Seized/Temporal Lobe Epilepsy As a Medical, Historical, and Artistic Phenomenon

Rating:
Summary: interesting... but not well thought out.
Review: This is a book written by a journalist, and does it ever show. The hypothesis and anecdotes are interesting, but ultimately prove nothing. The logic behind this is on vacation; anyone with a minimum of scientific training would tell you that very little can be strongly concluded from a handful of cases. Furthermore, the few scientists and doctors who are cited shy away from drawing the conclusions that LaPlante does in this book. I do not deny that there are some interesting connections between TLE and behavior, and that some of these can be harnessed by a powerful person to work to their advantage. However, a different sort of evidence, and a less gullible analysis are needed. There is no intent to deny TLE patients of some positive news by my criticism. I have no preference as to what the actual links turn out to be. I am simply speaking from a standpoint of a scientific criterion, which I feel this book fell short of. However, it was still interesting reading (about half of the chapters were worthwhile).

Rating:
Summary: Best Book on TLE/Complex Partial Seizure Disorder Around
Review: This is the best book on temporal lobe epilepsy [TLE] or complex partial seizure disorder that I have found so far. Comprehensive in revealing both the negatives and the positives of TLE. Because TLE is so different from grand mal, much of what is written about epilepsy is really just about grand mal. This book fills a hole in the literature for many of us looking for more information about TLE.