An Alchemy of Mind, The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain
by Diane Ackerman

In this ambitious and enlightening work, Diane Ackerman combines an artist’s eye with a scientist’s penchant to illuminate the magic and mysteries of the human brain. With An Alchemy of Mind, she offers an unprecedented exploration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days. In addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, Ackerman reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses such controversial subjects as the effects of trauma, nature versus nurture, and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness and the nature of identity.

“Partly close observation, partly free association, Ackerman’s paean turns the inside of our heads into … [something] gorgeous, tender, jewelled.”

Diane Ackerman is the bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses, A Natural History of Love, and Cultivating Delight, among other books. She has also published several works of poetry and children’s nonfiction. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and Parade, among other publications, she lives in upstate New York.