Books for Prep | |
 - I have found it very usefulA friend lent me this book in Portuguese, which is my native tongue, and I found it so good and useful that decided to try to find it in English to send to friends I have abroad to whom the informations it contains might be also useful, and help them in their daily life. So I was very glad to find it at Amazon and bought two volumes. I do hope they've enjoyed it as much as I and the friend whom first lent it to me did. Rating: - Gave me hopePsychological problems due to having been developmentally disabled. And then I read this and ... I cannot recommend this book enough. This and the other book by J. Ratey, User's Guide to the Brain Rating: - Good Explanations of Personality DifferencesThis book clarifies many aspects of our personalities, helping us to understand why many mental disorders are just one extreme in a continuous range of types, and provides some hints as to why many of those types have advantages and disadvantages that would explain why such a range of personalities ought to exist. I especially enjoyed their theory about how a smaller cerebellum could explain a number of different symptoms of a nerdy (mildly autistic) personality. I suspect it isn't exactly right, but it explains a good deal more than any alternative I've seen. One warning - this isn't very valuable as a self-help book. It should be read mainly to improve your understanding of the human mind, not as a means of changing it. Rating:  - Amusing & InformativeI found this one at a dollar store, and devoured it. Very readable considering it's medical nonfiction, no doubt because of Catherine Johnson, who's really a magazine writer. Part of the interest lies in the somewhat disturbing notion that, given the soft definition of the major mental illnesses such as ADD and depression, most people we know could qualify for a diagnosis of a "shadow syndrome." If you're willing to accept this revelation, then the explanation behind the theory, which is basically that the brain's biochemistry is responsible for generating much of what we normally think of as "moods" or "personality," will be fascinating, especially considering that Ratey and Johnson are careful not to imply that biochemistry is the sole explanation for everything we think and feel. In fact, they do a fine job of integrating biochemistry and classical psychology as the driving forces of who we are. The book is also readable because of its nifty organization: a shadow per chapter, and soon you're an expert (or at least you could think of yourself as one, especially if you're slightly hypomanic). In addition, there's lots of compelling case studies inserted into the explanations. Overall just very readable and interesting, especially as an introduction to the latest styles of crazy. Would be most useful to someone attempting to learn about these issues from scratch, since the book doesn't necessarily reveal too much in-depth information. I rate it low because it ultimately leaves you with little to go on, other than a better understanding (perhaps) and a "take-it-for-your-family" view of psychopharmacology (potentially useful). Other than this, some parting words on exercise (karate: oh brother) do little to justify a perfunctory section on "the care and feeding of the brain." This is an informative, not an empowering, read. Rating: - A "Must" read...even for those who can't finish a book.Not only have I read Shadow Syndromes, and not only have I read most if not all of Ratey's other works, but I've met him, he has interviewed me and testified on my behalf, and I got him to his plane [just] on time! It was one of the wilder rides of our lives! He is a very human being; it shines through in his treatment of his subjects, be they abstract concepts, like emotion and memory, or real people, as he describes in his books. Even if one cannot finish a book...who of us with attentional problems can?!...this is the one to try, because one doesn't have to read it all! Just the first and last chapters are worth the admission fee; they explain the issue completely. And with one or two chapters from the middle, which detail specific conditions, one has a full experience! For anyone looking for a page or two to be convinced, I suggest the last two pages of the chapter on ADD: Prisoners of the Present; Ratey's description shows the depth of his understanding of not only the clinical manifestations but also the very real, personal, and agonizing element of how this condition affects the soul. Again, I say, this is a "must read" for any, but especially those of us who can't finish a book. In association with Amazon.com | |