| Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention |  | Author: Stanislas Dehaene
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $1.84
as of 9/3/2010 18:51 CDT details
New (42) Used (34) Collectible (1) from $1.80
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 18,846
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0670021105
Dewey Decimal Number: 418.4019
EAN: 9780670021109
Publication Date: November 12, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A renowned cognitive neuroscientist's fascinating and highly informative account of how the brain acquires reading
How can a few black marks on a white page evoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? In this riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene provides an accessible account of the brain circuitry of reading and explores what he calls the "reading paradox": Our cortex is the product of millions of years of evolution in a world without writing, so how did it adapt to recognize words? Reading in the Brain describes pioneering research on how we process language, revealing the hidden logic of spelling and the existence of powerful unconscious mechanisms for decoding words of any size, case, or font.
Dehaene's research will fascinate not only readers interested in science and culture, but also educators concerned with debates on how we learn to read, and who wrestle with pathologies such as dyslexia. Like Steven Pinker, Dehaene argues that the mind is not a blank slate: Writing systems across all cultures rely on the same brain circuits, and reading is only possible insofar as it fits within the limits of a primate brain. Setting cutting-edge science in the context of cultural debate, Reading in the Brain is an unparalleled guide to a uniquely human ability.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
 Readable scientific book with interesting details May 21, 2010
V. S. Arnett (Kentucky USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this book extremely interesting with lots of scientific details explained in a very reasonable way.
 Digital Version cannot display properly on Kindle May 11, 2010
Tamara Ryan (Denver, CO)
2 out of 10 found this review helpful
Still reading through the book which seems pretty good.
For anyone hoping to read this on their Kindle, there are flaws where the book attempts to show non-Latin characters in certain examples, but the Kindle can't display them properly, displaying only "[?]". It makes the examples fail, and is jarring during reading.
Hopefully either Amazon or the publisher fix this bug in an update.
 decoding words in the brian March 29, 2010
Juan Gonzalez Briones (Chicago, IL USA)
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
So, I just finished reading in the brain.
I would call it decoding words in the brain, because in spite of all the beautiful quotes from unknown poets and priests, the book treats of neurons computing words, not about reading.
For somebody like me, that grew up reading Monte Grande and getting drunk with Hamame, read a book full of neurons computing and discussions about the whole-word reading method (most of wich I simply skipped) is it too much. I needed to stop the reading, imagine dehaene walking to his flat in the 2d arrondisement, perfect tie and baguette under the arm, and the tell to myself: "neurons computing. Ok, whatever. Is not such a bad book. Has some interesting information"
Did I learn something while reading it? Quite a lot. Dahaene is certainly one of the best neuroscientist of the world and you don't expect less from somebody like him. Would I short the book for 100 pages, surely. I'd take "a great many" (sic.) pages out.
The best? the quotes and the funny examples when mixing fonts, spacing and letters.
In summary, a book son of the times, worth reading but not mind-blasting.
 The brain is an amazing place March 18, 2010
Laurie A. Brown (SANDPOINT, ID USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Author Dehaene, who has some very impressive credentials, has made an exhaustive exploration of how the human brain reads. What he has concluded is that we `recycle' parts of the brain that were evolved to do other things. Humans have been evolving for several million years, but only reading for a few thousand- a new structure just for reading couldn't have been created in that time. And reading arose in several geographical areas around the same time- the chances of a special mutation for reading happening in all those places is pretty slim.
Hundreds of experiments, from EEGs, fMRIs, split brain surgeries, tests on people who have had strokes or other brain damage, have found how reading works. From how the eye functions, to the recognition of letters on paper, to turning them mentally into sound, and putting those sounds together into words, Dehaene has traced the path. He gives his opinions on what seem to be the best way to teach reading, but also calls for large experiments in teaching reading to resolve, once and for all, what is the best, most efficient way to teach all- not just average children but adult illiterates and people with dyslexia.
The book is very interesting, but it can be slow going. He gives the conditions and results of test after test, and tells us what the information gained tells us about reading. What the reader learns about their brain makes it worth sticking with the book.
Superb Research and Enthralling Style! March 1, 2010
Nathan Mccune
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although one of the main topics covered in this book is dyslexia and how it may be a culturally defined disorder as well as a neurological disorder, the book covers a wide range of data. Dehaene is very thorough, offering extensive fMRI maps of up to date research on modules of the brain pertaining to reading. The book may be hard to wade through for those of us unfamiliar with extensive neurological terminology, but Dehaene works hard to ensure that his readers understand the issues. A very worthwhile read for any linguist, cognitive scientist, or anyone simply interested in the evolution of reading in our ambitious pleistocene minds.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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