Customer Reviews

A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle of His Daughter's Developing Mind

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Charles Fernyhough, the author of this book, is a psychologist who is fascinated by the way the brains of young children develop. When his own wife becomes pregnant, he finds himself with the perfect test subject for all of his theories, and the perfect opportunity for close observation of an infant.

Fernyhough delves into the way the brain develops in the womb, the amazing way the mind forges connections even before birth. When his daughter, Athena, is actually born, her doting father spends a great deal of time observing and making notes about her behavior, a close study that continues up through her third year of life.

As a parent of small children myself, I found this account of developing brains to be both fascinating and familiar. It was interesting to find out that many of the emerging behaviors of my children were universal. I loved the way the author spoke to his daughter, and his adoration of her was clear from the way he wrote about their interactions.

This book occasionally got bogged down in the psychology lessons, though, going into some detail about why certain behaviors happened or how they happened, or how certain other scientists over time had observed similar behaviors. Much of this information I already knew, although I can't say for sure if I know it because it's basic information that everyone knows, or if I know it because I've specifically read about these studies before. I was much more interested in reading about the author's conversations with his little girl and how her personhood emerged.

(I read this as the new mother of a two-month old son, and I keep going back to it every couple of months as he changes with breathtaking rapidity....)

A seriously scientific book that repeatedly made me laugh out loud and choke back tears....what an accomplishment. Fernyhough edifies with well-annotated psychology, entertains with beautifully turned phrases, and moves by evoking his own somewhat melancholic spirit and his daughter's vast, inimitable personality. He really made me feel the enormity of a new human being's mind.

This book is great nourishment for the mind and soul of a new parent.

I bought this after hearing it mentioned on a Radio Lab episode thinking it would be an interesting read about infant brain development while I'm expecting our second child. The book is half memoir and half neuroscience but I found the book's split personality kept it from really being good at either attempt. The memoir sections read like forced and impersonal accounts included only to transition between scientific studies. The scientific studies are too often things that one would find in "What to Expect" which was not the level that I was expecting. Overall this book was neither a good memoir or a good neuroscience read, the latter being what I was really hoping for, and it left me very disappointed.

Having just watched my first daughter take this journey, and now expecting my next, I thought this would be a perfect time to read a book about the development of a toddler's brain. There is a lot of interesting information in here, filling in some of the gaps in the knowledge that I've picked up over the years from reading standard parenting material.

It's a little dry and drags at times, but I found it worth the effort. I don't think I would recommend this to everybody, but for science geeks & prospective parents it should be worth checking out.

The author bridges the considerable gap between his perspective and that of his infant daughter's. With a scientist's eye, he examines what the world looks and feels like as a child's senses and mind develop.

Handy if you want to understand how your baby behaviours and the way they experience their surroundings and those they interact with.

This book is interesting, scientific and emotional. I do not have children and I liked it so much I have bought it for every baby shower I have gone to. Parents can read along and learn the science behind their child's development. I highly recommended this book to parents and non-parents alike.

I had such high hopes for this book. I'm a neuroscientist and mother of a young child. I was looking forward to some scientific explanations of what my child was going through, as well as the personal stories of how the science applied to his daughter. I was really disappointed. I only made it through a couple of chapters before quitting. It was very dry (not enough on the personal aspects), and I enjoy reading science. Also, the author's use of analogies was cumbersome, and there were a few analogies that I didn't understand at all. Overall, from what I read, the book was choppy and could have been organized better to flow more naturally between science and "real life".

I was hoping that this book would not include so much of the science of his daughter's development. I have read similar books that offer explanations of a child's actions, but this was dry. I would not recommend this book unless you enjoy science.