Reading inthe Brain Hardback - 2009

de Dehaene, Stanislas

A renowned cognitiveneuroscientist's fascinating andhighly informative account ofhow the brain acquires reading

How can a few black marks on a white pageevoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? Inthis riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene providesan accessible account of the brain circuitry of readingand explores what he calls the "reading paradox": Ourcortex is the product of millions of years of evolution ina world without writing, so how did it adapt to recognizewords? Reading in the Brain describes pioneeringresearch on how we process language, revealing thehidden logic of spelling and the existence of powerfulunconscious mechanisms for decoding words of anysize, case, or font.

Dehaene's research will fascinate not only readersinterested in science and culture, but also educatorsconcerned with debates on how we learn to read, andwho wrestle with pathologies such as dyslexia. LikeSteven Pinker, Dehaene argues that the mind is nota blank slate: Writing systems across all cultures relyon the same brain circuits, and reading is only possibleinsofar as it fits within the limits of a primate brain.Setting cutting-edge science in the context of culturaldebate, Reading in the Brain is an unparalleled guide toa uniquely human ability.