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As her thirteenth birthday nears, Ana is very happily making a behind-the-scenes documentary at the zoo her parents run and delighted that her best friend, Liv, is visiting from New Zealand, but things start to fall apart when she brings her old and new friends together.
Book Synopsis How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue written by Jess Keating and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As her thirteenth birthday nears, Ana is very happily making a behind-the-scenes documentary at the zoo her parents run and delighted that her best friend, Liv, is visiting from New Zealand, but things start to fall apart when she brings her old and new friends together.
What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world." Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." ~ Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes
Book Synopsis How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue written by Jess Keating and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world." Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." ~ Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes
"Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...An amusing, highly readable book about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."—Kirkus Starred Review on How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1) AnaWright's life is a zoo—literally Ana Wright's summer just got terrifying. She's finally getting used to living in a zoo (no, seriously—she lives with her family in an actual zoo), when she's assigned to work in the new shark tank. With her worst enemy. Forget about sharks! Ashley is the ultimate predator. And after Ana's favorite croc peed on Ashley's shoes, she's probably out for revenge. This can't be good. Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied: "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics."—Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes "Keating, a zoologist, enriches her debut novel with fascinating animal facts, awkward moments with a variety of wild species, and "creature files" Ana uses to amusingly classify her peers"—School Library Journal "An absolutely perfect summer read."—Girls' Life Magazine.com "Life is literally a zoo for shy 12-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." —Los Angeles Times
Book Synopsis How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel written by Jess Keating and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...An amusing, highly readable book about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."—Kirkus Starred Review on How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1) AnaWright's life is a zoo—literally Ana Wright's summer just got terrifying. She's finally getting used to living in a zoo (no, seriously—she lives with her family in an actual zoo), when she's assigned to work in the new shark tank. With her worst enemy. Forget about sharks! Ashley is the ultimate predator. And after Ana's favorite croc peed on Ashley's shoes, she's probably out for revenge. This can't be good. Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied: "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics."—Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes "Keating, a zoologist, enriches her debut novel with fascinating animal facts, awkward moments with a variety of wild species, and "creature files" Ana uses to amusingly classify her peers"—School Library Journal "An absolutely perfect summer read."—Girls' Life Magazine.com "Life is literally a zoo for shy 12-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." —Los Angeles Times
What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world." Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." ~ Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes
Book Synopsis How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue written by Jess Keating and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world." Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." ~ Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes
"A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes and the Charmed Life series Ana Wright's social life is now officially on the endangered list: she lives in a zoo (umm, elephant droppings!?), her best friend lives on the other side of the world, and the Sneerers are making junior high miserable. All Ana wants is to fade into the background. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Creature File for Ana Wright: Species Name: Anaphyta Normalis Kingdom: The Zoo, Junior High Phylum: Girls Whose Best Friend Just Moved To New Zealand; Girls Who Are Forced To Live In A Zoo With Their Weirdo Parents And Twin Brother Weight: Classified Feeds On: Daydreams about Zackardia Perfecticus and wish cupcakes Life Span: Soon to become extinct due to social awkwardness
Book Synopsis How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied written by Jess Keating and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-06-03 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes and the Charmed Life series Ana Wright's social life is now officially on the endangered list: she lives in a zoo (umm, elephant droppings!?), her best friend lives on the other side of the world, and the Sneerers are making junior high miserable. All Ana wants is to fade into the background. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Creature File for Ana Wright: Species Name: Anaphyta Normalis Kingdom: The Zoo, Junior High Phylum: Girls Whose Best Friend Just Moved To New Zealand; Girls Who Are Forced To Live In A Zoo With Their Weirdo Parents And Twin Brother Weight: Classified Feeds On: Daydreams about Zackardia Perfecticus and wish cupcakes Life Span: Soon to become extinct due to social awkwardness
Sometimes Inspector William Fox likes to go off script, like when chasing gangsters in his cigarette boat on the St. Lawrence River. For one case, the RCMP officer with a penchant for luxury fashion finds himself teamed up with FBI Special Agent Patrick Reilly, an Irish lad who prefers absinthe to Guinness. The pair travel overseas to track down members of a gang who have kidnapped Tracy Jordan, an American academic and archeologist with teenage ties to William. In China, Tracy has been stealthily searching for evidence of Admiral Zheng He’s 15th-century connections to the area that would later be known as Nova Scotia. It’s here that Tracy and her team discover what might be Ming dynasty artifacts transported by Zheng He’s “massive treasure ships” left behind on Mi’kmaq peoples’ ancestral land. Outfoxed — a William Fox Adventure is a slick, globe-trotting adventure that involves the RCMP and FBI chasing the Foo Dog Triad operating in Hong Kong, mainland China, and New York City. Like Tracy and Kevin Steptoe, a Mi’kmaq lawyer, the gangsters are after the ancient Chinese treasures. Outfoxed is also a political thriller, diving deeply into the power struggles of the Communist Party of China and its shadowy operatives. It wades into the Fox family’s political past in South Korea, where a tragedy took place that still haunts William years later.
