Eric R. Kandel - In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

If there is another book that does a better job of demonstrating how biological research is done, or of telling the story of a brilliant scientists career, I dont know it. Nor do I know one that better conveys the unique excitement that drives the success of research and permeates the thinking of its most able practitioners, or that gives a better descriptive narrative of the historical evolution of our understanding of mind.

Sherwin B. Nuland, New York Times Book Review

An autobiography of exceptional substance.

Bryce Chirtensen, Booklist , starred review

This intellectual autobiography presents a fascinating portrait of a scientists formation. An important account of a creative and highly fruitful career.

Publishers Weekly

Kandels memoir excels. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the life and work of a major scientistor, indeed, the course of science in our time. Kandels finely executed work might well seduce talented students to further the work that he has so impressively launched.

Howard Gardner, Washington Post

In Search of Memory is a scintillating mix of memoir, history of science, and fundamental biology without peer. It shows compellingly what first-rate science is and how it is created.

E. O. Wilson, author of The Creation, Consilience,
The Diversity of Life , and The Future of Life

Eric Kandel has written a stunning book which moves, almost with a single breath, from first to last, and gives an extraordinary picture of this last incredible half-century of neuroscience. Kandel seamlessly weaves together the personal and the scientific, and brings out the great web of influences and interactions which make science the most communal enterprise in the world.

Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

An enchanting book that has a broad historical and conceptual sweep. A lucid and comprehensive overview of developments in neuroscience during the 20th century. In short, In Search of Memory is a must-read account of science and a life, with all the associated joys and sorrows. It provides an insightful perspective on how first-rate research is carried out. One encounters a fascinating and persistent person who pursued the quest for his own Holy Grail and found it.

Nancy C. Andreasen, Science

Written with talent and grace, this extraordinary book by one of the greatest scientists of the mind alive will be read with delight by general readers as well as by students and scholars.

Elie Wiesel, author of Night and The Time of the Uprooted

Few can interlace their autobiography with the evolution of a scientific paradigm. Even fewer can weave such a story seamlessly. Eric Kandel is one of these. Kandels book is enthusiastically recommended as a captivating account of the career of a prominent leader in contemporary neuroscience. The author is not only an authoritative scholar, but also a marvelous popularizer and narrator. [Kandel] brings to the story an attractive mix of facts, personal touches and wisdom, seasoned with reflective humor.

Yadin Dudai, Nature

Beyond autobiography, the book is also an accessible introduction to contemporary neuroscience, the study of how the brain produces thought and action. Included are brilliant vignettes on the history of neuroscience.

Times Literary Supplement

Eric Kandels book could not have been written by anyone else. It deals with science through the lens of an entire life, at once eventful and blessed. We are led by Kandels life-affirming enthusiasm and by his steely determination. This is recommended reading for anyone looking for a personal view on what we know about brain and memory, and also for anyone contemplating a career in science.

Antonio Damasio, author of Descartes Error

and Looking for Spinoza

A wonderful self-help book for those who seek a Nobel Prize. At once a personal history and a scientific tour de force. This compelling book would make a great motion picture. Aplysia may not be Hollywood handsome, but what a character!

Dr. Lewis P. Rowland, editor in chief, Neurology Today

Kandel deftly weaves together his own personal and intellectual biography alongside a masterfully narrated history of the evolution of the science of the mind. Kandels explanations of even the most elaborate of biological concepts are lucid, and most are accompanied by clear and helpful illustrations. Intertwining the scientific, historical and biographical narrative strands gives the work an appeal uncommon in books about serious science. Kandels enthusiasm for his own work or that of his colleagues is so catching that the science, quietly conducted in labs, appears as thrilling and adventurous as a treasure hunt.

Liel Lebowitz, Jewish Book World

[ In Search of Memory ] is an intimate tour of modern neuroscience. Here is a book about the discovery of the biological basis of memory that has been written, essentially, out of ones man prodigious recollections.

Sue Halpern, New York Review of Books

In Search of Memory engagingly recounts Eric Kandels bold life at the frontier of brain science, where his molecular biological approach has revolutionized human understanding of how information received by our senses becomes hard-wired.

James D. Watson, author of Darwin and DNA

The weaving of science and memoir, in a clear and unadorned style, is especially effective.

The Economist

What comes through vividlyis the passion and enthusiasm of a leading researcher working in intellectually revolutionary times. Recommended as a first book to read for anybody with a more than merely curious interest in the subject.

Greg Sapp, Library Journal

Kandel has masterfully woven diverse themes into a beautiful tapestry. In Search of Memory is crisp, clear, and compelling. [Kandels] writing is equal to that of the best historians. Kandels book promises to do for neuroscience what The Double Helix has done for DNA.

Andrew R. Marks, Journal of Clinical Investigation

The life story Kandel tells is fascinating, the science he describes is comprehensive yet ultimately accessible, and, with any luck, this finely executed work will seduce a new generation of talented students to carry his impressive legacy forward.

The Week

Beautifully written, presenting to us all a master of the scientific mind.This book is an inspiration to fellow scientists, a paean to the scientific method, and a must-read for anyone interested in the scientific process.

Richard J. Bodnar, JAMA Book Review

Eric Kandel has written a gripping memoir of the European twentieth century that any author might envy. He has also written an American account of discoveries in the neurosciences that any scientist might envy. Both genres are skillfully intertwined in his civilized, generous, and stylish book. Kandels prose is limpid, his story-line clear and compelling; indeed, most of the book is as accessible to the layman as to the scientist. Its hard to put down.

Gerald Weissmann, FASEB Journal