It should not be so hard to write both poetry and fiction. Both arts, after all, make use of the same materials, words and punctuation. Poems...
Continue »
Daniel Levitin's "This Is Your Brain On Music" is an endlessly fascinating excursion into the world of neurobiology and human emotion. Clearly intrigued himself by the brain's interaction with music, Levitin describes both music theory and neurobiology concepts with such direct simplicity that the reader moves effortlessly from one idea to the next. It's akin to watching a really excellent TED Talks video, or taking an English class from Heidi Marks.
Rarely have I enjoyed a piece of non-fiction so well. If you have any interest in neurobiology; if you find it strange and wonderful that humans have evolved an appreciation of music; if you've ever wondered how the brain relates musical sounds to language, emotion, memory, anticipation, movement; Levitin has forayed into these areas and brings his readers intriguing insights from his own studies and from other great thinkers of our day.
This book is brilliant and engaging, and very accessible. I highly recommend it to all fellow nerds.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
donnyandrose has commented on (1) product.
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
donnyandrose, January 1, 2012
Daniel Levitin's "This Is Your Brain On Music" is an endlessly fascinating excursion into the world of neurobiology and human emotion. Clearly intrigued himself by the brain's interaction with music, Levitin describes both music theory and neurobiology concepts with such direct simplicity that the reader moves effortlessly from one idea to the next. It's akin to watching a really excellent TED Talks video, or taking an English class from Heidi Marks.Rarely have I enjoyed a piece of non-fiction so well. If you have any interest in neurobiology; if you find it strange and wonderful that humans have evolved an appreciation of music; if you've ever wondered how the brain relates musical sounds to language, emotion, memory, anticipation, movement; Levitin has forayed into these areas and brings his readers intriguing insights from his own studies and from other great thinkers of our day.
This book is brilliant and engaging, and very accessible. I highly recommend it to all fellow nerds.