Author(s): Eric R. Kandel

Science & Natural History

Charting the intellectual history of the emerging biology of mind, Eric R. Kandel illuminates how behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology have converged into a powerful new science of mind. This science now provides nuanced insights into normal mental functioning and disease, and simultaneously opens pathways to more effective healing. Driven by vibrant curiosity, Kandel s personal quest to understand memory is threaded throughout this absorbing history. Beginning with his childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna, "In Search of Memory" chronicles Kandel s outstanding career from his initial fascination with history and psychoanalysis to his groundbreaking work on the biological process of memory, which earned him the Nobel Prize. A deft mixture of memoir and history, modern biology and behavior, "In Search of Memory" traces how a brilliant scientist s intellectual journey intersected with one of the great scientific endeavors of the twentieth century: the search for the biological basis of memory.