Based on unparalleled sources at both Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, Greg Farrell’s Crash of the Titans is a Shakespearean saga of three flawed masters of the universe. E. Stanley O’Neal, whose inspiring rise from the segregated South to the corner office of Merrill Lynch—where he engineered a successful turnaround—was undone by his belief that a smooth-talking salesman could handle one of the most difficult jobs on Wall Street. Because he enjoyed O’Neal’s support, this executive was allowed to build up an astonishing $30 billion position in CDOs on the firm’s balance sheet, at a time when all other Wall Street firms were desperately trying to exit the business. After O’Neal comes John Thain, the cerebral, MIT-educated technocrat whose rescue of the New York Stock Exchange earned him the nickname “Super Thain.” He was hired to save Merrill Lynch in late 2007, but his belief that the markets would rebound led him to underestimate the depth of Merrill’s problems. Finally, we meet Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, a street fighter raised barely above the poverty line in rural Georgia, whose “my way or the highway” management style suffers fools more easily than potential rivals, and who made a $50 billion commitment over a September weekend to buy a business he really didn’t understand, thus jeopardizing his own institution. 

The merger itself turns out to be a bizarre combination of cultures that blend like oil and water, where slick Wall Street bankers suddenly find themselves reporting to a cast of characters straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies. BofA’s inbred culture, which perceived New York banks its enemies, was based on loyalty and a good-ol’-boy network in which competence played second fiddle to blind obedience.

Crash of the Titans is a financial thriller that puts you in the theater as the historic events of the financial crisis unfold and people responsible for billion of dollars of other people’s money gamble recklessly to enhance their power and their paychecks or to save their own skins. Its wealth of never-before-revealed information and focus on two icons of corporate America make it the book that puts together all the pieces of the Wall Street disaster. ... Read more

Reviews

INCOMPETENCE RICHLY REWARDED, November 8, 2010

Until the many recent revelations on the causes of our financial institutions almost total capitulation when faced with difficult trading conditions, many, including myself, held those running these businesses in great respect bordering on awe, believing them to be superior to most other mortals. This conviction was reinforced by the fact that they were paid large basic salaries, were given huge annual bonuses almost as a matter of course, had pension funds of unimaginative magnitude, and were beneficiaries of a multitude of perks from chauffeured limousines, almost limitless expenses through to personal use of corporate aircraft. If these people were not outstanding business leaders surely the supposedly 'wise' members of the Remuneration Committees of these companies would not be irresponsible enough to rewards them so extravagantly?

Wrong. It is quite evident from this outstanding book on the last desperate efforts of Merrill Lynch to avoid the ignominy of 'going down the tube' and the ill-conceived and clumsy efforts of The Bank of America when buying what was considered to be a 'trophy purchase' without exercising much care and due diligence, at a price that was at a considerable premium over its real value, that the senior executives of both companies were 'thrashing' around in the dark, displaying all the signs of 'lemming' management and not living up to the level of expertise that they were being paid for.

Greg Farrell's account of these manic times is excellent. Although fairly long in terms of pages, it holds ones interest throughout and gives both the uninitiated and more financially experienced reader, a 'fly-on-the-wall' perspective into the dire repercussions of banks operating 'casino' type operations on their own accounts, and throwing the dice on the 'Credit Derivatives' Table especially as it transpires they had little or no appreciation of the downsides.

A really good book which I believe is Mr Farrell's first and it is hoped not his last.

Good Insight into the Merrill Meltdown & the BOA Merger, November 18, 2010
This book doesn't try to explain the definition of a CDO or how the housing bubble built, popped, etc like every other book on the crisis does

This book assumes you have read a few other books on the crisis & have the basic knowledge of the housing market Boom & Bust and how it happened and what caused it... so if you are looking for an Introductory Book on the 2007 crisis there are lots of others that would be much better

However, if you want to know what went into some of the behind the scenes decisions that brought Merrill Lynch to the brink on non-existence and the factors that lead Bank of America to pay such a huge price for a company that was imploding... this book is great. Goes into the background and personalities of Stan O'Neal, Ken Lewis, John Thain and the other major players and gives a good picture of what each person did to result in the 2008 Merger

Plenty of books have been written on the crisis, What caused it, who is to blame etc. But all of those Books focus on Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers or Goldman Sachs... and the Merrill/BAC merger is only mentioned in passing. This is the first book I have read that focused on the crisis from Merrill's perspective

An Absolutely Magnificent Story, December 12, 2010
An absolutely magnificent story.

It's a tough position for another book on the U.S. financial crisis to be released on November 2, 2010 (Crown Business NY, NY) --- if you have read as many great books about the crisis this year as I have.

Don't be fooled. Don't let the 454 pages of this volume dissuade you from considering this magnificent story from Greg Farrell (correspondent for the Financial Times - BA Harvard and MBA from Columbia).

What Crash of the Titans is, in my opinion, is evidence of simply phenomenal storytelling, supported by a depth and breadth of investigative journalism that is both unique and unparalleled. Farrell is a pro - truly a master story teller. The 454 pages flew by based upon the prowess of Farrell's ability to keep the reader engaged on a page-turning journey. His character development is amazing. The tension, innuendo and intrigue are simply fantastic and lend to the credibility of this work as a truly unique, non-fiction financial thriller for 2010.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I worked at both NationsBank and BofA during my career as a regional manager of a commercial lending group (during the years when BofA was acquired by NB and adopted the Bank of America brand). I was with NB at the time of the acquisition and stayed on for several years thereafter with the BofA logo on my business card. Farrell's ability to capture the "culture clash" that occurred during this merger was uncanny - spot on target.

