Scientific American Book of the Brain

What's going on in there? If you want to get the latest in neural and behavioral science, there's no better place to turn than The Scientific American Book of the Brain. Thirty-two heavyweight researchers and science writers contribute thoughtful, often eloquent reviews of their own and others' neuroscience research, aiming to help the intelligent reader quickly grasp the current state of knowledge. Reading Elizabeth Loftus on false memories, Kay Redfield Jamison on manic-depressive illness, and Michael Gazzaniga on recent split-brain research is like attending a series of impressively cogent and engaging lectures, without any note-passing undergraduates to distract you. The articles are mostly from 1998, though a few go as far back as 1991; each represents the best, most current writing on its topic. Of particular interest to those who love a good debate are the side-by-side articles on the biological basis of homosexuality and the inclusion of consciousness within the domain of neurobiology by careful writers on opposing sides of each issue--it's a pleasant reminder that not all arguments need end in nationally televised fistfights. You may want to use The Scientific American Book of the Brain as a reference, but you'll find that the writing is so engrossing that minutes or hours will pass by inefficiently while you browse and take in the world of the brain as we know it. --Rob Lightner