This is just a list of some of my favorite books about brains, and why I love them.
This is a collection of various case studies about people with unusual neurological conditions, and how they cope with them. The topics range from visual agnosias to Korsakov syndrome, and is a great read.
Yet another book of case studies centered around strange neurological conditions, but, these cases all have one thing in common: Music plays an extraordinary role in their lives. From the strangely articulate and musical children afflicted with Williams Syndrome, to those gifted with perfect pitch, to even people who can't hear melody or harmony (but instead hear a horrible cacophony when they hear music), this book has some pretty amazing case studies.
This book comes in two sections: the first is about a community in Micronesia that has a very large population of people with complete achromatopsia, or complete colorblindness. The second is about the people native to Guam, and a terrifying disease that many of them suffer from that has symptoms from ALS, Parkinson's, and Dementia. The book is as much about how these conditions affect the culture as it is about brains, and it's an extremely engaging read.
This book is about, as the title suggests, hallucinations. This book covers it all - hallucinations that affect all five of our senses, drug induced hallucinations, schizophrenia, and even Charles Bonnet syndrome, which can actually be the sign of a healthy brain.
This is another collection of case studies, but a little more on the clinical side than the Oliver Sacks books. It's a really engaging look at how people overcome some of the most intense neurological conditions out there, and what it really means to be human, from a neurologist's point of view.
Yet another collection of clinical case studies and hypotheses about the human condition. The chapter on the evolution of aesthetic taste was particularly engaging.
This is a book about how flexible the brain is, and just how much it can change to go from disabled to extraordinary. It's one of my favorites, I must have read it at least five times by now.
This book is all about what happens to your brain when you listen to music, and also when you play an instrument or sing.
This book is a really amazing read. It's all about how emotion influences logic, and how that helps us function as human beings.