Monday, May 12, 2008

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Author: John Fleischman
Genre: Non-fiction - Biography
# of pages: 86

Summary: Phineas Gage was a young man who was in charge of blasting through mountains to build railroads. One day in 1848, there was a terrible accident when the rod that he used to place explosives shot through his head, leaving a huge hole. Somehow, Phineas survived, but he became like a different person. He started using rude language, and he had trouble relating to other people. This change in Phineas taught scientists a great deal about how the brain works.

Notes: This book does an excellent job of explaining what happened to Phineas through words and pictures. In the back, there is a glossary of scientific terms that the reader might not know.

Recommend/Not Recommend: I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about how the brain works, as long as they are not upset by descriptions of gruesome injuries.


-Ms. Berens

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