The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons By, Sam Kean

 The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons was quite an entertaining book.  It’s a history of how Neuroscience came to be what it is today. From jousting to dead friars healing the sick, the adventures in this book are humorous, amazing, and at times downright disgusting.  A word to of advice when the author says a passage is not for people with sensitive stomachs please believe him.  The brain is an amazing organ, full of wonders and mysteries.  Many of the maladies discussed in this book have been featured in science fiction novels and movies.  This isn't mentioned in the book, a reference to cinema, but I related it to films and books I have read.  Kean not only mentions the maladies, he covers how what causes them was discovered as well as what has been done to treat them.  Making this book, not only an interesting history book, but a wealth of information for fiction authors.  Everything from phantom limbs to believing an ‘imposter’ has replaced everyone you know is covered.  The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons is a well-written history of neurosurgery, which is neither boring, nor difficult for a layperson to understand.  If the brain and it’s inner workings interested you, you should read this book.