Book launch | The Mind Mappers
Join the staff of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine for the launch of , a new book by Globe and Mail journalist Eric Andrew-Gee.
Books on sale courtesy of Paragraphe Books.
Joignez-vous à l’équipe de la Bibliothèque Osler d’histoire de la médecine pour le lancement de , un nouveau livre signé par le journaliste du Globe and Mail Eric Andrew-Gee.
Vente de livres sur place en collaboration avec la librairie Paragraphe.
Book description
The riveting true story of the star-crossed friendship between two neurosurgeons—one famous, the other forgotten—who mapped the brain, but lost each other.
In the early 1920s, when neurosurgery was more of a death sentence than a cure, two men revolutionized the study of the brain: Wilder Penfield and William Cone. Drawn together by their shared fascination with the “undiscovered country” inside our heads, the surgeons quickly became partners and, within ten years, established the Montreal Neurological Institute. Under their leadership, The Neuro became the world’s leading hotbed for neurological study, attracting men and women from across the globe to a thriving mid-century Montreal.
But their success came at the cost of their friendship.
While Dr. Cone spent long hours at patients’ bedsides and in the blood-splattered operating room, Dr. Penfield pursued the loftier goal of discovering the seat of consciousness. Penfield went on to develop the Montreal Procedure for treating epilepsy, which helped identify the source of speech, executive function and memory in narrow slivers of grey matter—achievements made possible by Cone’s anonymous work behind the scenes. Over time, their relationship became fraught with personal and professional hurts—and ended suddenly when Cone was found dead in his office at the age of sixty-two.
In this compelling dual biography, Globe and Mail journalist Eric Andrew-Gee weaves together the rich history of The Neuro with that of Penfield and Cone to reveal the untold story of the birthplace of neuroscience. In doing so, he breathes new life into a familiar hero and revives the oft-forgotten, tragic story of his partner, writing Dr. William Cone back into the historical record at last.
About the author
Eric Andrew-Gee is the Quebec correspondent for The Globe and Mail, based in Montreal, and a former staff reporter for the Toronto Star. He is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards. His work has appeared in magazines including The Walrus, Toronto Life and The New Republic. The Mind Mappes is his first book.