Book Synopsis Outfoxed by : Peter Thomas Pontsa
Download or read book Outfoxed written by Peter Thomas Pontsa and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2023-01-31 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes Inspector William Fox likes to go off script, like when chasing gangsters in his cigarette boat on the St. Lawrence River. For one case, the RCMP officer with a penchant for luxury fashion finds himself teamed up with FBI Special Agent Patrick Reilly, an Irish lad who prefers absinthe to Guinness. The pair travel overseas to track down members of a gang who have kidnapped Tracy Jordan, an American academic and archeologist with teenage ties to William. In China, Tracy has been stealthily searching for evidence of Admiral Zheng He’s 15th-century connections to the area that would later be known as Nova Scotia. It’s here that Tracy and her team discover what might be Ming dynasty artifacts transported by Zheng He’s “massive treasure ships” left behind on Mi’kmaq peoples’ ancestral land. Outfoxed — a William Fox Adventure is a slick, globe-trotting adventure that involves the RCMP and FBI chasing the Foo Dog Triad operating in Hong Kong, mainland China, and New York City. Like Tracy and Kevin Steptoe, a Mi’kmaq lawyer, the gangsters are after the ancient Chinese treasures. Outfoxed is also a political thriller, diving deeply into the power struggles of the Communist Party of China and its shadowy operatives. It wades into the Fox family’s political past in South Korea, where a tragedy took place that still haunts William years later.
One man with multiple identities. Eight women who vanished without a trace. The next likely victim . . . his wife. FBI agent Drex Easton is driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the years, Weston has assumed countless names and disguises, luring eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace. The only common trait among the victims: a new man in their life who also vanished. Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight. Attractive and charming, Jasper Ford is recently married to a successful businesswoman, Talia Shafer. Posing as a new neighbor, Drex attempts to get close to the couple. This is Drex's one chance to outfox his cunning nemesis before he murders again. But first he must determine if the desirable Talia is a heartless accomplice . . . or the next victim.
Book Synopsis Outfox by : Sandra Brown
Download or read book Outfox written by Sandra Brown and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One man with multiple identities. Eight women who vanished without a trace. The next likely victim . . . his wife. FBI agent Drex Easton is driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the years, Weston has assumed countless names and disguises, luring eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace. The only common trait among the victims: a new man in their life who also vanished. Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight. Attractive and charming, Jasper Ford is recently married to a successful businesswoman, Talia Shafer. Posing as a new neighbor, Drex attempts to get close to the couple. This is Drex's one chance to outfox his cunning nemesis before he murders again. But first he must determine if the desirable Talia is a heartless accomplice . . . or the next victim.
The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne - is a whodunnit by A. A. Milne, published in 1922. It was Milne's only mystery novel (except for Four Days Wonder). Plot introduction: The setting is an English country house, where Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party consisting of a widow and her marriageable daughter, a retired major, a wilful actress, and Bill Beverley, a young man about town. Mark's long-lost brother Robert, the black sheep of the family, arrives from Australia and shortly thereafter is found dead, shot through the head. Mark Ablett has disappeared, so Tony Gillingham, a stranger who has just arrived to call on his friend Bill, decides to investigate. Gillingham plays Sherlock Holmes to his younger counterpart's Doctor Watson; they progress almost playfully through the novel while the clues mount up and the theories abound. Literary significance and criticism: The Red House Mystery was immediately popular; Alexander Woollcott called it "one of the three best mystery stories of all time", though Raymond Chandler, in his essay The Simple Art of Murder (1944), criticised Woollcott for that claim, referring to him as, "rather a fast man with a superlative". Chandler wrote of Milne's novel, "It is an agreeable book, light, amusing in the Punch style, written with a deceptive smoothness that is not as easy as it looks [...] Yet, however light in texture the story may be, it is offered as a problem of logic and deduction. If it is not that, it is nothing at all. There is nothing else for it to be. If the situation is false, you cannot even accept it as a light novel, for there is no story for the light novel to be about." In his introduction to the 1926 UK edition, A. A. Milne said he had "a passion" for detective stories, having "all sorts of curious preferences" about them: though in real life the best detectives and criminals are professionals, Milne demanded that the detective be an unscientific amateur, accompanied by a likable Watson, rubbing shoulders with an amateur villain against whom dossiers and fingerprints are of no avail.