This book is, in my opinion, an eminently fair characterization of the story and the people. Frankly, John Thain did his best - and his performance could not likely be outperformed by comparably capable Wall Street executives who may have been thrust into the situation Mr. Thain was.

Greg Fleming - wherever you are - you are my hero! I'll work for your team any day. I'm waiting for your call Mr. Fleming.

From the sheer excellence of the story telling, supported by the research and investigative journalism...I rate this work as FIVE STARS.

Buy it. You'll truly enjoy it. This book ranks right up there with the works of Lowenstein, Michael Lewis and Scott Patterson's published in 2010.

Insider Story, November 30, 2010
This is a well written portrait of how Merrill Lynch collapse. There are many explanations but the one that stands out in reading this is how it is possible for a CEO not to know where the increased earnings are coming from. The total failure of risk management is remarkable. It shows that O'Neil was so blinded by growing Merrill and his own bonus that he did not pay attention.

Thane came in to try to save the company he seemed to lack the ability to see what was happening. It all becomes a tragic story. One wonders if there is not a need for a separate disclosure statement by the chief risk officer of a firm certifying the bonuses of all senior employees before a board approves bonuses.

I worked in a large corporation for many years and I was impressed how real the dialogue was. I could hear the players speaking in the same manner.

The last point is how poorly Bank of America was managed. I was amazed.

Count the life boats!, November 8, 2010
Crash of the Titan's takes the next step beyond books of it's genre, opening as it does after the financial ship has already hit the iceberg. Without sacrificing gory business detail, Farrell creates an extraordinary psychological study laced with the menace of a Soprano's episode. The fall of Merrill and the closing of the capital markets to the common investor, the abandonment of a vision of building value for high stakes gambling, and the willful blindness and wolfish greed of flawed personalities -- Neal, Thain, Lewis and Alphin -- are breathtaking. But what's truly chilling is that we read this disaster tale seated on the deck of the Titanic.

A Blue Chip Book - Triple A Rated!, December 14, 2010
If you have any interest in the inner workings of a major Wall Street firm, how certain people make it to the top of a cutthroat, backstabbing business, and how they manage to stay on top; then this is the book you must read. I have read several books about the 2008 financial crisis and this was the most thought provoking, thrilling and enjoyable one of them all. It is jam packed with insightful, unique details that the author has tightly woven into an exceptional page turning narrative.

I first became familiar with the author, Greg Farrell, when he wrote for USA Today covering major white collar crime stories and I was an FBI agent in New York City. I was always amazed at how he could condense a very complicated business story into a few paragraphs and still convey an accurate and comprehensive report. After reading several of his articles I always wondered what Mr. Farrell could do if he was ever given the freedom to write a detailed, lengthy story. Now I know! Mr. Farrell has knocked the cover off the ball, and also the arrogance, overconfidence and hype out of these two financial institutions.

The author often writes about "the smartest person in the room". The irony of this book is that halfway through reading this book, it occurred to me that maybe the "smartest person in the room" was the person writing the book itself. While he does have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the Harvard educated, Columbia MBA trained author displays a firm grasp and total understanding of the issues involved in running BoA and Merrill Lynch at a time when both firms had to keep up their earnings to match their competitors.

Mr. Farrell has written an amazing book that not only explains how these titans crashed, but reveals in accurate, factual detail why they crashed. I absolutely loved this book!

Greed is Not Good, But This Book Is, November 17, 2010
I read an excellent review in Salon a few weeks ago (link below) and picked up the book shortly after. The book lived up to its promise, and then some.

I have to say that when I was younger, I often found myself jealous of people I knew who worked on The Street. But time, perspective and now this book have pretty much wiped all that away.

[...]

Shows how Stan O'Neal killed Merrill Lynch and almost Bank of America too., November 27, 2010
An excellent study how Stan O'Neal messed up Merrill Lynch via its hitherto unknown heavy reliance on sub prime mortgages & CDOs after a distinguished career where he did just about everything else right. O'Neal had steered Merrill since the early 90's into a power house, almost challenging Goldman, only to fall into Ken Lewis' hands at Bank of America. A great addition to the books about the 2008 crisis that is well worth reading. Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America, Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant, The Tumultuous History of the Bank of America.

Librarian's review: less than average, November 5, 2010
It takes 300 pages to get to the main point: BAC paid $29 per share for ML. Along the way, you learn that Ken Lewis cheered for the Carolina Panthers during the negotiations for Merrill? Or that someone stopped at Starbucks? What was revealed here that wasn't already known?

It puts you on the subway holding yesterday's newspaper.

The narrative lacks the can't-put-it-down traction weaved by other business journalists like Roger Lowenstein (When Genius Failed), Andrew Sorkin (Too Big Too Fail) and Michael Lewis (The Big Short). In comparison, Greg Farrell falls short telling a story about how Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America.

Phrases are overused and repeated ad nauseam as though the author struggled to fill pages: CDO's are repeatedly referred to as "radioactive waste" and Merrill Lynch's financial advisors "the thundering herd" and Ken Lewis as "Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis." After the first reference, you can ditch the titles, we know who he is. The weak narrative wears the reader down.

It is not a "fly-on-the-wall" account of what happened. For that, please read Sorkin's "Too Big Too Fail."

I may have added a star if the book included photos of some of the characters in the book, Thain, Fleming, Lewis, O'Neal, Paulson, etc. It should have included some key court or business documents related to the sale and photos of a meeting. The book painstakingly describes in detail the paintings of former BAC CEO's lining the wall of headquarters facing "northeast." Why no photos of these?

I also did not like the sourcing notes. For example, Farrell says he interviewed 120 people for between 250 and 300 hours. But 15 people gave him 150 hours of their time. Question: How did he interview the balance of 105 people in the remaining 100 or so hours? I don't classify this as in-depth reporting. Do you?

