Reading is a wonder, because the brain was never wired for written vocabulary. This eloquent, available look at reading explores how they have transformed our brains, our lives, and the world.

It took 2,000 years for written vocabulary to build up, and it takes 2,000 times to get a child’s brain to understand to read. During that time, the mind must actually rearrange itself to be able to understand written symbols. What happens when a child has difficulty understanding these abilities?

Using down-to-earth about Proust as well as the Squid: THE STORYPLOT and Science from the Reading Brain examples and personal anecdotes, a preeminent researcher and literacy lover embarks on a lively trip through the reading mind. Drawing on her behalf vast knowledge of neurology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and child development, she shows how the human brain that browse Sumerian cuneiforms on clay tablets is different from the brain that reads images on a computer screen. Just as writing reduced our dependence on memory, technology is certainly reducing the necessity for created language-a change sure to have profound outcomes for our future.

Fascinating and revelatory for anyone interested in the technology of the brain, for parents of small children learning to browse, and for individuals who want to know more on the subject of dyslexia.