Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of Caesar's Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Disappearing Spoon, and The Violinist's Thumb, all of which were also named Amazon top science books of the year.
The Disappearing Spoon was a runner-up for the Royal Society of London's book of the year for 2010, and The Violinist's Thumb and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons were nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2013 and 2015, as well as the AAAS/Subaru SB&F prize.
His work has appeared in the Best American Nature and Science Writing, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, Mental Floss, and other publications, and he has been featured on NPR's "Radiolab," "All Things Considered," and "Fresh Air."
Longlisted for the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing
Award One of Amazon's Best Books of the Year: Science One of The
A.V. Club's Best Books of 2014 A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist:
Nonfiction "This is Sam Kean's finest work yet, an entertaining and
offbeat history of the brain populated with mad scientists,
deranged criminals, geniuses, and wretched souls. The Tale of the
Dueling Neurosurgeons is one of those books that will have you
following your friends around, reading passages out loud, until
they snatch the book away from you and read it for themselves. Good
luck getting it back."--Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken
Botanist
"Dueling Neurosurgeons will confirm Kean's already-solid reputation
as a writer who can make anything understandable and
interesting.[...] Although hugely entertaining (perhaps especially
so in this era of vampire and zombie fascination), Kean's book
contains amazingly clear details about our brains."--Winnipeg Free
Press
"[Kean's] strength lies in his storytelling, and in the humane
combination of humor and compassion toward the strange life
histories he pieces together.... Kean has a penchant for the kind
of vivid description that makes one want to clutch one's head
tenderly close."--Margaret Quamme, Columbus Dispatch
"[Kean] proves an able guide, connecting each story with the
science behind it, always with an air of enthusiastic
curiosity."--Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
"After tackling DNA and the periodic table in his previous books,
Kean has moved on to the human brain, which he dissects via dozens
of vivid anecdotes.... His subtle meta touches are a heady
delight."--Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly
"Beyond paying tribute to the scientific advances these patients
made possible, Kean humanizes the patients themselves."--Scientific
American
"Breezy, informal, entertaining stories that link what we now know
of the nervous system to events and personalities of the
past."--James W. Kalat, American Psychological Association's
PsycCRITIQUES
"Crammed with curious anecdotes from neuroscience's gory
past."--Nature
"Engrossing, cleverly narrated."--Simon Lewsen, The Globe and
Mail
"Entrancing.... Sam Kean burrows into the workings of an organ once
deemed as unknowable as the far reaches of the galaxy, and does so
with boyish charm, accessible language, a prodigious amount of
enthusiasm and the sobering realization that throughout history a
catastrophic brain injury has ghoulishly been the neuroscientists
best friend."--James Macgowan, Toronto Star
"In tale after tale, best-selling author Kean provides a
fascinating, and at times gloriously gory, look at how early
efforts in neurosurgery were essentially a medical guessing
game.... Entertaining and quotable, Kean's writing is sharp, and
each individual story brings the history of neuroscience to life.
Compulsively readable, wicked scientific fun."--Kirkus
"In the capable hands of science writer Sam Kean, stories of brain
injuries shine just a bit brighter, illuminating not only the
interesting characters delivering bedside diagnoses or lying on the
examination table, but general principles of scientific discovery
that are still relevant today....Kean breathes life into the
patients as well as the physicians and scientists tasked with
understanding the injuries."--The Scientist
"Kean delves into a scientific world before modern technology, and
tells the stories of people who had sudden changes in personality,
felt phantom limbs, pathologically lied, and experienced other
mysteries traced back to the brain. He does so with humor and
humanity, making the mind-boggling history of neuroscience a fun
read."--Nicole Dubowitz, DCist
"Mesmerizing.... With a razor-edged wit and intriguing narrative,
the pages are easily devoured, all while Kean explores the deepest
labyrinths of the brain."--Mellinda Hensley, Los Angeles
Magazine
"Put your Netflix queue on hold. Sam Kean's The Tale of the Dueling
Neurosurgeons will command your full attention from the first page.
It's not just an engaging guide to mysteries of existence; it's
compelling story-telling for anyone with a taste for the bizarre
and metaphysical."--William Poundstone, author of Rock Breaks
Scissors
"Reading this collection is like touring a museum of neuroscience's
most dramatic anomalies, each chapter taking us to a different
place and time.... Kean's colloquial language and intimate voice
bring all of this series of mini-histories to life -- all of which
are sure to stimulate a wide range of brains."--Publishers
Weekly
"Sam Kean can spin a tale as well as any fiction writer....Kean is
a rare writer who approaches science writing as a child would a
playground at recess. It's a wide-open field full of possibilities,
limited only by the surroundings and what our imaginations can do
with them."--PopMatters
"Strokes, seizures, accidents: if they don't kill, they can
traumatize the brain so badly that an individual's personality can
be significantly changed. But, explains New York Times best-selling
author of the terrific The Violinist's Thumb, early neuroscientists
saw such traumas as an opportunity to study the brain's wondrous
workings."--Library Journal, "Barbara's Picks"
"The author's skill in illuminating how the brain functions and
malfunctions manifest themselves in people's lives makes for
absorbing reading....These avowals ultimately raise weighty,
compelling questions about the nature of identity and what it means
to be human."--The Wall Street Journal
"These stories are entertaining....But they're also illuminating,
as Kean shows how each one advanced scientific
knowledge."--Washingtonian
"To pick up one of these stories is to lose oneself in them. Where
does the brain end and the mind begin? Curious readers will find
both brain and mind fully revved up while engaging with this
powerfully appealing and thought-provoking work of neuroscience
history."--Donna Chavez, Booklist
Kean is "science's premier storyteller, the man who regularly turns
the history of science into sagas filled with adventure, mystery,
fascinating people, and fun."--The Washington Post
Ask a Question About this Product More... |