Most of the books I read end up highlighted, taped and book marked to sections I might want to refer to again later. Not this one.

Theo Karantsalis, librarian ... Read more

Editorial Review

FEELING GOOD FEELS WONDERFUL
The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other "black holes" of depression can be cured without drugs.In FEELING GOOD, eminent psychiatrist, David D. Burns, M.D., outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life.Now, in this updated edition, Dr. Burns adds an ALL-NEW CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS as well as a new introduction to help answer your questions about the many options available for treating depression.

- Recognize what causes your mood swings
- Nip negative feelings in the bud
- Deal with guilt
- Handle hostility and criticism
- Overcome addiction to love and approval
- Build self-esteem
- Feel good everyday

BEGIN NOW, TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF FEELING GOOD ... Read more

Reviews

A classic...but a lot to read at 736 pages, November 7, 2010
Feeling Good is a classic for treating depression with cognitive behavior therapy - learning to think better thoughts and thus create a better mood. However, this book is a LOT to read (736 pages), and some people just can't wade through it and apply all the techniques.

I found Laughing Again: A Survivor's Guide to Healing Depression much more helpful. It's a personal story of healing, so it's really engaging. It's a quick, easy read. And, it addresses 7 lifestyle changes that are clinically proven to heal depression (CBT is only one of these lifestyle changes).

Feeling Good is definitely a great resource on the CBT aspect of healing depression, but if you can pick only one book to read, make it Laughing Again. It's inspiring AND comprehensive; it touches on ALL the ways your lifestyle can heal your anxious, stressed-out, depressed brain.

For more indepth and comprehensive look at CBT, I really liked Dr. Ilardi's The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs as well.

Think Good, Feel Good, November 14, 2009
The title of my review is actually a summary of how this book plans to make you feel better.

The book is authored by a someone who has had a lot of experience using cognitive therapy techniques to try and improve people's depression. Cognitive therapy's premise is that your thinking (messages that you are giving yourself all day long) directly inflences your moods and how you feel. Therefore, if you are thinking negatively, you're going to feel that way. Likewise, if you think positive and optimistically, well, you're going to feel good!

And that's what the book is about- getting you to get rid of negative thoughts and replacing them with good ones. Does it work? Well, the book has been around since 1980, and there's actually been some good solid research that has actually taken the book, given it to depressed patients.....and they've improved!

With its easy writing style and research-backed techniques, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy +Revised and Updated is definitely worth the read- just know you've got over 500+ pages ahead of you. If this seems too daunting, or this approach doesn't appeal to you, try something like Exercise Beats Depression- which has been shown to be just as effective as cognitive therapy or drugs in controlled trials. Good luck!

Best of the Self-Help Books, July 11, 2000
I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for many years and have read just about every type of book imaginable. The only reason I'm writing this review is that I found this book to be the best overall work I have ever read in the realm of self-help psychology.

One of the greatest parts about the book is that Dr. Burns' model of cognitive behavioral therapy is very thorough, yet it is easy to understand and incorporate into one's daily living. He recommends cognitive behavioral therapy as the first line defense in dealing with mood disorders. However, the beauty of the book lies in the fact that Dr. Burns does not simply dismiss psychotropic medications. He clearly states that medications in addition to his therapeutic techniques are wholly appropriate for many people. In fact, it this updated edition he goes into detail about the different classes and types of drug options available on the market today. This approach is refreshing for someone who is benefitting from the use of medication and wanting to incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy into their recovery without having to read a book which outright dismisses the role of medication in treatment.

Also of special significance is his list of 10 'Cognitive Distortions'. Here, he lays out a plan for recognizing faulty thinking, how these thoughts affect our moods, and how to correct these distortions.

In summation, Dr. Burns' book is a practical encapsulation of the ideas and theories of some of the great pioneers in the field of mental health such as Drs. Abraham Low, Albert Ellis, and Aaron Beck.

If you made it this far to decide whether or not to buy this book, read some of the other reviews then put it in your cart.

It really works!, October 28, 2003
I've tried talk therapy and antidepressants. The talk therapy was mildly helpful, but I still felt depressed after several months of once-weekly visits. I was also prescribed an antidepressant, which actually made me feel worse. I felt hyperactive and nervous in the beginning, and eventually ended up feeling like an emotionless zombie who needed to sleep 12 hours per day. As a last resort, I read Feeling Good and started doing the written exercises. The improvement was almost immediate! Unlike a lot of people, it didn't take me months to feel better. Probably within a week of applying the techniques from the book, my score on the BDI was reduced to 5, which means no depression! I still apply the techniques on a regular basis to keep myself depression free, but the chapters on changing your whole outlook on life and self esteem have made such a difference for me that I never get anywhere near as depressed as I used to, no matter what's going on in my life.
By using cognitive therapy instead of drugs, I have a whole range of emotions. But I'm able to control my emotions, and am overall a happy person. When I was using antidepressants, I sometimes didn't feel depressed, but I didn't feel good either--basically I had no emotions. I believe the drug companies would like us to believe that that drug-induced emotionless state is the way we're supposed to feel, but based on my experience, it's simply not worth it to have no negative (or positive) emotions. I'd rather experience the whole range of emotions and control them without the use of chemicals. Is depression an organic brain disorder? Perhaps for some, but surely not for as many people as the drug manufacturers would lead us to belive. That's my experience with this wonderful book.

Good Intro to CBT and Antidepressants, July 17, 2005
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a proven self-help method for improving two conditions that afflict more people every decade: (1) depression, and (2) anxiety. As a self-help book, I found other self-help books to be clearly superior: E.g., Albert Ellis' "A Guide to Rational Living," and Elliot Cohen's "What Would Aristotle Do?"

