Moffett: The Three-Pound Enigma
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Shannon Moffett, The Three-Pound Enigma : The Human Brain and the Quest to Unlock its Mysteries. Chapel Hill : Algonquin Books, 2006. x + 309 pages.
According to the dustjacket, Shannon Moffett is a medical student at Stanford University. She is also an author who can present very complicated material in an entertaining manner, with utmost clarity and disarming wit.
While the subtitle may seem a bit daunting, the book is very amusing, not at all difficult to get one's mind around, and well worth the time to track it down and devour it.
Essentially, the development of the human brain from conception to death is discussed briefly and succintly in short segment called "interludes". Between interludes, Ms. Moffett gives us discussions, interviews and stories of people who work on various aspects of human brain research, putting a human face on a vast field of study, ranging from neurosurgery, to philosophy, to biochemistry, to psychological diagnostics and therapy.
A marvelously fascinating work! Don't miss it!
-- Notes by SJB