Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science Review
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John Fleischman once again brings Phineas Gage to the pages of brain science history with his engaging "Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science."
A frequent writer for Discover, Muse, and Air and Space Smithsonian magazines, Fleischman flexes his narrative voice as well as his scientific knowledge in this book for older children and young adult readers. The combination works wonderfully, making this almost a page-turning read. At first I was distracted by Fleischman's use of both past and present tense voices. What I decided was his use of present tense in telling Phineas's story brings immediacy to the narrative--a you-are-there type of storytelling, while past tense relates the scientific story preceding and following the events in Phineas's life.
One reviewer tells us that all medical and most science students know the story of Phineas Gage because of his importance in studies in brain knowledge. So what is the story of Phineas's brain? In 1848 while leading his gang of railroad workers, Phineas suffered a terrible accident: his three-foot tamping iron was shot through his head, entering under his jaw and exiting through his frontal lobe. Fleischman asks the reader: Was he lucky or unlucky? You see, Phineas lived eleven and one-half more years, but everyone who knew him agreed this was no longer Phineas Gage. His personality changed.
While Fleischman relates Phineas's story, he underscores everything with what doctors knew then about brain science in particular, and medicine in general. One photograph shows a group of doctors in street clothes standing around an operating table with a patient on it. No one knew about germs at that time.
The most fascinating part of the book is how easily Fleischman weaves information about the brain, the story of brain science development, and various conclusions and theories made and discarded or enhanced. This is clearly a science book dressed out in a fantastic, but true story.
I particularly was eager to read this book because my school placed this book as required reading for sixth grade this summer. Our reading list came about this way: one teacher created a list of all suggested books for additional reading found at the end of chapters in one of the textbooks. All are young adult books. I read reviews for all the books and whittled a list of 60-80 titles to about 15. We chose Phineas as required because of our principal, a former high school science teacher. She presented information about brain science at a pre-school workshop for teachers. The staff was fascinated, so I thought this kind of knowledge would benefit students as well. Add the bizarre story of Phineas's accident and this book should be a winner.
Phineas's skull and tamping rod are on permanent display at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science Feature
- ISBN13: 9780618494781
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. A railroad construction foreman, Phineas was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived another eleven years and became a textbook case in brain science. But he was forever changed by the accident, and what happened inside his brain will tell you a lot about how your brain works and what makes us who we are.
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OK book - Jennifer K. - Springfield, MO USA
Bought for my husband. He thought it was really cool. Seemed very thin and for a younger reader(middle school or maybe high school)
Fun and Interesting Read - Cypress Green - Cleveland Ohio
This hard to put down book tells the story of a man in the 1840s who survived an iron rod passing thru his head, and the medical aftermath. There are plenty of diagrams and glossy photos of his skull, microscopic bacteria, period photos and the like. It's fascinating, and my son and I enjoyed it greatly.
Jul 19, 2010 23:01:05