Burns' book is good, but these two other books are substantially better. According to CBT and REBT (which is a variant of CBT), our pattern of thinking often leads us into depressive moods and high anxiety. Retooling our thinking process does much to alleviate moods and reduce anxiety. Obviously, endogenous depression still requires medication, but many people who experience exogenous depression are apparently able to avoid all medication with the help from these books. For that reason alone, these books are goldmines.

Our destructive thinking, whether or not one is depressed or anxious, often leads us into blind alleys and self-destructive behavior. Burns', Cohen's, and Ellis' books make great strides in helping one overcome the destructive thought processes by helping one think more critically. By shining light on our thinking process and how to think critically, many people's depression and anxiety are significantly assauged.

What these the Cohen and Ellis books lack, Burns appropriately provides: Probably the best general information on antidepressant and antianxiety medications in print. If you are on, or are considering, antidepressant or antianxiety medications, Burns' book is one of the best lay resources available.

Surprisingly, many physicians who prescribe these medications lack the basic information that Burns fortunately provides. He distinguishes between SSRIs, TCAs, MAOs, etc. (Don't worry if you don't know these acronyms. Burns explains them thoroughly, and just as importantly, provides profiles of their side effects.) No naive patient of antidepressants ought overlook this very helpful book.

The Only Self-Help Book You Will Ever Need...EVER!!, December 9, 2006
Dr. Albert Ellis once opined that the goal of therapy should be not only to help the patient "feel better," but also to "get better." This book not only does both, it also will help you stay better.

Dr. Burns is a cognitive-behavioral therapist who believes that the first-line treatment for Axis I mood disorders should be CBT. He is not big on psychpharmacology, however, he is not wanting to hearken back to the "stone ages" before such medication was invented. He simply believes that CBT, which has been empiracally proven to be efficacious by studies too numerous to mention, is the type of therapy that works best, lasts longer, and is healthier for the client.

CBT holds that it is maladaptive thinking that is to blame for what psychologically ails us. It is not the events themselves which are the cause of mood maladies, but rather our perception of them; distorted thinking and information processing.

This book is not a quick read, as are so many self-help books. There are no easy answer, nor are there easy solutions that are proffered. Rather, Dr. Burns, methodically, logically, and cogently lays out strategies that will not only help you feel better, get better, but also say better because after reading this book (carefully and mindfully) you will be equipped to be your own therapist, which is the main goal of CBT.

This is the type of book that the layman can use over and over again as a reference/refresher in case they relapse.

Dr. Burns has performed a great public health service by sharing his expertise in this book as Depression, and its concomitant, related mood disorders are one of the most pressing public health issues of our time.

Walking My Talk..., November 9, 2000
...This book is the "IT" book of psychiatry and
psychology. More psychiatrists recommend this book to their clients
than any other. It is also the bestselling book on psychology or
psychiatry that exists! Instead of writing another review on this
book, I decided to "Do It" so to speak. If this review can
help anybody, than it was worth the writing.

In the forward, Burns
talks in detail about a comprehensive study that was made on this
book. This is in the 1999 forward. Eighty people were given this book
to read in twenty-eight days. 70% recovered from a major depressive
episode from just reading this book in that time. The exercises were
optional. Before you order this book, Burns does stipulate that if you
have even had "moderate depression" for several weeks, than
you will need professional help in order to help you get through the
program. Also, any suicidal thoughts or tendencies. I am fortunate. I
took the BDC on page 20 and scored 58. Now, this is "severe
depression". The BDC is the "Burns Depression
Checklist". I have also been diagnosed as having a "Major
Depressive Disorder" by many psychiatrists. But I have help. Both
a therapist and a psychiatrist. So intead of just writing yet one more
review based on my opinions, why not do the program and pass on the
results? I e-mailed a daily report to my friend and follow Amazon.com
reviewer, Edgar Bridges. I began both reading and doing the exercises
on October 12th, 2000. I scored a 55 on the BDC one week after
starting the program. This is still "severe" depression. Two
weeks after starting, I got a 35 on the BDC!!! This is "moderate
depression". Yes. I was very happy. But more suprised than
happy. A little bit shocked. That is the good news. After the third
week, I scored a 54. Bad news. I finished the entire program yesterday
and I scored a 56. A 3% decrease in depression. I did the "triple
column" technique everyday for twenty-eight days straight. I did
two of the "anti-procrastination" techniques as well for 14
days. I had memorized the ten distortions entirely and used them daily
when they arose. So it failed. I am sorry to say. But it might work
for you. After going to only one Alcoholics Anonymous meeting during
this time, my score dropped the next day to 35! Then in several days,
it was back up again to "severe depression". Why? I took the
BDC everyday and examined the score for the days after I talked to
people and got outside and so forth. No decrease in the score. I can
only assume, and perhaps quite wrongly, that it is "human
intimacy" that did it. That's my review on this book. Based on
experience rather than conjecture.

Excellent cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression, July 9, 1999
A very useful book. While depression has been associated with chemical changes in the brain, there is no proof that depression is caused by these changes. It could equally well be that depression is what is making the changes occur, and that we can in fact manage our depression without drugs.

I have personally found this to be the case. With the help of this book I have been able to stop taking antidepressants. I find dealing with the issues that caused my depression to be much more useful than medically treating the symptoms. David Burns offers practical methods of dealing with your sadness and despair without having to endlessly dredge up your past. You can acknowledge your past and its unfairness, while dealing with your depression in the present.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the only type of therapy that has been proven useful in dealing with depression. Burns offers an excellent example, and a much cheaper one than medication for those without health insurance (and a safer one for those with -- after all, the newer drug therapies haven't been around long enough yet for doctors to know about long-term side effects).

