Author(s): Robert M. Kaplan

Natural History

Dr Robert Kaplan, a forensic-psychiatrist and researcher, set out to explore the various brain diseases or conditions that have made some people very famous (or infamous), and often changed the course of history. The Exceptional Brain and How It Changed the World delves into the lives of famous figures and celebrates the work of ground-breaking doctors who helped us understand the way the brain works. Dr. Kaplan illuminates both the bizarre and common conditions that affected a collection of exceptional people, including Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Arthur Inman (the world's longest diarist), Nijinsky, Woody Guthrie, Jack Ruby, Howard Hughes and others. Conditions and diseases such as temporal lobe epilepsy, hypergraphia, mirror writing, brain tumour, parkinsonism, syphilis, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. The Exceptional Brain and How It Changed the World is fascinating reading for anyone who has ever wondered how our brains tick.