Ramachandran is a neurologist at UC San Diego who studies how unusual clinical cases help us understand normal brain functioning. He has done some fascinating work on how mirrors can help people with phantom limb pain resolve that pain. His book gave me an appreciation for how hard the brain is working to construct a seamless illusion of the world around us and continuous sense of self. The book really shines when Ramachandran is exploring interesting clinical cases, and so the last couple of chapters, which are more speculative, drag a bit. But all in all, a really fun book.I searched out this book after seeing Ramachandran's work mentioned in an Atul Gawande essay, The Itch, which appeared in the New Yorker. You might start with the essay to see if you're interested in the subject matter - I think it's fascinating.
Phantoms of the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind
V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee
1998
Available from Amazon
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