THE BRAIN IN SEARCH OF ITSELF
Santiago Ramón y Cajal and the Story of the Neuron
by Benjamin Ehrlich
An in-depth biography of the Nobel laureate who “is considered the founder of modern neuroscience.”
In the late 1800s, Europe was rippling with activity in science, art, and politics. Against this backdrop, Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) devoted himself passionately to the study of microscopic structures that comprise living tissue. Inspired by drawing and photography, he created innumerable images of objects he viewed through his microscope, and his legacy as a pioneering neuroscientist is entwined with his artistic achievements, which include drawings of neurons and other cells that are frequently displayed in major museums. In this deeply researched and intimate book, Ehrlich illuminates his subject’s life and work, hailing him as a “complicated and monumental man” who “produced the first clear evidence that the brain is composed of individual cells, later termed neurons, fundamentally the same as those that make up the rest of the living world.” The author delves deep, building on his research for his previous book, The Dreams of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. “From every source that I could find, writes Ehrlich, “I gathered every trace of him, every sliver of his life and scrap of his work, every piece of information about his science, his country, and his world.” In vivid detail, he describes Cajal’s emergence from childhood rogue to internationally celebrated scientist and chronicles unrelenting pursuit of knowledge within a volatile and rapidly changing world. Through colorful anecdotes about Cajal’s upbringing, education, career, marriage, and fatherhood, the author reveals his character in more detail than ever before, bringing him to life in clear and elegant prose. Cajal believed that scientific pursuit was indistinguishable from human self-discovery. Writes Ehrlich, he “provided a deeper account of our humanity, the story of how our brains became what they are.” The book includes photos and anatomical drawings.
A beautiful composition that shows Cajal’s indelible contribution to science and art.