Teen/Adult Book Review: The Human Brain Book
September 16, 2009 by Karlynn Johnston
Filed under Book Nook, Super Informed
DK Publishing excels at printing books that are amazing homeschooling material. And when I mention homeschooling for the purposes of my book reviews, I mean it to include the broader spectrum of parents who enjoy learning activities at home with their children. Books such as this one are amazing to explore as a family outside the traditional school hours that kids may or may not attend. My children are in the public school system, yet we have extensive books and materials at home to explore topics outside of school time as a family. Homeschooling to me personally means that learning doesn’t end at the school doors.
I don’t think that my review is even going to come close to giving this amazing, in-depth look at the human brain the accolades it deserves. All 256 pages are chock full of amazing illustrations and facts, covering literally everything that your brain does or takes part in bodily function wise. From in-depth looks at sleep and dreams, which completely captivated my attention since my son has waking and lucid dreams, and this anomaly in his sleeping patterns was explained in the text, to what happens while a person meditates, to PET scan pictures of actual brains in many different situations. It is so incredibly in-depth that you have to buy it to experience it.
The interactive DVD Rom was a hit with my son, the very first image of a 3D revolving brain captivated his attention and we went on to explore the DVD. You can click on the pictures shown and it brings up explanations of what you chose with the mouse. There is a neat part that explores the brain from almost conception to adult, and I was especially interested in what the brain of my 3 year old looked like, since there is no such thing as terrible twos, only terrible threes! But it was interesting to learn that the brain is fully developed at 3, but there are still parts of it that are “offline”. Which makes perfect sense to parents of a 3 year old, reasoning and capacity to control emotions and actions just aren’t quite there yet! And now I know why.
So not only is this book great for teenagers, but it’s also listed in DK’s adult repertoire as well, and for good reason. It is incredibly in-depth and I am thoroughly enjoying exploring it not only with my son, but by myself in my spare time.
Reading level: teen to adult, younger children with an adult guide
Page Count: 256 pages
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley August 2009
What to expect: amazing photographs, pictures and explanations all depicting everything one could possibly want to know about how the human brains works
Publisher’s synopsis: The Human Brain Book is a complete guide to the one organ in the body that makes each of us what we are – unique individuals. It combines the latest findings from the field of neuroscience with expert text and state-of-the-art illustrations and imaging techniques to provide an incomparable insight into every facet of the brain. Layer by layer, it reveals the fascinating details of this remarkable structure, covering all the key anatomy and delving into the inner workings of the mind, unlocking its many mysteries, and helping you to understand what’s going on in those millions of little gray and white cells.
Tricky concepts are illustrated and explained with clarity and precision, as The Human Brain Book looks at how the brain sends messages to the rest of the body, how we think and feel, how we perform unconscious actions (for example breathing), explores the nature of genius, asks why we behave the way we do, explains how we see and hear things, and how and why we dream. Physical and psychological disorders affecting the brain and nervous system are clearly illustrated and summarized in easy-to-understand terms.
The unique DVD brings the subject to life with interactive elements. These include a clickable model of the brain’s structure that allows the user to zoom in and discover deeper layers of detail, while complex processes, such as the journey of a nerve impulse, are broken down and simplified through intuitive animations.
About the Author: Rita Carter is a science and medical writer, and contributes to the Independent, New Scientist, the Daily Mail, and the Telegraph. She has twice been awarded the Medical Journalists’ Association prize for outstanding contribution to medical journalism. She has written several books, including Mapping the Mind, Exploring Consciousness (both Weidenfeld and Nicolson), and Multiplicity: the New Science of Personality (Little, brown), which have sold internationally – including in the US, Japan, Korea, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Brazil. Mapping the Mind was shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Prize (now the Royal Society Prize for Science books). Rita also talks about the brain, consciousness, and behavior to a wide range of groups at seminars, conferences, and workshops around the world.
Our Rating: 5 out of 5
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