An Alchemy of Mind

The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain

    • 4.3 • 6 Ratings
    • $13.99
    • $13.99

Publisher Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Zookeeper's Wife, an ambitious and enlightening work that combines an artist's eye with a scientist's erudition to illuminate, as never before, the magic and mysteries of the human mind.

Long treasured by literary readers for her uncommon ability to bridge the gap between art and science, celebrated scholar-artist Diane Ackerman returns with the book she was born to write. Her dazzling new work, An Alchemy of Mind, offers an unprecedented exploration and celebration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days—and does for the human mind what the bestselling A Natural History of the Senses did for the physical senses.

Bringing a valuable female perspective to the topic, Diane Ackerman discusses the science of the brain as only she can: with gorgeous, immediate language and imagery that paint an unusually lucid and vibrant picture for the reader. And in addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, she reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses controversial subjects like the effects of trauma and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, heavily anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness, human thought, memory, and the nature of identity.

GENRE
Science & Nature
RELEASED
2012
October 30
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
320
Pages
PUBLISHER
Scribner
SELLER
Simon & Schuster Digital Sales LLC
SIZE
4.1
MB

Customer Reviews

Kingk718 ,

Not what I thought

I feel the novel lacks direction. It teaches but it all very vague almost diluting its substance. Its more like Andy Warhol teaching automotive mechanics. The author is brilliant but time is better spent canvassing or in automotive school. The blend doesn't fit for me.

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