Customer Reviews

Conversations With Neil's Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought and Language

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Conversations with Neil's Brain By Calvin & Ojemann.

Reviewed by Dr. Charles Finlay

This is a trip through the brain, "Neil's Brain," Traveling through dendrites, axioms, and the web of the neuro-cortex into a better comprehension of what the brain does. Deep into the amygdala across to the hippocampus and onto the frontal lobe, all in a well mapped adventure to a better perception how our brains work. Neil, who's brain we examine, is a combination of treatments and discoveries about the brain rolled into one person. This is a well-written story about a "subject" with a dilemma that can be remedied by the use of brain surgery. As we travel the neuro-cortex of "Neil's Brain" the mystery of how the brain works is simplified into an understanding of the inner machinery of the living brain. If you are interested in the how and why the brain does what it does this is a good place to start. Conversations with Neil's Brain is an adventure and a "text" book. It is fun to read and overflows with information on the parts and process of the brain.

I read this book as part of my first neurobiology course and I thought it was just awesome. The book is written so that most people (not only undergraduate neurobiology majors) will be able to understand and appreciate it.


It's an awesome book, which explains how the brain works by going through conversations between a surgeon and his curious patient.

This book describes a type of epilepsy surgery using
subdural electrode grids prior to surgery. I underwent
the same surgery as described in this book. This book
is a very readable book that explains this kind of surgery
in understandable language to the average reader. A must
read for anyone with epilepsy.

CONVERSATIONS WITH NEIL'S BRAIN is a glossary of brain parts packaged as dialogue between Calvin and his imaginary friend, Neil.

The reading experience reminds me of a psycho-physiology course I took 25 years ago. Some exciting brain research had been done, but the old moss-backed professor ignored everything newer than about 1960.

Calvin forfeited an opportunity to add snap, crackle, and pop to his tedious and dull lecture about brain physiology. Exciting things are happening, and he ignored much of it to rehash stuff from the 40s & 50s.

It's hard to stick with this one. There's not much of a plot to draw you from chapter to chapter, and as instructional material, it drags out too much. Given learning as the objective for reading it, I'd rather just read something that cuts to the chase in a more overt, efficient, instructional manner.

If you ever wondered what a friendly, open, unassuming neuroscientist or neurosurgeon might sound like if there were such a thing, you might read this to indulge that fantasy ;) These two authors have gone to great lengths to make their world accessible, which is a much appreciated effort by those of us in allied fields.

Entertaining insight into how the brain works with anecdotal stories from a neourophysioligists/nuerosurgeon's viewpoint