David Shenk

Lo que "el gol de la mano de Dios" de Maradona es para los aficionados al fútbol, "la partida inmortal" lo es para los fanáticos del ajedrez: una de esas cumbres que se alcanzan con una combinación nunca vista de genialidad, descaro, destreza y aprovechamiento del contrario. Siguiendo el hilo de esa partida irrepetible, que se jugó hace más de 150 años en Londres Shenk trama la apasionante historia del juego.

Esta obra intercala la descripción del Alzheimer (que antes se conocía como demencia senil) y los testimonios de enfermos y de las personas que cuidan de ellos, algunos tan conocidos como Jonathan Swift, Williem de Kooning o Ronald Reagan. Es una magnifica sintesis del profundo drama humano que provoca esta enfermedad degenerativa, ya que no solo afecta a la memoria, sino que llega a destruir la propia identidad.

A media scholar examines the effects of data overload on our lives, our relationships, and our culture, and offers strikingly down-to-earth insights for coping with our information infatuation.

Winner of the 2002 BMA Popular Medicine Book Prize: This is a haunting literary and scientific examination of Alzheimers disease and the race to find a cure. A truly remarkable book the definitive work on Alzheimers, both in social and medical terms, The Forgetting is incisive, humane, never ponderous, full of dry humour and brilliantly written with quiet, unpretentious authority. As a layman with personal experience of caring for an Alzheimers sufferer I am well aware of the stages of the disease and its prognosis and ending. Shenk is excellent on all these, and in his reflections on memory and the individual, and the individuals response to the progress of the disease. I cant imagine a book on Alzheimers being better researched and understood, or presented with greater sympathy. John Bayley In 1906 Alois Alzheimer dissected and examined the cerebral cortex of Auguste Ds brain and became the first scientist in medical history to link a specific brain pathology to behavioural changes. The disease named after him, turns otherwise active and healthy people into living ghosts. It is a rare condition for those in their 40s and 50s but 10% of the 65+ population suffers from it and 50% of the 85+. It is longevitys revenge and as the baby boom generation drifts into its elderly years the number of Alzheimers victims is expected to quadruple, making it the fastest-growing disease in developed countries. As Adam Phillips writes in his foreword This remarkable book will radically change our notions of looking after people and our assumptions about independence. Out of fear of mortality we have idealised health and youth and competence. The Forgetting reminds us among many other things that there is more to life than that. Shenks history of Alzheimers is both poignant and scientific, grounded by the fundamental belief that memory forms the basis of our selves, our souls, and the meaning in our lives.

A fresh, engaging look at how 32 carved pieces on a Chess board forever changed our understanding of war, art, science, and the human brain.Chess is the most enduring and universal game in history. Here, bestselling author David Shenk chronicles its intriguing saga, from ancient Persia to medieval Europe to the dens of Benjamin Franklin and Norman Schwarzkopf. Along the way, he examines a single legendary game that took place in London in 1851 between two masters of the time, and relays his own attempts to become as skilled as his Polish ancestor Samuel Rosenthal, a nineteenth-century champion. With its blend of cultural history and Shenks lively personal narrative, The Immortal Game is a compelling guide for novices and aficionados alike.

NOW AN EBOOK FOR THE FIRST TIMEFor fifty years and more than two thousand shows, the Grateful Dead have been earning the "deadication" of more than a million fans. Along the way, Deadheads have built an original and authentic American subculture, with vivid jargon and rich love, and its own legends, myths, and spirituality.Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads is the first map of what Jerry Garcia calls "the Grateful Dead outback," as seen through the eyes of the faithful, friends, and family, including Bill Walton, Elvis Costello, Tipper Gore, Al Franken, Bob Bralove, Dick Latvala, Blair Jackson, David Gans, Bruce Hornsby, Rob Wasserman, and Robert Hunter. Skeleton Key puts you on the Merry Pranksters bus behind the real Cowboy Neal, uncovers the origins of Cherry Garcia, follows the dancing bear on its trip from psychedelic artifact to trademarked icon, and unlocks the Deads own tape vault.Informative reading for the new fan or the most grizzled "tourhead,"Skeleton Key shines throughout with Deadheads own stories, wit, insiders knowledge, sincere appreciation of the music of the "band beyond description," and the diverse and soulful culture it inspires.

