Reviews for Incognito

“The book is full of startling examples…. Eagleman has a wealth of such observations, backed up with case studies, bits of pop culture, literary references and historic examples. A book that will leave you looking at yourself–and the world–differently.”- Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)

“Incognito is popular science at its best…. Eagleman, by imagining the future so vividly, puts into relief just how challenging neuroscience is, and will be.” – Boston Globe

“Eagleman has a talent for testing the untestable, for taking seemingly sophomoric notions and using them to nail down the slippery stuff of consciousness.” – The New Yorker

“What Eagleman seems to be calling for is a new Enlightenment, where our better understanding of the brain allows us to treat criminality differently. It’s a bold argument and perhaps just the beginning of the debate.” – Sunday Herald

“David Eagleman offers startling lessons in neuroscience…. His method in both Sum and his new book, Incognito, is to ask us to cast off our lazy, commonplace assumptions. In one, he delineates, with remorseless logic and clarity, what any conceivable afterlife would actually entail. In the other: you think your brain and senses reveal the world as it is?” – The Guardian

“Neuroscientist and polymath David Eagleman argues that the actions of the unconscious are so powerful and pervasive that they ‘dethrone’ the conscious mind… Eagleman argues his case in an appealing and persuasive way.” – Wall Street Journal

“David Eagleman is the kind of guy who really does make being a neuroscientist look like fun” – New York Times

“A stunning exploration of the we behind the I. Eagleman reveals, with his typical grace and eloquence, all the neural magic tricks behind the cognitive illusion we call reality.” – Jonah Lehrer, author of How we Decide

“A shining example of lucid and easy-to-grasp science writing.” – The Independent

“Like his acclaimed book of short stories, Sum, it’s compulsively readable and sure to spark off plenty of discussion.” – The Scotsman

“A fun read by a smart person for smart people…. It will attract a new generation to ponder their inner workings” – New Scientist

“Although Incognito is fast-paced, mind-bending stuff, it’s a book for regular folks. Eagleman does a brilliant job refining heady science into a compelling read. He is a gifted writer.” – Houston Chronicle

“Discussions about these difficult issues at the intersection of neuroscience and society are essential and timely. [Eagleman] should be lauded for his clear exposition of the consequences of our emerging understanding of the brain. Incognito is a smart, captivating book that will give you a prefrontal workout.” – Nature

“I love this book.” – Globe and Mail

“A popularizer of impressive gusto…[Eagleman] aims, grandly, to do for the study of the mind what Copernicus did for the study of the stars.” – New York Observer

“Bringing a storyteller’s articulate and fluid narrative to a scientist’s quest, Eagleman dances across an incredible spectrum of issues.” – Brainpickings

“What makes Eagleman’s book unique, particularly in the realm of popular science writing, is the attention it gives to this interplay between the knowns and unknowns of neuroscience.” – Oxonian Review

“In fresh, clear prose unencumbered by neuro-jargon, Eagleman weaves descriptions of simple, relatable experiments and compelling case studies.” – Science News

“This book grabs you from the first page, tumbling out facts and information in a down to earth and readable way, with a chatty humour which does not disguise the amount of knowledge that neuroscientist author David Eagleman has to offer…. This is the real secret of the success of this fantastic book — it is easily broken into manageable chunks of reading so that you are not completely bogged down or overwhelmed by what must be his vastly superior intellect. It is rare to find a brilliant scientist who has the gift of the gab and can hold an audience but this book really does do that.” – Lovereading

“Eagleman says he’s looking to do for neuroscience what Carl Sagan did for astrophysics, and he’s already on his way.” – Texas Monthly

“Offering his own version of the Freudian story, in the luminous prose for which he is rightly esteemed, Eagleman argues that most of what we do is more influenced by unconscious than by conscious processes, and that concepts like responsibility and freedom cannot survive intact from the advances of neuroscience.” – Prospect Magazine

“Your mind is an elaborate trick, and master-mind David Eagleman explains how the trick works with great lucidity and amazement. Your mind will thank you.” – Kevin Kelly, author of What Technology Wants