The Mind [Hardcover]

Richard Restak M.D. (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although written as a corollary to a new nine-part PBS series being aired this fall, The Mind stands independently as a good source of information for the layperson. Following the same pattern he used in The Brain ( LJ 10/15/84), also an earlier PBS series, Restaka scientist, physicist, neurologist, and author of several medical science booksexplores the development of the mind from conception through old age, emphasizing thinking processes and language development. He also explains mental processes and the new research on depression, pain, addiction, and violence. Much technical information is presented, but Restak's lucid explanations, interspersed with human interest stories, photographs, and diagrams, make the material appealing and easy to digest. Marguerite Mroz, Baltimore Cty. P.L.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553053140
• ISBN-13: 978-0553053142
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,758,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes the mind work, September 10, 2002

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mind (Hardcover)

Emphasizing the intersection of neuroscience and psychology, this book examines various aspects of our "selves", from addiction to violence and from growth to aging. Restak provides many pictorial examples of experiments as well as P.E.T. scans and EEG output to particularly show neurological locations of brain functions.

Perhaps the most evocative for me were the chapters on thinking and language. Is language uniquely human? Does language depend upon mind or mind depend upon language? He also brings up the mind as "computer" model which probably was more popular in 1988 when the book was written. This is a well-written book, with a fairly broad perspective from Descartes to the modern.

The chapters on depression and violence particularly bring up the questions of mind-body dichotomies. Restak also discusses ethical problems, such as whether a person is responsible for a crime that may be a fault of the person's physiology.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Official Companion Volume to the Landmark PBS Television, September 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mind (Hardcover)

Successor to The Brain, The Mind based on the 9-part TV series is a study of what make us who we are, our passions, talents, etc Human brain Human mind Talents, thoughts, Passions, etc.