NATIONAL BESTSELLERA powerfully engaging, scrupulously researched, and deeply empathetic narrative of the history of Alzheimers disease, how it affects us, and the search for a cure.Afflicting nearly half of all people over the age of 85, Alzheimers disease kills nearly 100,000 Americans a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks havoc on the lives of their loved ones. It was once minimized and misunderstood as forgetfulness in the elderly, but Alzheimers is now at the forefront of many medical and scientific agendas, for as the worlds population ages, the disease will touch the lives of virtually everyone. David Shenk movingly captures the diseases impact on its victims and their families, and he looks back through history, explaining how Alzheimers most likely afflicted such figures as Jonathan Swift, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Willem de Kooning. The result is a searing and graceful account of Alzheimers disease, offering a sobering, compassionate, and ultimately encouraging portrait.

"Fresh insights into the nature of exceptional peformance. A deeply interesting and important book (New York Times Book Review) that offers a revolutionary and life-changing message on the new science of human potential. Is true greatness obtainable from everyday means and everyday genes? Conventional wisdom says no, that a lucky few are simply born with certain gifts. Now you can forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence, and take a look at the amazing new evidence. Here, interweaving cutting-edge research from numerous scientific fields, David Shenk offers a new view of human potential, giving readers more of a sense of ownership over their accomplishments, and freeing parents from the bonds of genetic determinism. As Shenk points out, our genes are not a blueprint that dictate individual destinies. Rather we are all the product of interplay between genes and outside stimulia dynamic that we can influence. It is a revolutionary and life-changing message.

L'Alzheimer és una de les malalties més inquietants del nostre temps. L'augment de l'esperança de vida i el progressiu envelliment de la població han creat una autèntica bomba de rellotgeria demogràfica que pot explotar en qualsevol moment i escampar-la en forma d'epidèmia per tot el món occidental. Però la malaltia d'Alzheimer és tan vella com la humanitat: al llarg de la història n'han patit figures com Jonathan Swift, Ralph Waldo Emerson, E. B. White, Willem de Kooning i Ronald Reagan, les capacitats intel·lectuals dels quals es van acabar desintegrant. A Biografia de l'Alzheimer, David Shenk s'endinsa en la naturalesa d'aquesta patologia i en fa una magnífica síntesi històrica, científica, política i psicològica. Aprofundint en camps tan diversos com la història de l'art, la literatura, la genètica i la neurobiologia, Shenk fa un retrat commovedor del drama humà de les víctimes i de la dolorosa regressió que pateixen, explica de manera entenedora quins són els símptomes de l'Alzheimer i ofereix una important font de recursos per a la família i els cuidadors que s'esforcen a entendre i acceptar la pèrdua que estan experimentant. El llibre inclou una llista d'adreces i pàgines web d'associacions i entitats dedicades a l'atenció dels malalts d'Alzheimer i els seus familiars.

Hemos aceptado que los genios son criaturas llegadas de otra dimensión con unas cualidades innatas que les separan del resto de los mortales. ¿Cómo podemos aspirar a poseer las cualidades de Mozart, Einstein o Zatopek? Parece que si los genes no nos han bendecido con un coeficiente intelectual elevado o unos musculos mas fuertes que la media, nada podemos hacer.Frente a este determinismo tan extendido, frente a los defensores de los test de inteligencia y otros metodos de escaso rigor, David Shenk nos recuerda que apenas existe el talento innato. Los genios no nacen, sino que se hacen. Y por tanto, todos podemos despertar el genio que hay en nuestro interior. Con multitud de ejemplos, Shenk demuestra como los estimulos del medio o nuestros propios nervios pueden activar y desactivar la influencia de los genes. De modo que aquello que define nuestro talento es la gestion de la herencia que hemos recibido sumada a nuestra relacion con el mundo. Este libro nos ofrece las clases para desarrollar el genio que llevamos dentro.