I recommend this book most highly.

Feel Good Today., January 11, 2010
Feeling Good is not only a great self-help book, it's a way of thinking. And by that I mean, it's your thoughts that usually cause the problems, right? Well, this book will discuss that and tell you how to use congnitve behavior therapy to get through this and onto feeling good. I liked it very much and would defintely recommend it to those who do suffer from nervous disorders. It's a great read that can generate great results. I also would recommend What if.? My Story of Panic Attacks.

Changed the way I live my life..., December 12, 2008
I went through a real "rock bottom" point and turned to this book for guidance and hope. I'm in my mid 20's and just needed something/someone to direct me into literally - feeling good. This book taught me so many simple things like turning off the negative side of my brain and to focus on the positive, something I thought was impossible. Within the book there are worksheets to help you manage your thoughts to really get you started on "feeling good" asap. I highly recommend this book from people that are severely depressed to just feeling down. If you cant afford a shrink, or just need some guidance... THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! It honestly has changed my life, I'm so thankful for this find!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The creators of the New York Times best-selling Encyclopedia Prehistorica series offer a mythic look at the mysteries of the past with an entire pantheon of remarkable pop-ups.

For all of recorded history, humans have sought to understand Earth’s mysteries in the realm of the divine — and aspired to conduct themselves as heroes. Only gods, of course, could push the sun across the sky,forge entire continents, and impel mountains to touch the clouds. In this stunning volume, the incomparable team of Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda take us to Ra-Atum’s land in Ancient Egypt; above the Grecian clouds to Zeus’s Mount Olympus; up to Norse god Odin’s frozen north; to the Far East, where the Jade Emperor sits in the heavens; into the wilds of Oceania, where Pele’s volcanic rage simmers below the earth; and to many more lands and times, all rich with sacred myths and legends. ... Read more

Reviews

The Best One Yet, January 21, 2010
I have collected pop-up books for over 30 years. This is the best one yet! It is a combination of imaginative and mind boggling artwork. The illustrations combined with information works to a great degree for all ages. I highly recommend this as a great gift for anyone for yourself or a loved one.
Sara F.

An irresistible treasure and a very special look at the stories and figures of ancient and indigenous mythology, June 14, 2010
The myths of the ancient world hold much fascination for readers of all ages. Children especially seem drawn to tales of the Olympian deities, Viking legends and Mediterranean heroes. Couple this interest with the fantastic engineered paper books by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda, and you have a book kids can truly experience. In Encyclopedia Mythologica's GODS AND HEROES, the bestselling duo teams up again for a three-dimensional exploration of the tales of the ancient world.

The book starts in Egypt, and opening to the first page releases a large pop-up of the falcon-headed god Horus, son of Isis and Osiris and the god associated with the ancient pharaohs. A smaller page on this double-page spread tells Horus's story with several moving parts (look behind that for Imhotep's pyramid). Next it's off to Greece, where the castle of Mt. Olympus springs forth as does the legendary city of Atlantis and the figures of several Greek goddesses. The section on the "Kingdoms of the Mighty North" features a fierce Viking and a glimpse of Freyja as she leads her Valkyries into battle and a lovely pop-up illustration of the mythical cosmic ash tree called Yggdrasil.

Unlike so many children's books introducing mythology, GODS AND HEROES doesn't stop at Europe and Egypt but takes readers farther east to Asia and Oceania and to the Americas as well. Spider Woman, from Native American mythology, holds a web made of silvery thread, adding an interesting new textural element to the book. Refreshingly, Reinhart and Sabuda also give female deities and figures equal attention, like the violent Polynesian volcano goddess Pele, who seems to be spewing and flowing out of the volcano in the center of the page.

The text is both exciting and easy to understand; the Norse god Odin is introduced as the "grizzled lord of wisdom and magic." We are told that in the Iroquois story of the Celestial Woman, after falling from her home in the sky, "gazing up from below, a giant turtle took pity and softened her landing, while other beasts offered protection." The writing is just as illuminating, informative and enchanting as the visuals!

While young readers may be initially drawn to the amazing Viking ship and colorful Aztec-plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl, there are even more amazing delights hidden in the book. The story of Japanese folk hero Momotaro is secreted behind another pop-up panel, and a peach opens to reveal the tiny infant. This whimsical scene is one of the best in the book, and in just a few sentences readers will be intrigued by the charming tale.

As with other marvelous Reinhart and Sabuda books, this one may be easily damaged by little hands. Special care needs to be taken in turning pages or putting scenes back into folded place. But the construction is sturdier than you might think, and even if torn and worn over time, GODS AND HEROES is an irresistible treasure and a very special look at the stories and figures of ancient and indigenous mythology.

Heroic indeed!, January 19, 2010
WOW! Matthew Reinhart has done it again! He, along with partner Robert Sabuda have, in the past, set the standard for paper engineering and artwork in their amazing repertoire of pop-up books, and this time they may well have surpassed themselves. Each spread is a lavish display of technological creativity, while at the same time imparting facts and intriguing information with the text. The little side pages which one expects to see from these artists/authors is, in this case, each a little gem unto itself. This is an amazing book. It would spoil the fun for me to describe what you will find in between its covers. Instead, I encourage you to purchase this treasure and get the enjoyment of an amazing experience for yourself. I wish I could give it twenty stars. Bravo, Matthew Reinhart! See other favorites here: Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the GalaxyCinderella: A Pop-Up Fairy Tale The Jungle Book: A Pop-Up Adventure (Classic Collectible Pop-Ups)A Pop-up Book of Nursery Rhymes (Limited Edition): A Classic Collectible Pop-Up

BEAUTIFUL!, October 1, 2010
This book is amazing! So much to see! Several different "pops" on every page. And just enough reading to give a good bit of background on the heroes and gods. Worth every single penny!

