Neuroscience Books

My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

Ph.D., Jill Bolte Taylor

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Not yet published By: Plume

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 122 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Personal Account and Great Advice 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book does provide a fascinating personal account of Ms. Bolte Taylor's stroke, but it also gives inspiring advice. She had the great opportuniuty of being forced to re-program how she sees and interacts with the world and challenges the reader to do just that.

A Must Read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A very valuable book, not only for those who have suffered a stroke, but for those whose loved ones have. My husband suffered a massive stroke in 2002, several TAI's, and 2006 diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The book shows how small steps are the so important and not overwhelming for the person. Above all treating the patient and loved one with DIGNITY! Take charge of and be involved every step of the way.

Sometimes repetative, but worthwhile.... 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My husband is at risk for a stroke sometime within his life time (already had a very minor one), and so I read this book seeking the detailed information promised by a scientist. The best information was to be patient, look the patient in the eyes, speak quietly and slowly over and over if necessary, stay positive and detail oriented, and develop daily plans.

Good information, but sometimes too much repeat information. I also wished that the author had used less contrast description when talking about her first day and week after the stroke. The message about her state of being and her "lost" abilities got lost in the words about what she "should" have been able to do.

One of many books.

Editorial Review:

Unabridged CDs • 5 CDs, 5 1?2 hours

A brain scientist’s personal experience with a stroke and her journey to a full recovery.

Brain That Changes Itself, The: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

M.D., Norman Doidge

Amazon Price: $78.29 List Price: $107.25 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Brilliance Audio Unabridged Lib Ed Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $72.07

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

“Fascinating. Doidge’s book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain.” – Oliver Sacks

The discovery that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains – even into old age – is the most important breakthrough in neuroscience in four centuries. In this revolutionary look at the brain, bestselling author, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., introduces both the brilliant scientists championing this new science of neuroplasticity and the astonishing progress of the people whose lives they’ve transformed. Introducing principles we can all use as well as a riveting collection of case histories – stroke patients cured, a woman with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, learning and emotional disorders overcome, IQs raised, and aging brains rejuvenated – The Brain That Changes Itself has “implications for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history” (The New York Times).

“Readers will want to read entire sections aloud and pass the book on to someone who can benefit from it….Links scientific experimentation with personal triumph in a way that inspires awe.” - The Washington Post

State of Fear

Michael Crichton

List Price: $27.95 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 706 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1274 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Coco the clowns guide to climate change 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 23 people found this review helpful.

Hmm, I feel like an interrogator pulling on my thin leather gloves wondering which part of a particularly corpulent and repulsive individual to punch first.

Ok, as a scientific effort into repudiating climate change, this book makes the dinosaur cloning in Jurassic Park look believable.
This book provides a charter for all of those out there who want a "get out of jail free card" to wave so they can continue to lead lifestyles that feature conspicuous consumption and a lack of personal and moral accountability, with respect to our poor planet and the less fortunate individuals that inhabit the "poor bits", the "hot bits", the "not very nice bits" and the "prone to war and famine bits".

The science is selective and poor, and flies in the face of actual experts in the field (myself being one of them). The worrying thing is that people actually believe this stuff, and when I read he was asked to address Congressional Committees I was flabbergasted. I can only presume they were committees that were looking into cloning a mega-army of semi-intelligent dinosaurs, who ironically would probably be too intelligent to read this book.

Phew, thats better, and if this review gets published, I'll be a monkeys uncle (possibly one of the monkeys in "Next", his tirade into the world of genetic engineering, and considering where his dinosaurs come from, I mean, talking about biting the hand that feeds you!!!)

Edit - Ok Mr Amazon, send me some bananas!

Editorial Review:

The undisputed master of the techno-thriller has written his most riveting -- and entertaining -- book yet.

Once again Michael Crichton gives us his trademark combination of page-turning suspense, cutting-edge technology, and extraordinary research. State of Fear is a superb blend of edge-of-your-seat suspense and thought provoking commentary on how information is manipulated in the modern world. From the streets of Paris, to the glaciers of Antarctica to the exotic and dangerous Solomon Islands, State of Fear takes the reader on a rollercoaster thrill ride, all the while keeping the brain in high gear.

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD)

John Medina

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pear Press Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $15.29

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Most of us have no idea what's really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know--such as the brain's need for physical activity to work at its best.

How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget--and so important to repeat new information? Is it true that men and women have different brains?

