Strange Behavior: Tales of Evolutionary Neurology

Rating:
Summary: Strange Behavior Indeed
Review: Don't get me wrong. I love the case studies by Harold Klawans - even the ones presented in this book. Klawans has a wonderful way of illuminating basic features of the brain, its organization, and its manifestations in terms of neuropathological symptoms. His writing style is clear and compelling. You really get a glimpse at the people whose lives are captured in the case studies he presents, and when you finish reading his books you have a glimpse into the fascinating world of diagnostics as practiced by a master clinical neurologist. I am constantly recommending his books to my students, and I own most of the case studies books that he's authored. Occasionally I have noted that Klawans plaguerized himself - lifting a portion of a case study from a previous one of his books and putting it in a new book. For example, there's a case involving the inheritance of Huntington's Disease that is written up in two different volumes, but it's a piping good story, and Klawans presents some different material regarding this neurological disorder in each volume. So I'm willing to forgive a little self plaguerism in matters such as these. But the problem with Strange Behavior is that the whole volume is just a reissuing of Klawan's earlier book entitled Defending the Cavewoman. Nowhere is there any indication of this fact except for some very small print on the book's title page that reads "Originally published under the title Defending the Cavewoman." This isn't a case of Klawans' self-plaguerism, but a more serious scam by the book's publisher. In my opinion, publishers should not be allowed to do this without someone blowing the whistle on them. So bottom line: I think you'll enjoy this book a great deal -- unless of course, like me, you discover you've already read it!

Rating:
Summary: Strange Behavior Indeed
Review: Don't get me wrong. I love the case studies by Harold Klawans - even the ones presented in this book. Klawans has a wonderful way of illuminating basic features of the brain, its organization, and its manifestations in terms of neuropathological symptoms. His writing style is clear and compelling. You really get a glimpse at the people whose lives are captured in the case studies he presents, and when you finish reading his books you have a glimpse into the fascinating world of diagnostics as practiced by a master clinical neurologist. I am constantly recommending his books to my students, and I own most of the case studies books that he's authored. Occasionally I have noted that Klawans plaguerized himself - lifting a portion of a case study from a previous one of his books and putting it in a new book. For example, there's a case involving the inheritance of Huntington's Disease that is written up in two different volumes, but it's a piping good story, and Klawans presents some different material regarding this neurological disorder in each volume. So I'm willing to forgive a little self plaguerism in matters such as these. But the problem with Strange Behavior is that the whole volume is just a reissuing of Klawan's earlier book entitled Defending the Cavewoman. Nowhere is there any indication of this fact except for some very small print on the book's title page that reads "Originally published under the title Defending the Cavewoman."...So bottom line: I think you'll enjoy this book a great deal -- unless of course, like me, you discover you've already read it!

Rating:
Summary: The Brain Revealed
Review: Fascinating, enlightening, challenging and highly readable. You will never see the human brain the same again and begin to appreciate both the complexity and mystery that is the human brain. His stories of his patients with neurological disorders are told in a way that is accessible by all, including lay-people, compelling to read, sympathetic to the patients and reveal incredible insights into how the human brain functions and also what can go wrong. This is one of the best books I have read this year.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and intelligent.
Review: Klawans puts forth many interesting examples and case studies to explain the implications of our ancient evolution. This is not a good starting point for those interested in evolution but a must read for anyone fascinated by current examples of evolutionary mishaps and accomplishments.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book ! Cumulation of all of author's writings
Review: This was Dr. Klawans final book, and it was a fitting end to his Neurological non-fiction books. It is a mature work - more dense and conclusive then his prior works. Any fan of Dr. Klawans has to read this last book. New readers would probably find his earlier works easier to read (eg, Newton's Madness). -WGL-