Another wonderful pop-up!, February 25, 2010
I absolutly love all the Sabuda and Reinhart pop-ups. Gods & Heroes is no exception- amazing detail, fun way to learn mythology. Many different cultures' mythology is included- Egyptian, Norse, Greek, Asian, South American & Native American. Would make a wonderful gift as well. A wonderful addition to my pop-up collection! ... Read more

Editorial Review

In his most extraordinary book, "one of the great clinical writers of the 20th century" (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders. Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.

If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks's splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility: "the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject." ... Read more

Reviews

Truly incredible tales and a great read, November 18, 2004
It is utterly fascinating to know that, as a result of a neurological condition, a man can actually mistake his wife for a hat and not realize it. It is also fascinating to learn that a stroke can leave a person with the inability to see things on one side of the visual field--which is what happened to "Mrs. S." as recalled in the chapter, "Eyes Right!"--and yet not realize that anything is missing. In both cases there was nothing wrong with the patient's eyes; it was the brain's processing of the visual information that had gone haywire.

Neurologist Oliver Sacks, who has a wonderful way with words and a strong desire to understand and appreciate the human being that still exists despite the disorder or neurological damage, treats the reader to these and twenty-two other tales of the bizarre in this very special book. My favorite tale is Chapter 21, "Rebecca," in which Dr. Sacks shows that a person of defective intelligence--a "moron"--is still a person with a sense of beauty and with something to give to the world. Sacks generously (and brilliantly) shows how Rebecca taught him the limitations of a purely clinical approach to diagnosis and treatment. Although the child-like 19-year-old didn't have the intelligence to "find her way around the block" or "open a door with a key," Rebecca had an emotional understanding of life superior to many adults. She loved her grandmother deeply and when she died, Rebecca expressed her feelings to Sacks, "I'm crying for me, not for her...She's gone to her Long Home." She added, poetically, "I'm so cold. It's not outside, it's winter inside. Cold as death...She was a part of me. Part of me died with her" (p. 182). Rebecca goes on to show Dr. Sacks that they pay "far too much attention to the defects of...patients...and far too little to what...[is] intact or preserved" (p. 183). Rebecca was tired of the meaningless classes and workshops and odd jobs. "What I really love...is the theatre," she said. Sacks writes that the theatre "composed her...she became a complete person, poised, fluent, with style, in each role" (p. 185).

Another of my favorite stories is Chapter 23, "The Twins." These two guys, idiots savants, "undersized, with disturbing disproportions in head and hands...monotonous squeaky voices...a very high, degenerative myopia, requiring glasses so thick that their eyes seem distorted" (p. 196) had the very strange ability of being able to factor quickly in their heads large numbers and to recognize primes at a glance. They could also give you almost instantly the day of the week for any day in history. One day a box of matches fell on the floor and "<111,> they both cried simultaneously." And then one said "37" and then the other said "37" and then the first said "37" and stopped. There were indeed 111 matches on the floor (Sacks counted them) and three times the prime number 37 does indeed equal 111! (p. 199). Later he discovered them saying six-figure numbers to one another. One would give a number and the other would receive it "and appreciate...it richly." Sacks discovered that they were tossing out primes to one another just for the sheer joy of doing it.

Another of Sacks's discoveries about his patients is that "music, narrative and drama" are "of the greatest practical and theoretical importance" (p. 185). He demonstrates this again and again here and in his more recent book, An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales (1995), which is also an incredibly fascinating book. (See my review here at Amazon.com.) Many people with neurological disorders or deficiencies become whole when engaged in a process such as story, music or drama. The process seems to give them a structure to follow which, for the time being, overcomes their handicap. This is seen remarkably even in a surgeon with Tourette's syndrome who, while performing surgery, was without tics (as reported in the book mentioned above).

It's clear that one of Sacks's purposes in sharing his experience is to dispel the prejudice against people who are different because of their defects. One can see that respect for others regardless of their limitations is something Sacks incorporates in his practice and his life. It is one of the many virtues of this wonderful book, that in reading it, we too are moved to a greater respect for others, people who really are challenged in ways we "normal" people can only imagine.

Fascinating, October 3, 1998
The first thing I did after reading this book was to hop back onto Amazon.con and order "Awakenings" and "An Anthropolgist on Mars." This book was recommended by one of my philosophy professors in college about six years ago. Well, it took me six years to pick it up, and I don't regret the decision. As a complete layperson, my eyes were opened to what a complex piece of machinery the brain is. Sack's personal perspective on these patients disorders is what takes this interesting material and makes it fascinating reading. The only problem I had with this book was that I was disappointed to see most every chapter end. I wanted to know more about most every case. I only rank it 4 instead of 5 for that reason (It could have been more in-depth) and a couple of the cases were simply mildly interesting rather than mind-bending. It's almost imcrompehensible to perceive the world and one's self in the same manner as some of these unfortunate people. I was especially intrigued by one of the questions Sack's brings up concerning the case history discussed in the chapter "The Lost Mariner." A man can remember nothing for more than a few seconds. His entire life, all of his experiences are gone almost as soon as they are past. "He is a man without a past (or future), stuck in a constantly changing, meaningless moment," Sacks writes. Sacks then ponders the question that will stop your heart: "Does he have a soul?" If you have ever been bothered by the question of the spiritual nature of man, Sacks --who stops well short of reaching any theological conclusions -- will disturb you with this material. From that standpoint, he is brilliant at informing by simply forcing the reader to ask questions of his or her self...questions which Sack's himself admits even he has no clue as to the answers. This book could change your perspective on life, or simply entertain you as an interesting novelty. In any case, I very highly recommend it...can't wait to get into "Anthropologist" next.

