Customer Reviews

Creating Mind: How the Brain Works

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This is simply the best introduction to neuroscience I have read that is written for non-science students. The book is short, but it covers virtually all aspects of neuroscience, from events taking place in individual synapses to how various regions of the brain contribute to memory, emotion and consciousness. Being a neuroscientist myself, I am fully aware of the complexity of this field. Yet, Professor Dowling is able to explain complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. For instance, many students may still have trouble understanding how a neuron's resting potential is formed, or how an action potential is generated, even after taking a whole course in neurophysiology. Yet, all of this is explained lucidly, concisely and accurately in one short chapter in this book, which in my opinion is a tour de force. The second half, which surveys the functions of different brains regions, is especially fascinating. My wish is that Dowling will soon write a new edition of another masterpiece of his, "The Retina-An Approachable Part of the Brain", which is starting to get outdated (it was published in 1987).

On the other hand, if you are a science student, the best introductory text is probably "The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology" by Levitan and Kaczmarek. Dowling's "Neurons and Networks" is also good, but I find it to be somewhat wordy.

I cannot empasize enough how useful John E. Dowling's Creating Mind is for a comprehensive understanding of the nervous system and how it works. I am a high school freshman and did not have access to any neuroscience courses, but was extremely interested in the field. After reading highly technical writing like the AP Biology textbook and unfocused popular science books like Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works, I did not have comprehensive understanding of the brain. John E. Dowling's Creating Mind was a godsend.

The book is concise and extremely easy to read, and most importantly is organized in a way that makes sense. Right off the bat, Dowling explains the book's structure. With the first five chapters providing essential background knowledge that other books seem to omit, and the following five chapters describing the human brain. At the beginning of each chapter there are short excerpts from memoirs or case studies that reveal the effects of what Dowling consequently discusses. He describes the molecular processes that take place within minute neurons, but at the same time brings it all together with a lucid overview of how the brain works. Dowling also acknowledges the limitations of our understanding, and offers a glimpse of the future of neuroscience.

Creating Mind is about 190 pages of writing and includes a glossary and an extremely useful Further Reading list. The book is fairly short (I read it in two days), but when you finish reading it, you feel like you know all that a Ph.D knows but without the scientific jargon. If I ever meet Dr. Dowling I will thank him for this incredible piece of work. I sincerely loved this book, as it gave me my first clear understanding of the brain, and although it may not be technical enough for the medical student, Creating Mind is the best introduction to neuroscience for the curious lay reader. I highly recommend it.

This book is fantastic. All you need is basic school science to understand this clear and facinating explanation of how our grey matter functions. If the idea of understanding the human brain fascinates you but you think you'd never begin to understand.....read this book. It's not only easily understood, it's an interesting read as well. Highly recommended!

This book provides an excellent overview of neuroscience and how, in general, a mammalian neural system functions. The author does an excellent job of contextualizing his overview of neuroscience by providing real-world anecdotes and stories at the beginning of each chapter.

For those interested in an overview of the components and systems involved in neuroscience, this book serves as an excellent reference. The author provides clear levels of distinction and abstraction for all of the systems and elements of mamallian neural systems.

I highly recommend this book.

Dowling has written a superb, easy to read introduction to brain structure and function. The book is well set out and has lots of figures which really complement the text and help to clarify the concepts that are being explained. Dowling uses lots of examples throughout the book and even though I got the idea that this book was an up to date report on the latest research and findings of neuroscience, the book reads more like a novel than a scientific text.

For the reader with little or know knowledge of neurobiology, this is the book to start with. Dowling tells the story of mind, all the way from the molecular level to higher-order brain functions. Throughout the book he is clear and exact in his prose. Dowling makes a daunting field sound comprehensible; after reading this primer I want to read Dowling's more technical _Neurons and Networks: An Introduction to Neuroscience_.

I don't write book reviews often as I find it rather difficult to comment on an art form (the art of writing). However, I will say that this is a great read if you are looking for something different and refreshing. It will make you appreciate the complexity and the intricate workings of the brain. It is well written and captivating with good examples that give you a thorough understanding of how the brain works, how it compensates, and how and why it sometimes fails.

My only issue with the book is that its suppose to be written as an interesting read for the masses but it often feels like a text book. To me it heavily focuses on pathology and chemistry which at times can be difficult to follow when you are in a relax reading mode. I would say that a large portion of the book goes into heavy detail on how everything works on the cellular and molecular level and at times it takes a couple of reads to fully understand it. That however is the only speed bump in reading this book. Overall though its an enjoyable read.