Michael O'Shea (3) (1947–)

What this book needs is a time machine.

It's obviously unfair to ask a science book from 2005 to reflect opinions from 2015, but even from a 2005 perspective, there were some holes -- e.g. its discussion of antidepressants could have been written around 1985, before the SSRIs (Prozac, etc.) came on the market; neither they nor their mechanism of action is discussed. It was wrong then, it is even more wrong now.

My guess is that this is because the author isn't really a student of abnormal show more psychology. There is a lot here about how the brain works, but not much about the various ways in which it doesn't work. I can't help but think that this is wrong. If you can't fix it, you don't understand it.

There are some other areas where time really has changed the situation -- e.g. we know that neurons in the brain do regenerate, and all the discussion on that point is simply wrong. We know more about organic brain conditions like autism -- and the book doesn't even lay much groundwork for those discoveries.

All this would be understandable if it were just a matter of the book being too short -- after all, it is a "very short" introduction! But the last section is basically speculative fiction about organic/cybernetic brain interfaces. Very little of this has come to pass, and there was never any real reason to think that it would. So this material was, in effect, several dozen pages of waste paper that could have been used for other things.

This isn't a bad book. The Very Short Introduction series is of consistently high quality, at least in the sciences (the ones I usually read). But, in this case, I really think you'd do better to get something newer -- newer in copyright date, and newer in the references it to compile the book. show less

Neuroscientist and Co-Director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Michael O'Shea's knowledges about the brain are wide-ranging, truly admirable... and it shows! From Hippocrates to 'neuron theory' he flies over the history of our understanding of the brain. He delves into physics and chemistry to display how fascinating is the functioning of our neural network (a baffling interplay between electrical signals and chemical messengers). He takes us through evolutionary show more biology and embryology so as to help shedding light on its development. He discusses how the brain processes sensual experiences and memories. He speculates about the possibilities offered by interface technologies (the 'brain machines' of not a so far away future...). In a word: here's a stylish and very complete tour of one of the most complex machinery ever (the human brain) as exciting as it is wide ranging!

Sure, it certainly is not an easy read. The works of the relevant scientists are explained in vivid details; the nervous system and its relevance to neurology are addressed thoroughly; the chapter on memory (revealing synapses as dynamic joints rendering the clear cut divide nature-nurture completely obsolete) is quite tough to go through... This tiny little book is as difficult to read as it is enthralling, but, how rewarding!

It claims to be a 'very short introduction'. Don't be fooled! It's dense, and certainly nowhere short when it comes to provide a deeper understanding, appreciation, and sense of wonder for what laid within our skulls. In fact, the author doesn't only describes how the brain works; he also fills us with a sense of excitement as to the future possibilities offered by technologies, if applied to our biology.

Crammed with informations, but riveting and stimulating! A very good little book. show less

Perhaps very short, but very informative, as well. O'Shea gives us a tour de force of the state of knowledge about the brain, and does so in an extremely accessible fashion. This is what one expects from Oxford University Press, however, which has always maintained high standards in their texts. Includes a very nice list of further readings (sorted by chapter subjects, making it easy to find additional readings on a particular topic of interest).

Highly recommended, and well worth the price show more (I read the Kindle version). show less

Fine intro to the neural structure of the brain and its workings. Adding a couple of illustrations would have made some of the descriptions more comprehensible.