In Brain Rules, molecular biologist Dr. John Medina shares his lifelong interest in how the brain sciences might influence the way we teach our children and the way we work. In each chapter, he describes a brain rule--what scientists know for sure about how our brains work--and then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.

Medina's fascinating stories and sense of humor breathe life into brain science. You'll learn why Michael Jordan was no good at baseball. You'll peer over a surgeon's shoulder as he finds, to his surprise, that we have a Jennifer Aniston neuron. You'll meet a boy who has an amazing memory for music but can't tie his own shoes.

You will discover how:

- Every brain is wired differently
- Exercise improves cognition
- We are designed to never stop learning and exploring
- Memories are volatile
- Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn
- Vision trumps all of the other senses
- Stress changes the way we learn

In the end, you'll understand how your brain really works--and how to get the most out of it.

About the DVD The Brain Rules DVD, included with this book, is a lively tour of the 12 brain rules. You will experience firsthand Medina's rare gift for making science fun, accessible, and relevant. The DVD will take your understanding of the book to the next level.

Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently

Gregory Berns

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harvard Business School Press Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $18.74

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Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

No organization can survive without iconoclasts -- innovators who single-handedly upturn conventional wisdom and manage to achieve what so many others deem impossible.



Though indispensable, true iconoclasts are few and far between. In Iconoclast, neuroscientist Gregory Berns explains why. He explores the constraints the human brain places on innovative thinking, including fear of failure, the urge to conform, and the tendency to interpret sensory information in familiar ways.



Through vivid accounts of successful innovators ranging from glass artist Dale Chihuly to physicist Richard Feynman to country/rock trio the Dixie Chicks, Berns reveals the inner workings of the iconoclast's mind with remarkable clarity. Each engaging chapter goes on to describe practical actions we can each take to understand and unleash our own potential to think differently -- such as seeking out new environments, novel experiences, and first-time acquaintances.



Packed with engaging stories, science-based insights, potent practices, and examples from a startling array of disciplines, this engaging book will help you understand how iconoclasts think and equip you to begin thinking more like an iconoclast yourself.

The Female Brain

Louann Brizendine

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Broadway Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $7.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 117 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can’t remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages.

Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and who they love. While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann Brizendine discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first clinic in the country to study and treat women’s brain function.

In The Female Brain, Dr. Brizendine distills all her findings and the latest information from the scientific community in a highly accessible book that educates women about their unique brain/body/behavior.

The result: women will come away from this book knowing that they have a lean, mean, communicating machine. Men will develop a serious case of brain envy.

Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves

Sharon Begley

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ballantine Books Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $7.65

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this fascinating and far-reaching book, Newsweek science writer Sharon Begley reports on how cutting-edge science and the ancient wisdom of Buddhism have come together to reveal that, contrary to popular belief, we have the power to literally change our brains by changing our minds. Recent pioneering experiments in neuroplasticity–the ability of the brain to change in response to experience–reveal that the brain is capable of altering its structure and function, and even of generating new neurons, a power we retain well into old age. The brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma, compensate for disabilities, rewire itself to overcome dyslexia, and break cycles of depression and OCD. And as scientists are learning from studies performed on Buddhist monks, it is not only the outside world that can change the brain, so can the mind and, in particular, focused attention through the classic Buddhist practice of mindfulness.

With her gift for making science accessible, meaningful, and compelling, Sharon Begley illuminates a profound shift in our understanding of how the brain and the mind interact and takes us to the leading edge of a revolution in what it means to be human.

“There are two great things about this book. One is that it shows us how nothing about our brains is set in stone. The other is that it is written by Sharon Begley, one of the best science writers around. Begley is superb at framing the latest facts within the larger context of the field. . . . This is a terrific book.”
–Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

“Excellent . . . elegant and lucid prose . . . an open mind here will be rewarded.”
–Discover magazine

“A strong dose of hope along with a strong does of science and Buddhist thought.”
–The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being

Daniel J. Siegel

Amazon Price: $17.79 List Price: $26.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: W. W. Norton Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $16.02

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hands down the best book on this topic..... 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

I've always been a fan of this author, he is a scholar, excellent writer and based on his writing a wise individual. What makes this book especially good from my perspective is the balancing of subjective information from the world's wisdom traditions and his own interior experience with their physical correlates i.e. rigorous science without reducing either to the other. This is extremely refreshing and this carefully researched book adopts an attitude of openness, curiosity and wonder.

