Bookpedia : Library : Genre : [Global:Letter]

ISBN: 9781400033539

ListPrice: $14.95

Edition: Revised & enlarged

Dimensions: 0.87 x 7.95 x 5.59 in

Summary: Revised and Expanded With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In "Musicophilia", he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable, "Musicophilia" is Oliver Sacks' latest masterpiece.

ISBN: 9780143114246

ListPrice: $16.00

Edition: Reprint

Dimensions: 1.02 x 8.35 x 5.51 in

Summary: This "New York Times" bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books—including the Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Blank Slate"—have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today’s most important popular science writers. In "The Stuff of Thought", Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, "The Stuff of Thought" is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from "The Selfish Gene" and "Blink" to "Eats, Shoots & Leaves".

ISBN: 0525949690

ListPrice: $24.95

Edition: First Edition

Summary: A fascinating exploration of the relationship between music and the mind—and the role of melodies in shaping our lives Whether you load your iPod with Bach or Bono, music has a significant role in your life—even if you never realized it. Why does music evoke such powerful moods? The answers are at last be- coming clear, thanks to revolutionary neuroscience and the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Both a cutting-edge study and a tribute to the beauty of music itself, "This Is Your Brain on Music" unravels a host of mysteries that affect everything from pop culture to our understanding of human nature, including: • Are our musical preferences shaped in utero? • Is there a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music? • What do PET scans and MRIs reveal about the brain's response to music? • Is musical pleasure different from other kinds of pleasure? "This Is Your Brain on Music" explores cultures in which singing is considered an essential human function, patients who have a rare disorder that prevents them from making sense of music, and scientists studying why two people may not have the same definition of pitch. At every turn, this provocative work unlocks deep secrets about how nature and nurture forge a uniquely human obsession. BACKCOVER: “I know Dan to have a deep musical knowledge and strong intellect combined with a warm spirit and a big heart. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music . . . He is a fine writer and has the ability to make difficult concepts very clear.” —STEVIE WONDER