Proust and the squid : the story and science of the reading brain

Wolf restores our awe of the human brainits adaptability, its creativity, and its ability to connect with other minds through a procession of silly squiggles. San Francisco Chronicle

How do people learn to read and writeand how has the development of these skills transformed the brain and the world itself ? Neuropsychologist and child development expert Maryann Wolf answers these questions in this ambitious and provocative book that chronicles the remarkable journey of written language not only throughout our evolution but also over the course of a single childs life, showing why a growing percentage have difficulty mastering these abilities.

With fascinating down-to-earth examples and lively personal anecdotes, Wolf asserts that the brain that examined the tiny clay tablets of the Sumerians is a very different brain from the one that is immersed in todays technology-driven literacy, in which visual images on the screen are paving the way for a reduced need for written languagewith potentially profound consequences for our future.