Book Synopsis The Red House Mystery by : A. A. Milne
Download or read book The Red House Mystery written by A. A. Milne and published by Memorable Classics Books. This book was released on 2023-08-31 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne - is a whodunnit by A. A. Milne, published in 1922. It was Milne's only mystery novel (except for Four Days Wonder). Plot introduction: The setting is an English country house, where Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party consisting of a widow and her marriageable daughter, a retired major, a wilful actress, and Bill Beverley, a young man about town. Mark's long-lost brother Robert, the black sheep of the family, arrives from Australia and shortly thereafter is found dead, shot through the head. Mark Ablett has disappeared, so Tony Gillingham, a stranger who has just arrived to call on his friend Bill, decides to investigate. Gillingham plays Sherlock Holmes to his younger counterpart's Doctor Watson; they progress almost playfully through the novel while the clues mount up and the theories abound. Literary significance and criticism: The Red House Mystery was immediately popular; Alexander Woollcott called it "one of the three best mystery stories of all time", though Raymond Chandler, in his essay The Simple Art of Murder (1944), criticised Woollcott for that claim, referring to him as, "rather a fast man with a superlative". Chandler wrote of Milne's novel, "It is an agreeable book, light, amusing in the Punch style, written with a deceptive smoothness that is not as easy as it looks [...] Yet, however light in texture the story may be, it is offered as a problem of logic and deduction. If it is not that, it is nothing at all. There is nothing else for it to be. If the situation is false, you cannot even accept it as a light novel, for there is no story for the light novel to be about." In his introduction to the 1926 UK edition, A. A. Milne said he had "a passion" for detective stories, having "all sorts of curious preferences" about them: though in real life the best detectives and criminals are professionals, Milne demanded that the detective be an unscientific amateur, accompanied by a likable Watson, rubbing shoulders with an amateur villain against whom dossiers and fingerprints are of no avail.
After becoming the zoo's most popular student ambassador, Ana Wright, twelve, is starting to love her life when Ashley, her archenemy from school, volunteers at the new aquarium, and Ana finds her life turned upside-down again.
Book Synopsis How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel by : Jess Keating
Download or read book How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel written by Jess Keating and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After becoming the zoo's most popular student ambassador, Ana Wright, twelve, is starting to love her life when Ashley, her archenemy from school, volunteers at the new aquarium, and Ana finds her life turned upside-down again.
BRILLIANTLY EXPLORING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN RESEARCH, MIND WIDE OPEN IS AN UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY, ALLOWING READERS TO UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES AS NEVER BEFORE. Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works -- its chemicals, structures, and subroutines -- and how these systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives. For a hundred years, he says, many of us have assumed that the most powerful route to self-knowledge took the form of lying on a couch, talking about our childhoods. The possibility entertained in this book is that you can follow another path, in which learning about the brain's mechanics can widen one's self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug. In Mind Wide Open, Johnson embarks on this path as his own test subject, participating in a battery of attention tests, learning to control video games by altering his brain waves, scanning his own brain with a $2 million fMRI machine, all in search of a modern answer to the oldest of questions: who am I? Along the way, Johnson explores how we "read" other people, how the brain processes frightening events (and how we might rid ourselves of the scars those memories leave), what the neurochemistry is behind love and sex, what it means that our brains are teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs, why music moves us to tears, and where our breakthrough ideas come from. Johnson's clear, engaging explanation of the physical functions of the brain reveals not only the broad strokes of our aptitudes and fears, our skills and weaknesses and desires, but also the momentary brain phenomena that a whole human life comprises. Why, when hearing a tale of woe, do we sometimes smile inappropriately, even if we don't want to? Why are some of us so bad at remembering phone numbers but brilliant at recognizing faces? Why does depression make us feel stupid? To read Mind Wide Open is to rethink family histories, individual fates, and the very nature of the self, and to see that brain science is now personally transformative -- a valuable tool for better relationships and better living.
Book Synopsis Mind Wide Open by : Steven Johnson
Download or read book Mind Wide Open written by Steven Johnson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-02-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BRILLIANTLY EXPLORING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN RESEARCH, MIND WIDE OPEN IS AN UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY, ALLOWING READERS TO UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES AS NEVER BEFORE. Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works -- its chemicals, structures, and subroutines -- and how these systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives. For a hundred years, he says, many of us have assumed that the most powerful route to self-knowledge took the form of lying on a couch, talking about our childhoods. The possibility entertained in this book is that you can follow another path, in which learning about the brain's mechanics can widen one's self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug. In Mind Wide Open, Johnson embarks on this path as his own test subject, participating in a battery of attention tests, learning to control video games by altering his brain waves, scanning his own brain with a $2 million fMRI machine, all in search of a modern answer to the oldest of questions: who am I? Along the way, Johnson explores how we "read" other people, how the brain processes frightening events (and how we might rid ourselves of the scars those memories leave), what the neurochemistry is behind love and sex, what it means that our brains are teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs, why music moves us to tears, and where our breakthrough ideas come from. Johnson's clear, engaging explanation of the physical functions of the brain reveals not only the broad strokes of our aptitudes and fears, our skills and weaknesses and desires, but also the momentary brain phenomena that a whole human life comprises. Why, when hearing a tale of woe, do we sometimes smile inappropriately, even if we don't want to? Why are some of us so bad at remembering phone numbers but brilliant at recognizing faces? Why does depression make us feel stupid? To read Mind Wide Open is to rethink family histories, individual fates, and the very nature of the self, and to see that brain science is now personally transformative -- a valuable tool for better relationships and better living.
