Customer Reviews

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

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Well, that will teach me not to read the entire review of a book before sending for it! Not that I'm complaining about the book...I thought it was for adults. It's not really, though I can see using it for reading and science literacy for deaf adults.

This is a great book. The explanations concerning what happened to Mr. Gage, and the science behind his medical recovery and subsequent personality problems is fairly well covered. There is a great glossary in the back with more information concerning terminology used in 'brain science' such as abscess and neurotransmitters that can be used as a jumping point for students to do their own research into areas that interest them, whether on the Internet or in libraries.

I kind of skimmed through the text. Most of it was stuff I've had over exposure to. The text is well written, just more simple than I am used to reading. Fleischman writes very tongue-in-cheek (come to think of it, Gage couldn't do that for a while on one side!). I appreciate Fleischman's humor, and I am sure most teachers and students will find it refreshing from boring textbooks written by professors or publishing houses. The science is correct in this book, which I am finding is often NOT the case in textbooks...so maybe teachers should stop using textbooks and use books such as this, journals and the Internet!

My favorite part of this book, of course, are the pictures, the MRI scans, the reconstitution of his brain within his skull using modern techniques. Very fun to see all this together. Gage is learned about in every neuroscience class I had from an undergrad to graduate level. We talk about the fact that he survived this stunning blow, about his personality changes in neuropsychiatric classes, about possible relations between other disorders such as autism and what happened in lobotomies (ugh!...). Everyone in Neuroscience knows about Gage. He is fascinating to the point of remembering his name when we can't remember names of past acquaintances.

Fun book, good science, great pictures, a good introduction for kids to neuroscience.

Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh

As a children's librarian, I do a lot of booktalks in area schools. In a typical booktalk I will stand up with a pile of books at my side and try by any means necessary to get kids interested in reading. Such an effort can cause a librarian a fair amount of strain and sometimes we'll stoop mighty low to get children hooked. Enter "Phineas Gage". By and large, non-fiction titles are the hardest ones to sell to kids. You tell a ten-year-old that you have a story about a boy who finds a mysterious dragon's egg and you'll probably have a convert before you've uttered so much as ten sentences. But if you hold in your hot little hand an item that contains actual FACTS.... usually you're up a crik. Not in the case of Phineas. This book is so chock full of blood, splattered brains, busted skulls, and other goopy beginnings that your intended audience, whatever the age, will be hanging on your every word. For the parent that wants their child to someday become a high priced neurologist, I highly suggest that you give them a little taste of "Phineas Gage" for a starter.

Now imagine that you are Mr. Gage himself. The year is 1848 and you're just an average railroad construction foreman. Your job consists of blasting rock out of the way of the construction, allowing further tracks to be laid. You're good at your job, and you've a custom-made tamping iron (thirteen-pound rod with a pointed end) to help you out. Then, on September 13, 1848, you mess up. It could happen to anyone. One moment you're putting the highly combustible blasting powder down a hole. The next minute you've turned your head in distraction and you've dropped your tamping iron down that selfsame hole. The iron hits a piece of granite, produces a spark, and suddenly the iron has ripped through your left cheek, gone behind your left eyeball, and come up through the top of your head. There's blood everywhere, brains on the iron, and a very surprised Phineas Gage sitting in the midst of it all. You'd think a blast like that would kill a man, right? Wrong. Phineas not only is fine, he making entries into his time book as he goes to town for the doctor. When the doctor isn't around, he then sits on the front steps of a nearby hotel and has a lengthy conversation with his landlord. All the while there's blood everywhere and a clear view into Phineas's head to his brains. And is Phineas completely unchanged by the experience? Not quite. Though he lives for quite some time after the accident, Phineas suddenly is bereft of all his social skills. Why is this? What does it mean about the brain itself? And why did Phineas live?

Like I said, there's gore galore in this puppy. But better yet, there's a lot of sound scientific information for questioning young minds. For those kids more interested in the accident itself, Phineas's skull is displayed throughout the book. You can clearly make out where the hole once was, as well as how it healed over time. Digitally rendered graphs show exactly how the tamping iron entered Mr. Gage's head and how it excited. Historical information about the state of brain science in the late 1800's is coupled with what we know (and still do not know) now. The book is filled with interesting photographs, graphs, and illustrations. For further information there's a great list of resources, as well as a fabulous glossary, and a complete index.

Now the author of this book is not a children's non-fiction author. In fact, he's a science writer for the American Society for Cell Biology at the Harvard Medical School. So how well does he write for young `uns? The answer is pretty darn well. Overall, Fleischman's text is tight and interesting. He never launches into a speculation without making it very clear what the facts behind each and every matter are. Unfortunately, the book does have an occasional dull moment. Not being particularly thrilled with neuroscience myself, I found my eyes slipping over a page or two of brain facts that I didn't feel the need to backtrack and read. Still, for the most part the book is a fascinating journey into a weird moment in history.

So if your kid has been told in school that they MUST read and write about a non--fiction title of some sort, I highly recommend dear old "Phineas Gage" to you. Never has any moment so gross rendered so great a discovery.

