Title: Phineas Gage

Author: John Fleischman

Genre: Nonfiction/Biography

            In 1848, Phineas Gage was working on the railroad when he had an accident that changed what we know about the brain.  Phineas, the foreman, survived the blasting accident despite having a major brain injury.  After he made a “complete recovery” he went on to have many jobs and travel the world.  The accident not only changed him forever, but it changed what people thought about brain science.

            In Phineas Gage, the theme might be luck.  Some people say he was unlucky, but some people say he was lucky.  I say he was lucky because even though he had the horrible accident, he survived, and lived for eleven years afterwards.

            I liked some parts, but some parts I didn’t like.  I liked all the pictures and the history of the brain.  I didn’t like that it was a little difficult to understand because of all the different medical terms the author used.  I would give this book four stars, and recommend it to anyone interested in brain science, because it has some helpful terms.