Synopses & Reviews
Traditionally, the human soul is regarded as a nonphysical concept that can only be examined by psychiatrists and theologists. In his new book, andlt;Iandgt;The Astonishing Hypothesis,andlt;/Iandgt; Nobel Laureate Francis Crick boldly straddles the line between science and spirituality by examining the soul from the standpoint of a modern scientist, basing the soul's existence and function on an in-depth examination of how the human brain "sees."
Review
Sheryl Stolberg andlt;Iandgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/Iandgt; Skewering philosophy and religion in a book that is supposed to be about the study of the brain might be awkward for other scientists. But Crick pulls it off, and incorporates the nitty-gritty of science to boot.
Review
Matthew Belmonte andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Timesandlt;/Iandgt; Crick's new book is a well-constructed and comprehensive overview of visual neuroscience for the lay reader....[The] book's questions and conjectures are incisive and provocative.
Review
Carl Sagan andlt;/Iandgt;Author of andlt;Iandgt;Cosmosandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;The Astonishing Hypothesisandlt;/Iandgt; is a fascinating argument that consciousness and what has long been called the soul are now accessible to scientific investigation.
About the Author
Francis Crickandlt;/Bandgt; is the British physicist and biochemist who collaborated with James D. Watson in the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, for which they received the Nobel Prize in 1962. He is the author of andlt;Iandgt;What Mad Pursuit, Life Itself,andlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Molecules and Men.andlt;/Iandgt; Dr. Crick lectures widely all over the world to both professional and lay audiences, and is a Distinguished Research Professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.