A fluent survey of what we know—or think we know—about the mind.
A page-turner that explores the hidden world of the mind.
Pollan’s latest begins with a wager between a philosopher and a scientist back in 1998, one premised on the discovery of the brain’s physical basis for consciousness, which the scientist predicted would “comprise a small set of specialized neurons responsible for subjective experience.” The scientist, Christof Koch, didn’t quite get there in the specified 25-year limit for the discovery, presenting the philosopher, David Chalmers, with a case of fine wine for winning the bet. We’re still not there, but neuroscientists are making headway, with two competing models, global workspace theory and integrated information theory, leading the charge. (Koch favors the latter.) But along the way, scientists have also learned much more about the components of consciousness (sentience, feeling, thought, and awareness of self) in animal minds and, possibly, even in plants (“ancient, brainless, and largely immobile”), which some researchers hold can feel pain. Pollan, who has written about food, plants, and psychoactive drugs, combines all three topics in this survey of the many ways people think about thinking, with the insight that people who have experience with the last are more inclined than others to ascribe consciousness to nonhuman beings “both living and nonliving,” possibly even to the level of viruses. Indeed, there is widespread agreement, psychedelics or not, that nonhuman animals have the same neurological substrates that enable consciousness in humans. The science in Pollan’s book is heady and sometimes even headache-inducing, but he delivers plenty of ponderable insights, such as this: “Why do we cling to the idea of a self, placing great value on self-confidence and self-esteem, while simultaneously spending so much effort on self-transcendence, whether through meditation or psychedelics or experiences of art, awe, and flow?”
A fluent survey of what we know—or think we know—about the mind.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781984881991
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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