How do we make decisions? Why do we deceive ourselves? Why do we dream? Why may we believe in God? Why do we laugh or become depressed? Few scientists have dared address these questions that inform our daily lives with so much acumen and audacity. V.S. Ramachandran is a brilliant Sherlock Holmes of neuroscience. He reveals the strangest case studies he has encountered of patients suffering from serious neurological disorders — and the insights they yield about human nature and the workings of the mind.

“One of the most original and accessible neurology books of our generation.”
Oliver Sacks

“This is a splendid book.... If you are at all interested in how your brain works, this is a book you must read.”
Francis Crick

“Funny and informative.... Ingenious theories, elegant experiments.”
The Economist

V.S. Ramachandran is professor and director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, at the University of California, San Diego, and adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla. He was named by Newsweek as one of the one hundred most important people to watch in the next century.

Sandra Blakeslee is a science writer for The New York Times.