A little old, but still interesting, July 25, 2002
I used to work on a neurology ward when I first started in health care, and the many sad stories that I was privy to during that time has encouraged me to keep up with some of the research in brain and mind science.

Oliver Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat was first published in 1970 and has been reprinted several times with new material added. The book is an interesting collection of stories of individuals with neurological deficits that highlight and clarify how the normal brain works. The author approaches his study with a compassion for his patient's troubled existence, and where the patients are content with their lot, he prudently leaves well enough alone, something not all MD's are willing to do. He also appreciates what his patients have to teach him about life and even about the practice of medicine itself. His ability to learn from others considered "unfortunate" or mentally "defective" makes the book a very insightful work.

While the author's extensive clinical practice has allowed him to make some interesting statements about what parts of the brain are involved with different mental functions, what he fails to do in this book is to provide anything approaching testable ideas or actual research supporting his theories. The colorful stories are well worth reading as moral parables, but a better book on current mind and brain research might be Ramachandran's Phantoms in the Brain. One might begin with the Sacks book, which is easy to read, and proceed to the more extensive work by Ramachandran.

A Deeply Spiritual Book, May 20, 2001
I first encountered the essay "Rebecca" (one of the fine "clinical tales" in Sacks's book)in a Norton Anthology I used in a writing course. In this essay, Sacks describes his encounter with a young girl on a park bench outside the hospital. Later, he encounters her in a clinical setting as a patient, and has a different view of her. His clinical methodology uncovers her deficits; his challenge is to see past them to the whole spiritual being he saw sitting on a park bench transfixed with the beauty of spring. That he is able to do so refocuses his attitudes toward his other patients, for what he sees in Rebecca, he now "saw in them all."

For me what was most interesting about these fascinating stories is that the underlying question has to do less with cures for bizarre neurological diseases, than with the essential question of what makes us who we are, and what do we do when our entire concept of self is savaged and the world left unrecognizable?

For Sacks, at least part of the answer lies in art--the narrative in the synagogue that knits Rebecca's deficits and makes her whole (holy?); the music that enables some patients who are unable even to walk without difficulty, the ability to dance; the notes that enable stutterers to sing.

This is a wonderful book that does what wonderful books do--it makes the reader look again at what he only thought he saw before, and see it whole.

Hang on to your right hemisphere!, July 24, 2003
This is one of the most entertaining and thought provoking books I've read in a while. Oliver Sacks has done a marvelous job of illustrating just how mysterious and tenuous our perception of the world is by relating stories about patients who have suffered some kind of injury to the right hemisphere of their brains. Why the "right" hemisphere? As Sacks explains, the left hemisphere has a fairly comprehensible role; it seems to follow rules. When it does not function appropriately, the consequences are reasonably predictable. "Indeed, the entire history of neurology and neuropsychology can be seen as a history of the investigation of the left hemisphere."

In contrast, the right hemisphere has been something of an enigma, and is consequently called the 'minor' hemisphere. But, "it is the right hemisphere which controls the crucial powers of recognizing reality which every living creature must have in order to survive." For example, the right hemisphere is responsible for "proprioception", which allows us to feel our bodies as "proper to us"; that they belong to us. This is so basic that it is difficult to even imagine what it would be like to have impaired proprioception. Sacks is keenly aware of this challenge; in a sense, the entire book is an attempt to give us a glimpse into such an incomprehensible world.

Sacks quotes Wittgenstein:, "The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. (One is unable to notice something because it is always before one's eyes.)" Those things that are most basic, most obvious, have a deeply mysterious foundation in the brain. One can begin to appreciate this when one considers those unfortunate individuals who have lost some of these basic perceptions due to injury or illness. As Sacks points out in the introduction, "It is not only difficult, it is impossible, for patients with certain right-hemisphere syndromes to know their own problems... And it is singularly difficult, even for the most sensitive observer, to picture the inner state, the 'situation', of such patients, for this is almost unimaginably remote from anything he himself has ever known."

Sacks presents detailed and compassionate accounts of numerous patients whose worlds are indeed unimaginably remote from our own. He tells us of patients who have difficulty distinguishing between people and inanimate objects, those who have perfect "vision" yet cannot discern the purpose of an object without tactile feedback, those who fail to recognize their own limbs as belonging to them, and those who have lost fundamental spatial concepts, such as the distinction between left and right. One of the most intriguing cases that Sacks presents is that of a woman who had "totally lost the idea of 'left', both with regard to the world and her own body," a condition known as hemi-inattention. To this woman, everything in her left visual field simply ceased to exist, in analogy to the way each of us fills the blind spots in our visual field. This unfortunate woman would eat half her lunch (that on the right side of her tray) and was incapable of turning to the left (since left did not exist) to discover what remained. In time, she learned to turn herself around, always to the right, until she found the rest of her lunch.

This book is not only engrossing, it is challenging; it forces one to acknowledge that what we take as so plainly obvious about the world is intimately tied to basic brain function. Oliver Sacks demonstrates beautifully that the brain is still deeply mysterious, particularly in how it creates our sense of reality. There are profound implications here for those interested in psychology and philosophy. It's a great read.

Excellent book of case studies on the diseases of the mind, April 22, 2004
This is a layman's journey into the case studies of nureological problems. The book is written in a clear style that makes each case a story rather than a statistic. If you've ever wondered about diseases of the mind, this is the book for you.

It's not really a good book to read before bed as some of these people have problems that could make one want to stay up and talk about it with someone else.

