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Phantoms in the Brain

Written by: Sandra Blakeslee, V. S. Ramachandran
Narrated by: Neil Shah
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Publisher's Summary

Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments - using such low-tech tools such as cotton swabs, glasses of water, and dime-store mirrors.

In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, and how we make decisions, deceive ourselves, and dream.

Some of his most notable cases: A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial. A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience? A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time.

Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier-the human mind-yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self.

©1998 V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee (P)2013 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Enthralling . . . eloquent." ( The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Phantoms in the Brain

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Amazing, brilliant, enlightening. Must listen.

Any one interested in working of human brain and human quirks should listen to this book. Brilliantly explained step by step. The stories, the logical unraveling of brain functions is fascinating.

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Interesting

loved it. informative. insightful
increased the interest in mental and psychological processes. very good read for non professional but curious readers





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Brilliant...

This is a brilliant work. Though a layman can understand and follow, I had to go back to some chapters or portions to understand the concepts jbetter. I, being a visually impaired person, could directly relate to the relative portions and get to know why things are in a certain way.

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Learned a lot

It was fascinating to learn about brain and how fragile our knowledge about how the brain makes us behave still is. The author discusses many neurological disorders and how they make us take a second look at everything we have believed /taken for granted about brain and it's interaction with body.

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Extraordinary

Everytime i read or listen to Dr Ramachandran's books, its a special experience altogether!

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Engaging and thought provoking...

Perhaps one of the best books on the functionality of human brain... answers a lot of questions that I've had. It goes on to prove that it's literally "all in the head"

Have had certain experiences in the past, which I wasn't able to explain using logic and rationality. Now I know that my brain was playing tricks.

Especially liked the way how Dr. Ramachamdran conducted experiments to support or contradict the theories, and discovered so many previously unknown facets of the human brain.
First few chapters have some technical terms mentioned. I'd urge the listeners not to get intimidated, as once you're through those couple of hurdles, the following chapters are a genuine treat for your ears... and your brain

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Excellent Book.

Dr.Ramachandran explains the Brain Science in the most lucid way. A great read (listen) indeed!

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An Amazing Book

This book delights even those who may have trouble spelling neurology. A truly great read.

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A book that every aspiring Neurologist should read

One of my best first books in Neurology and I enjoyed it thoroughly. One of the best! Although language was a bit complicated.

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Marvelous

I just downloaded for the sake of it, but it's been a fabulous listen

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