Overview

In 1848 a railway construction worker named Phineas Gage suffered an accident that made him a major curiosity of medicine and a significant figure in psychology and neuroscience: an explosion caused a tamping iron to be blown competely through his head, destroying the left frontal lobe of his brain. Gage survived the accident and remained in reasonable physical health for another 11 years. But his behaviour changed markedly after the injury, and his case is considered to be the first to reveal the relation betwen the brain and complex personality characteristics. Yet almost nothing is known about him, and most of what is written is seriously in error. In this book Malcolm Macmillan, a leading authority on Gage, covers all aspects of this fascinating story. He describes Gage's family and personal background, the context of his work and the accident, and Gage's subsequent history. He analyzes contemporary medical and newspaper reports of the accident and its consequences, and evaluates the treatment Gage received form Dr. John Martyn Harlow. He also looks at Harlow's own life and work. Macmillan examines Gage's place in this history of how functions came to be localized in the brain. He explores the many ways that Gage's tale has been represented and misrepresented through the years in popular, fictional and scientific works. One of Macmillan's primary aims is to rescue the case from the predominantly fantastic accounts so that its real contribution to modern neuroscience can be understood. Partly for this reason, the appendices include facsimiles of Harlow's 1848 and 1868 reports, the primary sources about Gage and previously unpublished CAT scans of Gage's skull made in 1982.

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9780262632591

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Reviews

I highly recommend An Odd Kind of Fame to anyone interested in the history of neuroscience. -- Randolph W. Evans, MD, Journal of the American Medical Association Malcolm Macmillan's history of the case of Phineas Gage is an impressive achievement. -- James Beebe, Metapsychology Thanks to Macmillan, Phineas Gage can now take his appropriate place in the history of medicine. -- Jonathon Erlen, The Quarterly Review of Biology Macmillan sees many inconsistencies in Gage's story and seeks to set the record straight... -- Science News ...a historical tour de force. -- Daniel Tranel, Ph.D., The New England Journal of Medicine The book's success lies in ... Macmillan's skill as a writer ... and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. -- Ian Glynn, Nature This fascinating book is as compelling as a detective story. I could not put it down, and I learned so much. It is a brilliant combination of serious scholarship and popular history that will surely attract many readers. --Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University An Odd Kind of Fame is a meticulously researched and fascinating chapter in the history of neuroscience. It tells the story of Phineas Gage--perhaps the most famous brain-injured person--whose fate has been continually interpreted and misinterpreted ever since an iron rod passed through his brain in 1848. --Charles G. Gross, Professor of Psychology, Princeton University Malcolm Macmillan has long had an interest in the history of the neurosciences. He is a thoughtful scholar who knows more about Phineas Gage than anyone else. --Stanley Finger, Professor of Psychology, Washington University, and Editor, Journal of the History of the Neurosciences

...a historical tour de force. Daniel Tranel, Ph.D. The New England Journal of Medicine The book's success lies in... Macmillan's skill as a writer... and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. Ian Glynn Nature

The book's success lies in...Macmillan's skill as a writer...and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. -Ian Glynn, Nature ...a historical tour de force. - Daniel Tranel, Ph.D., The New England Journal of Medicine

The book's success lies in...Macmillan's skill as a writer...and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. -Ian Glynn, Nature ...a historical tour de force. - Daniel Tranel, Ph.D., The New England Journal of Medicine * Reviews * The book's success lies in...Macmillan's skill as a writer...and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. -Ian Glynn, Nature * Reviews *

...a historical tour de force. - Daniel Tranel, Ph.D., The New England Journal of Medicine The book's success lies in...Macmillan's skill as a writer...and his passion for collecting and presenting evidence. -Ian Glynn, Nature

Author Information

Malcolm Macmillan is Adjunct Professor in the School of Psychology at Deakin University, Australia.

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