In addition, THE MINDFUL BRAIN is NOT written soley for academically minded individuals or psychologists. It is very readable by any intelligent layperson and extremely engaging. It is theoritical, but also compellingly practical in the spirit of Parenting From the Inside Out, which I highly recommend as well.

I also The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are is an incredible book. However, this is much less accessible to the average person than this volume and the one in the proceeding paragraph.

More concisely, what Daniel Siegel has done is brought together what we know from the various contemplative traditions, mind-body medicine and neuroscience together in a compelling argument for the value of mindfulness to everyday life, happiness and health. I would think this would be something everyone would be interested in.

While it's a wonderful adaptation to be able to think ahead, plan, etc. This often carries one out of the HERE and NOW moment and keeps us on a treadmill of postponing our fulfillment. This book is about balancing our ability to look forward while remaining anchored in the present... the only place where love, happiness and peace could be found.

I work in this area and have graduate education in biology, biochemistry and psychology. This is my life's passion and I own many books on this topic and present workshops. This is in many ways the book I wish I had written although humbly I must admit Daniel Siegel would be an extremely difficult person to top. Hopefully, however, someday I will be able to add value by complimenting his and other people's good work.

Editorial Review:

An exploration of the nature of our mind, from the inside out, by a leading neurobiologist.

Over the last twenty years, there has been growing attention in the Western world to mindfulness—paying attention to life in the present moment. Here, Daniel J. Siegel investigates the phenomenon of mindfulness as it impacts our daily lives, offering readers insight into personal relationships, emotional behavior, parenting, and work.

Your Brain: The Missing Manual

Matthew MacDonald

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pogue Press Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $13.59

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Puzzles and brain twisters to keep your mind sharp and your memory intact are all the rage today. More and more people -- Baby Boomers and information workers in particular -- are becoming concerned about their gray matter's ability to function, and with good reason. As this sensible and entertaining guide points out, your brain is easily your most important possession. It deserves proper upkeep. Your Brain: The Missing Manual is a practical look at how to get the most out of your brain -- not just how the brain works, but how you can use it more effectively. What makes this book different than the average self-help guide is that it's grounded in current neuroscience. You get a quick tour of several aspects of the brain, complete with useful advice about: Brain Food: The right fuel for the brain and how the brain commands hunger (including an explanation of the different chemicals that control appetite and cravings) Sleep: The sleep cycle and circadian rhythm, and how to get a good night's sleep (or do the best you can without it) Memory: Techniques for improving your recall Reason: Learning to defeat common sense; logical fallacies (including tactics for winning arguments); and good reasons for bad prejudices Creativity and Problem-Solving: Brainstorming tips and thinking not outside the box, but about the box -- in other words, find the assumptions that limit your ideas so you can break through them Understanding Other People's Brains: The battle of the sexes and babies developing brains

Learn about the built-in circuitry that makes office politics seem like a life-or-death struggle, causes you to toss important facts out of your memory if they're not emotionally charged, andencourages you to eat huge amounts of high-calorie snacks. With Your Brain: The Missing Manual you'll discover that, sometimes, you can learn to compensate for your brain or work around its limitations -- or at least to accept its eccentricities. Exploring your brain is the greatest adventure and biggest mystery you'll ever face. This guide has exactly the advice you need.

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

Maryanne Wolf

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $8.13

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must for any teacher 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am not a professional reviewer, so in simple terms... this writer does an excellent job of covering the history of writing and reading. She makes it interesting, even if you don't like history. She does an excellent job on the science of how the brain works regarding reading. Again, she does an excellent job even if you don't like science.

I believe this is a must have for any teacher. To understand how minds work and how reading and the brain really go together. It is a very interesting book and you will learn a lot from it.

Editorial Review:

"Human beings were never born to read," writes Tufts University cognitive neuroscientist and child development expert Maryanne Wolf. Reading is a human invention that reflects how the brain rearranges itself to learn something new. In this ambitious, provocative book, Wolf chronicles the remarkable journey of the reading brain not only over the past five thousand years, since writing began, but also over the course of a single child's life, showing in the process why children with dyslexia have reading difficulties and singular gifts.

Lively, erudite, and rich with examples, Proust and the Squid asserts that the brain that examined the tiny clay tablets of the Sumerians was a very different brain from the one that is immersed in today's technology-driven literacy. The potential transformations in this changed reading brain, Wolf argues, have profound implications for every child and for the intellectual development of our species.