I really learned a lot from this book, and I think anyone, no matter how interested they are in the subject, could get something out of it. The end of each chapter proceeds to a sort of “tips and tricks” where MacDonald gives advice on how to use your brain, including how to memorize long lists and how to pay better attention. You’d figure in this age of fast food, Google, and TV that we could all use help dealing with our ADD.
This section isn’t unique to this book though. It’s very similar to another O’Reilly publication released in 2004 called Mind Hacks by Tom Stafford and Matt Webb. But unlike that book, MacDonald provides a wider scope of the brain, its functions, and disorders, making it a more accessible but much shorter read.
The only downside to Your Brain is the constant reasoning behind a particular brain oddity and how it relates to our ancestors. I guess I’m just more curious about how the brain can be useful to modern man than prehistoric, but either way, the information still became a little repetitive.
Aside from that, Your Brain: The Missing Manual remains an entertaining and informative read. That and I like seeing it on my shelf — my pretentious reason for getting it. However, I’d have to say that, pretentiousness or not, this is a great book, one that could help any human better understand themselves and the world around them.
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