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Recommendations based on When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales of Neurosurgeryby Frank T. Vertosick Jr.
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery
by Henry Marsh
A neurosurgeon's gripping account of the life and death decisions made in the operating room.
What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling, and reason? How do you live with the consequences of ... (Goodreads)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human
by V.S. Ramachandran
A journey into the mysteries of the human mind, exploring the complexities of the human brain.
V. S. Ramachandran is at the forefront of his field-so much so that Richard Dawkins dubbed him the "Marco Polo of neuroscience." Now, in a major new work, Ramachandran sets his sights on the mystery ... (Goodreads)
Hallucinations
by Oliver Sacks
A neurologist explores the fascinating world of hallucinations, from the perspectives of both the afflicted and the scientific community.
Have you ever seen something that wasn’t really there? Heard someone call your name in an empty house? Sensed someone following you and turned around to find nothing? Hallucinations don’t belong ... (Goodreads)
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
by Atul Gawande
Exploration of the human costs and consequences of medical care, highlighting our imperfections and vulnerabilities.
In gripping accounts of true cases, surgeon Atul Gawande explores the power and the limits of medicine, offering an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge. Complications lays bare a science not in ... (Goodreads)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver Sacks
A collection of case studies, illustrating extraordinary neurological phenomena.
If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the ... (Goodreads)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande
An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.
In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery
by Sam Kean
A captivating exploration of the history of the human brain, unraveled through fascinating case studies.
From the author of the bestseller, The Disappearing Spoon, tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience. Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for ... (Goodreads)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
by Anne Fadiman
Exploring the cultural divide between the Hmong people and the medical establishment.
Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, ... (Goodreads)
The C Programming Language
by Brian W. Kernighan
Classic guide to the C programming language, covering syntax, data types, control flow, and more. A must-read for any aspiring programmer.
This book is meant to help the reader learn how to program in C. It is the definitive reference guide, now in a second edition. Although the first edition was written in 1978, it continues to be a ... (Goodreads)
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
by Roy F. Baumeister
Examining the power of self-control and how it can be used to reach life goals.
One of the world's most esteemed and influential psychologists, Roy F. Baumeister, teams with, New York Times, science writer John Tierney to reveal the secrets of self-control and how to master it. ... (Goodreads)
How the Mind Works
by Steven Pinker
Exploration of the human mind, understanding the elements that make us think and act.
In this extraordinary bestseller, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading cognitive scientists, does for the rest of the mind what he did for language in his 1994 book, The Language Instinct . He ... (Goodreads)
The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
by Slavomir Rawicz
An incredible journey of survival, a man's trek of over 4000 miles to freedom.
The harrowing true tale of seven escaped Soviet prisoners who desperately marched out of Siberia through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India. ... (Goodreads)
Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
by Atul Gawande
A surgeon's exploration of medical excellence, uncovering the highest standards of care.
The struggle to perform well is universal: each one of us faces fatigue, limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in ... (Goodreads)
10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works
by Dan Harris
A story of self-improvement through mindfulness and meditation.
Winner of the 2014 Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Memoir, Nightline, anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of ... (Barnes & Noble)
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
by Ben Carson
An inspiring story of a young man overcoming poverty and discrimination to become a renowned neurosurgeon.
In 1987, Dr. Ben Carson travels to Germany to meet a couple, Peter and Augusta Rausch, who have twins conjoined at the back of their heads. Dr. Carson believes he might be able to successfully ... (Wikipedia)
The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
by Norman Doidge
Exploring the brain's remarkable ability to adapt, heal and change itself.
An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country ... (Goodreads)
Stumbling on Happiness
by Daniel Todd Gilbert
A scientific exploration of why we often fail to predict what will make us happy and how we can find happiness in unexpected ways.
• Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink? • Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to ... (Goodreads)
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
by Jill Bolte Taylor
Neuroscientist's journey of recovery from a stroke, learning to rewire her brain and appreciate life.
Jill Taylor was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. Through the eyes of a curious scientist, she watched her mind deteriorate whereby she could ... (Goodreads)
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales
by Oliver Sacks
Study of human behavior, exploring the complexities of neurological conditions.
Paradoxical portraits of seven neurological patients, including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a ... (Goodreads)
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
by Ed Catmull
An exploration of the principles and strategies that drive success in the creative process.
“What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to ... (Goodreads)
The Dhammapada
by Anonymous
A collection of Buddhist teachings and wisdom, focusing on the path to enlightenment.
The Dhammapada (Pāli; Prakrit: धम्मपद Dhammapada; Sanskrit: धर्मपद Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist ... (Goodreads)
Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind
by V.S. Ramachandran
An exploration of the human brain, examining its functions and mysteries.
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 ... (Goodreads)
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
by Michael A. Singer
A spiritual exploration of the soul and its connection to the world.
What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound ... (Goodreads)
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
by Dan Ariely
An exploration of why humans make irrational decisions, and how to overcome them.
Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin? Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't ... (Goodreads)
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
by Brian Greene
Exploring the hidden realms of physics, in pursuit of a unified theory of nature.
Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of eleven dimensions, where the fabric of ... (Goodreads)
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson
An accessible exploration of the universe and its mysteries.
Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold. The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist. What is the nature of space and ... (Barnes & Noble)
Chaos: Making a New Science
by James Gleick
Investigation of complex systems and the impact of chaos on scientific understanding.
A work of popular science in the tradition of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, this 20th-anniversary edition of James Gleick’s groundbreaking bestseller Chaos introduces a whole new readership to ... (Goodreads)
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
by Steven Pinker
The exploration of the science of human nature, including the implications for society.
In The Blank Slate , Steven Pinker explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature by ... (Goodreads)