This is one compelling and very entertaining read, albeit not for the squeamish. While aimed at kids, adults will find it equally fascinating. It has all the elements of a wild work of fiction, yet it's an eyepoppingly true story--just try and put it down once you've opened it. It's great to see factual science presented in such a winning, approachable style. After ordering a copy for my biology-minded kids, we thought so highly of it that we got a copy to donate to our local library as well. Highly recommended.

I just finished reading this book with a 12-year old middle schooler. Both of us loved every page of this book and the incredible story of Phineas Gage.

As a undergrad student majoring in psychology, I also found this book to be quite fascinating, as it goes into more depth over the life of this extraordinary man who survived such a freak accident.

The book is perfect for young adults as it is a work of non-fiction of the highest quality. It seems like there aren't enough non-fiction books out there today that are geared towards young readers. It is a great introduction to major topics in biology including bacteria, organization of cells, as well as an in-depth discussion of the brain. Definitely a great book for psychology and biology students alike!

Im Tyler Haigh and this is a book a read. I recommend this book because it is a good book on brains and a fun book to read, but i dont recommend it to people that dont like blood or get grossed out easy.

I also enjoy this book and a good reason you should read it is because, it talks about a bunch of sience stuff. So if you read it so you can get a good grade on sicence exam.

I also enjoyed it because, it had good vocabulary, and if you dident know a word it has a glossary. So this book could help you on those tricky vocab. tests.

Another good thing about this book is if you have a hard time trying to visual things it has great pictures.

This is my 4th, and last reason why you should read this book. Through-out this book there are random facts. So to learn random facts and surprise all you'r friends read this book.

To summerise this: IF you want to get a 100 on you'r science exam, never fail your voc. tests again, get over your visual problem, and be the coolist kid with the best random facts you should read this book. So read this book!

John Fleischman does an excellent job of telling the story of Phineas Gage along with wonderful photographs that add to the understanding of what happened to him. His descriptions help children and adults understand more about how the brain works, and how Phineas' brain was changed by his accident. I wish I had read this book in college when I was taking courses in Psychological Anatomy... this is so much easier to read and comprehend. An incredible story that will make you want to visit Harvard Medical School to view the skull and tamping iron yourself!

It's only about a half-hour's worth of reading for an adult, and it's written in language that most adults will find smarmy. Nevertheless, the introduction this book offers to the current state of knowledge about the human brain may well come as news to many adult readers, and the life story of the man Phineas Gage is fascinating. In 1848, Gage had a massive iron bar shot straight through his head in an accident with blasting powder. The bar entered through his mouth and existed through the top of his skull, all in an instant, and yet Gage lived. Any young reader will find this story vivid enough to keep her/his attention focused on the science that Gage's misfortune stimulated. I'm not a teacher, so my guess may be wrong, but I'd say this book is especially suitable to junior high readers.

You'll find mention of Gage in a far more mature piece of writing - "Soul Made Flesh" by Carl Zimmer - which narrates the life-work of the 17th C Englishman, Thomas Willis, who first convinced at least some people that the brain was not merely a blob but in fact the seat of consciousness. I recommend that book heartily/brainily to all readers who enjoy the history of science. I'd also urge people with serious scientific interests to learn about the "Brainbow" project underway at the Harvard Center for Brain Science, directed by my smartest friend, Dr. Joshua Sanes.

First, this book can easily be read in one or two sittings, that being said, it's not worth the hardcover $16 list price. Pick up a copy here for a couple bucks and all is well. Otherwise, i found this book to be a page turner. The author has a great "story telling" writing style. This book is a little step back in time, fortean in nature, and educational all in one short, well illustrated book.

At the beginning of the book you are told to pay attention and at the end, decide whether or not Mr. Gage was lucky or not. This book was fantastic. I'm not a blood and guts person, and I thought this book would be ALL blood and guts. This book turned out to be better than expected. The text is easy to understand, and Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science had phenominal pictures. I would suggest this book to anyone.

Phineas Gage is mentioned in Incognito, a recent book about the brain by David Eagleman. I was so taken by Gage's incredible story that I sought out a book about him and found Phineas Gage by John Fleischman, refreshingly written in language far simpler that Eagleman's Incognito. The book's length and simplicity of language , however, belie the remarkable story of Gage and the pertinent information about the human brain.

We've all read and heard some remarkable tales of survival, Gage's experience remains near the top of the pyramid of miraculous survivals. Recently a member of Congress was shot, yet survived despite the bullet passing through her brain. She had the best of care modern medicine has to offer. Gage's injury, a thirteen pound, 43 inch long iron rod passing through his skull and brain, happened in the days before antibiotics and anesthesia. He was literally taped together and put to bed. At one point when his temerature rose, Dr. Harlow bled him.

The book is intended for middle school readers, and can seem a bit condescending at times for adults. At first the author's use of present tense was annoying until I realized how effectively the strategy works in this book. The fascination and intrigue of the topic is undeniable. Photographs an illustrations add to the wonder of Gage's unbelievable experience.