A Neurologist with Great Humanity., February 8, 2004
Considering my stereotyped image of a neurologist, i.e., having that strict 'scientific' view of the human being (the mind/brain having solely mechanical processes, devoid of 'soul'; a noticeable unawareness or avoidance of a human's actual 'being', that purely 'clinical' approach to the patient as mere 'subject') was exploded in a thousand pieces after reading this special book. Sacks' general humanity in general and particularly for his patients glimmered bright from every page. As a doctor, researcher and therapist in this field, he communicates quite freely and clearly as to his personal views on his profession and where he would like it to go:

"The patient's essential being is very relevant in the higher reaches of neurology, and in psychology; for here the patient's personhood is essentially involved, and the study of disease and the identity cannot be disjoined. Such disorders, and their depiction and study, indeed entail a new discipline, which we may call the 'neurology of identity', for it deals with the neural foundations of the self, the age-old problem of mind and brain.' (X)

This book is a collection of twenty-four cases, clinical tales about people who, in some cases, have been struck with terrible brain related illnesses during the prime of their lives. The physical, emotional and very foundations of how they function and view the world, has been drastically altered. In the case of 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat', Dr. P., a musician of distinction, teacher and accomplished painter, developed a type of visual agnosia or prosopagnosia, where he could not recognize faces and came to see things, people and objects as something else. His entire perceptions of the world had totally changed. One aspect of this particular story that was interesting was Dr. P's paintings, which Sacks observed hanging on the wall of his home. In the beginning the paintings depicted a 'realist' style, almost mirror representations; as the years went by, each painting became more impressionistic, ending in the most recent work being entirely abstract. Sacks made a comment about this fact to the Dr.'s wife, who believed that his artistic style simply matured over the years. However Sacks saw the paintings as representing the progressive nature of the man's condition. I found this case to be at once bizarre, interesting and sad.

Most if not all of the cases in this book are bizarre, interesting and sad, but Dr. Sacks conveys a deep humanity, a scientific concern and a real hope that the profession will find more effective ways in dealing with the brain. He believes the profession should re-think their approaches; perhaps ask different questions, however, most importantly, not forget that, as physicians, they're not dealing with just 'clinical subjects', but human beings with identity. In other words, to truly understand the brain/ mind relation, the essential being, science and the humanities must join forces. One can see from this wonderful book, that Oliver Sacks has already attempted to do just this, with varying degrees of success.

This is a book that drastically changed my views on a lot of things, not least the utter vastness of the mind, and how easily we can lose what we take for granted everyday.

Exists on 2 levels, one better than the other, June 8, 2000
This book could be read on two levels: in a clinical sense, with its million-dollar scientific terms and long winded, detailed description of methods and diagnoses; and in an anecdotal sense, as stories about quirky, remarkable characters. After reading a bit, I preferred to continue reading with the latter approach in mind, and was distracted by the clinical stuff. I felt it really took away from the amazing stories therein. Additionally, Sacks was kind of self-aggrandizing, and didn't so much place his patients as the book's center as he did himself, and his assessment of their eccentricities.

A touchstone book, November 14, 2001
"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" suggests a theatrical image from Ionesco, or perhaps a brightly illustrated volume shelved next to "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." And yet this book is far from absurdity or fantasy: It describes actual neurological dysfunctions, and the title captures the human dimension of these afflictions -- personal, puzzling, embarrassing, disabling, alienating and, yes, even funny. With his combination of clinical expertise, compassionate insight and comfortable prose, Dr. Oliver Sacks ("Awakenings" and "An Anthropologist on Mars") is the perfect guide to this unusual investigation. On one level his case studies are fascinating glimpses of the complex -- and fragile -- circuitry that must be integrated to produce "normal" brain function, and they illustrate how isolated deficits can have life-transforming impact. But Sacks is more interested in people than in diagnoses, and he introduces us to vivid personalities whose responses and adaptations are often inventive and unpredictable, and whose individual circumstances often evade conventional wisdom. There is the title character, who learns to sing himself through his day after he loses the capability to connect visual imagery with interpretive categories. Sacks sympathetically describes the savant brothers who are perfectly content communicating privately through prime numbers, but who are deprived of joy when therapeutic protocol pushes them into "normal" life. And then there's the man with Tourette's Syndrome for whom the physical and verbal tics are either a burden or a blessing, depending on the day of the week. Every once in awhile a book comes along that becomes a touchstone, a standard source of reference and perspective in daily life, a dependable source of insight and inspiration. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" may become that for you, as it has for me.

A must read for families facing Alzheimer's Disease, February 8, 2000
My Husband, Tom's, neurologist recommended that I read this book as a means of helping me understand what was happening to Tom's brain. Tom died of Alzheimer's in 1995. This book is not about Alzheimer's but in many ways it gave me more insight than anything else I read. I reasoned that if the brain can manifest the extremes in behaviors and misinterpretations exhibited in the case studies Dr. Sacks highlights then perhaps a brain deteriorating randomly, as it does in Alzheimer's, can also mainifest similar behaviors and misinterpretations. It helped me immesnsely in figuring out what was behind his behaviors and his losses and I dared to allow myself to enter his world and see that world through his eyes. I detail some of these moments of insight in my book, "He Used to be Somebody, A Journey Into Alzheimer's Through the Eyes of a Caregiver," and how this insight translated in his care. (Tom died in our home after a 14 year battle with this disease. If he knew nothing else he knew his was loved. We should all be so lucky.) Dr. Sacks never loses sight of the human being facing the challenges he writes so eloquently of. He has that quality which allows him to see past the symptoms and into the soul of the person. The lesson is that the disease does not define the person. Alzheimer's is no exception. I highly recommend this reading for families and professionals working with this Alzheimer's and other dementia. ... Read more