Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Apple
Android
Windows Phone
Android
To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
$16.50
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
Frequently Bought Together
{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":16.5,"ASIN":"0316182346","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":14.47,"ASIN":"0316182338","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":9.35,"ASIN":"0316051632","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"0316182346::C8ew6slqZw0aZSVXtmogTJZaN6PK4%2Bm4484U7NAo5OinqaTgAZWbTuxZy0OpkOg7RjN4UGB%2FkMZ8vSN5b9RBq67WWMQAWKlOY1LOCMq4QNZd6Pqob2UCeg%3D%3D,0316182338::z%2FzpSrsSxzeGi6pQoGnUp%2FsR1iGTacB74pKCkLUJjdV5uuls7OM3oz6OQvgPQO2cf%2BiWP0Vvv64j%2B7ACAfppU1FtRwu7%2FZCXNhcp6N9naR36KAxKKJW%2FzQ%3D%3D,0316051632::X4Sd9EMjfZ9Ve31Pq5HBoQ7zmRCHKFMA7iwbuUYi8dsbwBaVil3OzOm1V5JjTf8VPD6uGk%2FvKZsK%2FdI4UlPiNLOwtRRyflc%2Fxj4U81h9LBU%2BABfiEdWbqg%3D%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xz":"same","xy":"same","yz":"same","xyz":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Best Books of the Month
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
Product Details
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2014)
In today's world, there are many ways to look at the brain and how it functions but, in the past, doctors and scientists had to depend on personal observation. In The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, science writer Sam Kean, gives us a fascinating looks at both the unfortunate folk whose maladies, syndromes, and injuries led to a better understanding of the brain and the doctors and scientists who treated and learned from them.
Kean looks at such phenomena as phantom limbs and syndromes like Cotard's in which sufferers are convinced they are dead. Among the anecdotes Kean relates is that of King Henry II of France in the 16th c. who began to have seizures and bouts of paralysis after being injured by a lance through his eye during a jousting match. Oddly, only one side of his body was affected. His doctors considered opening his skull but, given that he was the king, that seemed a tad dangerous for all concerned so, instead, they examined the brains of executed prisoners. Henry eventually died of a brain hemorrhage but his case hinted at what later doctors would discover, that the two sides of the brain control different functions. And then there's the case of Phineas Gage whose skull and brain were pierced by a tamping iron in an industrial accident. Gage remained conscious and seemingly unfazed throughout the ordeal of having it removed but, afterwards, his personality changed completely.
Kean's chatty and often humourous way of describing scientific discoveries not only makes the science accessible to all but it makes it a whole lot of fun to read. However, he doesn't just relate anecdotes. Instead, he humanizes these patients making them more than their misfortunes and the learning they provide, something that science writers too rarely do.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Having read both of Sam's other books already, I was really looking forward to his latest. I was NOT disappointed at all! The research is detailed enough to explain neuroscientific processes without leaving us non science majors deep in the weeds. Sam's writing style incorporates humor into the discussion while providing what seems to be (to me) a primer on the evolution of the discoveries and how those were applied in real life to try to improve patients with Neuro issues. Bravo, Mr. Kean. I will be looking forward to more from you. Highly recommended.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Relying solely on anecdotal case studies, 'The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons' nonetheless presents an elucidating and informative tour through the neural connections of the human brain via the true stories of individuals affected by severe trauma. While it does lack the sophistication that would be more in evidence were it to have been authored by someone with a medical degree, the intent of this book was to make an attempt at exploring the resilience and functionality of localized areas of the human brain, with emphasis placed on how the mind can be affected when the brain is damaged. On that account, there is no question how well 'The Dueling Neurosurgeons' succeeded.
In what is an eminently readable introduction to the intricacies of neural connections and how they relate to our every thought and motion, the subject is approached from the angle that science's most effective means of understanding which sections control what specific functions is to this day best demonstrated by studying the effects of traumatic injuries. This is conveyed splendidly, and, for a medical layman, in a remarkably erudite manner. The information is certainly related in a way that the uninitiated can easily follow, without resorting to softening its intellectual merit.
Not only was it an excellent introduction to such complicated subject matter, I appreciated Mr Kean's inclusion of biographical and intimate details surrounding the men and women involved, so that that the subjects are never dehumanized, but made all the more sympathetic from these before and after glimpses of their lives. As a former psychology major, I found that aspect sorely lacking in the more academic texts - the professionals would do well to take a cue from Mr Kean in that regard.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
38 of 47 people found the following review helpful
I am recently working on my research work regarding the human intellect and emotions and for that I have read a great many research articles and some books. Here I would like to praise this book, which although was a bit diverged from my main topic, amplified my interest to explore more about human brains and mind which are considered to be the main sources of intellect. The book is "The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons". The writer of the book has clearly chosen a systematic approach to take the reader to the new domains of human brains. He has started with a fine and simple explanation of brain anatomy and functions and proceeded with neurotic explanations of various brain illnesses, their recovery tales and processing of the brain during this period. The writer has taken a historical approach to report the brain domains.
Sometimes awareness creates thrust for more knowledge and it happened to me, after reading this book. I began looking for more books describing the incredible potentials of the human brain. One day I found the book "Maximizing Brain Control : Unleash The Genius In You", which has unveiled many of my questions regarding the human brain and its capacities. I came to know a number of heuristics to get the maximum output of a human brain and get benefits in one's daily life. The author has made the complex processes of the brain, understandable for the reader, through using easy and explicit terms. The book is well written with a good guiding approach.
If someone is really interested to get awareness about human brain and its diverse functioning, I will strongly suggest him these two perfect pieces of writings.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery
