I have always felt that science is best understood when its historical context is laid out, as it lets the scholar know why scientific fields evolve the way they did. Since discoveries are made by humans, it follows that besides their own biases and interests, their geographical location and time period would also dictate what experimental questions they deem accessible. As its subtitle suggests, this book approaches neuroscience from that point of view, and it does a fine job, albeit very superficially. The reader gets to meet some of the most important neuroscientists of the last 200 years, and briefly learn about their famous discoveries. A wide range of topics are divided into 20 chapters, nicely organizing events and ideas that would otherwise become a tangled mess. To make things more appealing, the book is also filled with dozens of images of neuroscientists, drawings or data figures from their famous works, and photographs or diagrams of brain anatomy.
It should be reiterated that this book is intentionally superficial, whose intended target audience is most likely the “brain tourist”, meaning non-experts who want to know more about neuroscience but do not want to stop for long and get the details. This becomes most glaringly apparent with the anatomical and data figures presented, which are glossed over, serving a decorative role rather than a supportive one. I fear that formal students of neuroscience will therefore find the book unappealing and at times frustrating. However, if they have friends or family members that wish to learn more about the nervous system in a painless fashion, then this would be the book to recommend.
