Strange Behavior

A master neurologist's clinical tales—both funny and profound—of the evolution of the brain. As a sympathetic—and brilliant—brain detective, Harold Klawans treated people with a huge array of troubles, all of which boiled down to one complaint: something was wrong with their brains. From the woman suffering from "painful foot and moving toe syndrome" to the Indiana farmer who contacted a variant of mad cow disease from his herds of livestock, Klawans deduced a great deal from his patients, not only about the immediate causes of their ailments, but about the evolutionary underpinnings of their behavior. Praised by Oliver Sacks as "the most versatile of contemporary neurologists," Klawans writes with "such verve and humor ....that readers may not realize they're also getting a carefully structured education on the functioning of the brain and evolution of language skills" (Elle).

Originally published in hardcover as Defending the Cavewoman (ISBN: 0393048314).