Brainspotting

Reviews / Votes

"A. J. Lees's exquisitely produced Brainspotting is a gem... Alongside this genial recounting of his approach to his work, Lees offers sketches of neurologists by whom he was taught or who have influenced his thinking and recollections of institutions where he has worked... I loved this book. If ever I fall victim to a neurological disorder, I can only hope to God I come under the benign and intelligent care of Lees." -- Salley Vickers * Literary Review * "A fascinating and riveting book. A.J. Lees is that rare phenomenon: a literary stylist of the first rank who combines a fine aesthetic sensibility with deep scientific knowledge... After reading this book, you will never feel the same about the words mind, body and soul." -- Andrew Hussey "An exceptional compendium of marvellous phenomena that can captivate the imagination of students and neurologists to this day. . . . Lees' writing style combines anatomical precision with ethereal poetry, which is reflected in his practice and teachings. . . . Brainspotting is a vibrant testimony of Lees' love for clinical neurology, the value of observation in a world of randomised trials, and a melancholic battle cry against hasty, profit-driven, virtual, touchless, 'scan-negative' medicine. The book reminds us that the art of clinical neurology allows for remarkable discoveries nearly everywhere, provided that our senses remain open and clear." * The Lancet * 'Lees was an enthusiastic naturalist as a child, and believes that his hobby trained him in the sort of discriminating pattern recognition you need to practise as a professional diagnostician... A lifetime of practising neurology has helped him accept the "arbitrary and often brutal nature" of diseases of the brain, and MS in particular, which he singles out for the deceptive way in which it can attack, recede, then return with renewed vigour, its symptoms changing with each new episode.' -- Gavin Francis * London Review of Books *