Neuroscience isn\u2019t really my thing, so when my teenage daughter came asking for suggestions of a good popular book on the subject I took to Twitter. Several people kindly made suggestions, while others asked to be notified of the outcome of my quest. It seems to be a popular subject.<\/p>\n
Here, in no particular order are the titles that were offered.<\/p>\n
Graham Steel<\/a>, one of my OA buddies, was first off the mark and ‘highly recommended’\u00a0Barry Gibb’s<\/a>\u00a0The\u00a0The Rough Guide to the Brain<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(2012).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Dorothy Bishop<\/a>, an Oxford professor of psychology suggested Eric Kandel’s\u00a0In Search of Memory <\/a><\/em>(2007)\u00a0as ‘autobiography with historical account, so you appreciate where understanding came from’.<\/p>\n Steve Black, a friend from my college days, offered\u00a0Vilayanur Ramachandran’s The Emerging Mind<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(which are his 2003 Reith Lectures and are\u00a0available from the BBC website<\/a>)\u00a0and his\u00a0earlier\u00a0Phantoms in the Brain<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(1999).<\/em><\/p>\n I myself had been thinking of David Eagleman’s<\/a> Incognito<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(2012), which science writer\u00a0Amy Harmon<\/a> told me she is presently reading. Eagleman chimed in on Twitter<\/a>* to confirm the sagacity of this choice.<\/p>\n Many thanks to all who made recommendations. If you have read any of these titles (or others not listed), please let me know what you thought. My daughter will be much obliged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Update 1 (15 Sept; 08:52)<\/strong>:\u00a0After posting this, several other suggestions have come in through the comments (see below) and on Twitter.<\/p>\n Steve Royle<\/a> enjoyed The War of the Soups and the Sparks <\/a><\/em>(2007),\u00a0<\/em>which focuses on\u00a0the discovery of neurotransmitters.<\/p>\n Ron Reid<\/a> felt\u00a0Christof Koch’s\u00a0The Quest for Consciousness<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(2004)\u00a0<\/em>to be worthy of consideration even if it is a bit more academic. He also recommended various titles by Oliver Sacks<\/a>, including\u00a0The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, Awakenings and Uncle Tungsten<\/em>; Nicole Slavin<\/a> would add\u00a0Musicophilia\u00a0<\/em>to that list of\u00a0Sacks favourites.<\/p>\n Mirco Musolesi <\/a>called Sebastian Seung’s\u00a0Connectome<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2013) ‘a great read’, a view with which Amy Harmon\u00a0concurred<\/a>.<\/p>\n John Tweedle <\/a>declared Paul Broks’\u00a0Into the Silent Land<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2004) to be ‘brilliant’.<\/p>\n And finally (for now), Peiro Raimondi<\/a> recommended Ramachandran’s The Tell Tale Brain<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2012) as a ‘beautiful compendium of all his other works (see above).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Update 2 (15 Sept; 21:17)<\/strong>: The recommendations have kept on coming, so here is another slew.<\/p>\n Tom Pollard<\/a> (and several others) judged the graphic novel approach taken by Matteo Farinella<\/a> and Hana Ros<\/a> in Neurocomic<\/em><\/a> (2013)\u00a0to be ‘beautiful’.<\/p>\n As an undergraduate, Matthew Apps<\/a> was inspired by Daniel Dennett’s Consciousness Explained <\/a><\/em>(1993).<\/p>\n As a PhD student,\u00a0<\/em>Narender Ramnani<\/a> was influenced by Steven Rise’s\u00a0The Making of Memory<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(2003).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ned Jenkinson<\/a> recommended\u00a0Neuroscience: an historical introduction<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2014) by Mitch Glickstein. The single reviewer on Amazon also seemed to be impressed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aidan Horner<\/a> thought Charles Ferneyhough’s\u00a0Pieces of Light: the new science of\u00a0<\/em>memory<\/i><\/a> (2013) was great. It was shortlisted for the Royal Society Winton Prize 2013 and the 2013 Best Book of Ideas Prize \u2014 and<\/em> recommended\u00a0by Frank Norman in the comments below.<\/p>\n Divija Rao<\/a> mentioned (but did not assess) Rhythms of the Brain<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2011)\u00a0by Gyorgy Busz\u00e1ki. However, Amazon reviewers called it ‘scholarly’ and ‘dense but readable’. Science writer David Dobbs declared it to be<\/a> ‘an amazing book’. But it\u00a0may be\u00a0a bit pricey for the casual reader.<\/p>\n Olga Rodriguez<\/a> recommended Michael Gazziniga’s\u00a0Who’s in charge<\/em><\/a> (2011) but, cryptically, not for teenagers who she thought would be better off with the works of Oliver Sacks (see above for titles).<\/p>\n For Shane O’Mara<\/a> Carl Sagan’s Broca’s Brain<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(1988) was the book that hooked him on psychology.<\/p>\n And finally for now, @eegrapher<\/a>\u00a0really enjoyed the bite-sized chunks in Mo Costandi’s\u00a050 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(2013).<\/p>\n Thanks again to all who took the trouble to share their favourites. Now, which one shall I get for my daughter\u2026?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neuroscience isn\u2019t really my thing, so when my teenage daughter came asking for suggestions of a good popular book on the subject I took to Twitter. Several people kindly made suggestions, while others asked to be notified of the outcome … Continue reading