The Brain

The Story of You

By: David Eagleman

Narrated by: David Eagleman

From the renowned neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of Incognito comes the companion volume to the international PBS series about how your life shapes your brain, and how your brain shapes your life.

"An ideal introduction to how biology generates the mind.... Clear, engaging and thought-provoking." —Nature

Locked in the silence and darkness of your skull, your brain fashions the rich narratives of your reality and your identity. Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the mysterious heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are “you”? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human?

In the course of his investigations, Eagleman guides us through the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, facial expressions, genocide, brain surgery, gut feelings, robotics, and the search for immortality. Strap in for a whistle-stop tour into the inner cosmos. In the infinitely dense tangle of billions of brain cells and their trillions of connections, something emerges that you might not have expected to see in there: you.

Color illustrations throughout.

Critic reviews

"An ideal introduction to how biology generates the mind.... structured around crucial and wide-ranging questions, saturated with personal and social relevance. And Eagleman’s answers are consistently clear, engaging and thought-provoking." —Nature

"David Eagleman's wide-ranging roundup of the current state of knowledge about the brain is concise, accessible and often very surprising. It's a strange new world inside your head.” —Brian Eno

"David Eagleman’s The Brain its an astonishing read. On every page there is a revelation so fantastic as to make one gasp. It would be impossible to take in if we didn’t all possess that impossibly extraordinary thing, a brain. Eagleman comes closer than anyone to solving the mystery of how to find the self inside the grey electric mush between our ears.” —Stephen Fry

"David Eagleman makes it easy to comprehend the most complex collection of cells in the Cosmos— our brain. If neuroscience had a rock legend this would be him.” —Ruby Wax

Awe-inspiring book, but not Eagleman's best

David Eagleman is not just a great writer, he is also, in my opinion, one of the more creative pioneers in the field of neuroscience. His experiments, at first, seems almost like science fiction. But, to his immense credit, he always makes his propositions seem at least potentially realistic, even to a hardcore skeptic such as myself. He even manages to make fantastical ideas, such as sending a conscious brain simulation to an exoplanet, at the speed of light, or hijacking your brain’s computing power to predict changes at the stock market, seem at least potentially attainable.

On the slightly more negative side I think the book is a bit self serving in the sense that much of the book is devoted to Eagleman’s own research. This is not a huge problem because Eagleman’s research is really really interesting, but still, you get the feeling that a bit more of the book could be devoted to other people’s research.

With this book, Eagleman again demonstrates his ability to convey neuroscience and its potential implications in a thoroughly entertaining style. Still, compared to his previous book, Incognito, (which is probably the best popular neuroscience book I have read), this book was more shallow and less coherent. Don’t get me wrong, it is still one of the best books to read if you want to marvel at the brain and its capacity.

loved this book

Well written and well spoken survey of contemporary knowledge regarding the mind, intelligence, and the brain.

Great explanation of the human brain.

What did you love best about The Brain?

I liked how they kept their topic sharp and straight forward. I loved how they explain about the human brain's need of society groups and dehumanizing. it keeps me in consideration.

What did you like best about this story?

When he explained the future lives and brain of humanity.

What about David Eagleman’s performance did you like?

I liked his expression when he explained the stories especially in teenage and adolescence and risk in behavior.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How reality could mislead the perception of the human brain.

excellent!

great overall view how the brain 🧠 works with amazing case studies and examples

The Brain

Great job bringing this work alive!!! This is a vivid look at the intricacies of the brain that is a must read!