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Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science Paperback – Illustrated, November 1, 2004

by John Fleischman (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 547 ratings
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 An ALA Notable Children’s Book and Best Book for Young Adults

Guggenheim Fellow John Fleischman separates fact from legend in this delightfully gruesome tale about Phineas Gage, the man with the hole in his skull.

In 1848, Phineas Gage was just a normal man in Cavendish, Vermont, working as a railroad construction foreman when a thirteen-pound iron rod shot through his brain. Defying all expectations, he went on to live another eleven years.

His miraculous recovery couldn’t hide the fact that he was forever changed by the accident. The people around him agreed that the well liked and dependable Phineas Gage had turned into a crude and unpredictable man.

What happened to Phineas Gage’s brain?

Complete with full-color photographs, a glossary, index, and a guide to resources, Phineas Gage will show you how your brain works through this fascinating case study as packed with neuroscience as it is shocking details.
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    11 - 12 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    96 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    5 - 7
  5. Lexile measure
    1030L
  6. Dimensions
    7.5 x 0.25 x 9 inches
  7. Publisher
    Clarion Books
  8. Publication date
    November 1, 2004
  9. ISBN-10
    0618494782
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0618494781
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carefully separating fact from legend, Fleischman traces Gage's subsequent travels and subtle but profound personality changes." Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"Phineas Gage brings a scientific viewpoint to a topic that will be delightfully gruesome to many readers." School Library Journal

"The riveting topic will draw all kinds of readers, and they'll be fascinated even as they're educated." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Fleischman's bold, present-tense writing draws the reader into the story from the first sentence." Horn Book

"Fleischman is a fine science writer, and he has organized his book adroitly." Riverbank Review

"Science writer Fleischman uses a clipped, engaging expository style to tell this incredible story." Publishers Weekly —

About the Author

John Fleischman uses his brain as a science writer with the American Society for Cell Biology and as a freelance writer for various magazines, including Discover, Muse, and Air & Space Smithsonian. He has been a science writer at the Harvard Medical School and a senior editor with Yankee and Ohio magazines. He lives in Ohio with his wife and a greyhound named Psyche.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarion Books; Reprint edition (November 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618494782
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618494781
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 11 - 12 years, from customers
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1030L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.25 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 547 ratings

About the author

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John Fleischman

John Fleischman

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John Fleischman writes science for the American Society for Cell Biology, books for kids and others, and articles for the "Harvard Health Letter" and "Air & Space Smithsonian." He was a science writer at Harvard Medical School, a science broadcaster at Boston's WGBH (public radio), and a senior editor for "Yankee" and "Ohio" magazines.

Fleischman's latest non-fiction book for older children is "Black & White Airmen: Their True History," published in 2007 by Houghton-Mifflin Children's Books of Boston. Named a 2008 "Orbis Pictus Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children" by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), "Airmen" also won the 2008 Carter G. Woodson Middle Level Book Award from the National Council for the Social Studies. Says Fleischman, "'Black & White Airmen' is about flying, WWII, segregation, and friendship. And it has a happy ending."

His first non-fiction book for older kids, "Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science," was an American Library Association "Notable Children's Book" and "Best Book for Young Adults" in 2003. It was also named an "Orbis Pictus Honor Book" by the NCTE in 2003. The paperback was picked for a list of "2007 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults" at the ALA winter meeting. Fleischman was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006 to work on his third nonfiction book for older kids about animals that have won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. (You thought only people won them?)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
547 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mitch Horowitz
5.0 out of 5 stars Finest Book on this Oddest of Cases
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a truly wonderful book, for young readers or adults. With due credit to Malcolm Macmillan's medical investigation An Odd Kind of Fame, author John Fleischman has reliably, contextually, and colorfully organized the story of Phineas Gage--the railroad construction worker who survived an iron bar through his skull--like no other work available. Fleischman's work especially shines when he highlights the different medical-social-historical issues weighing on the Gage case in the mid-19th century. He has more than done his homework: he has created a cross-disciplinary historical digest of this oddest of medical cases in a comprehensive and wholly involving way.
2 people found this helpful
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Mom2Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
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A pretty easy read.
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Solymar Torres
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024
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An amazing book that really perfectly describes the mystery and scientific marvel of how phineas gage survived a horrid accident.
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Luxx Mishley
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Medical Oddity Book for Children
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2010
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Phineas Gage: A popular science book that doesn't underestimate children, and presents a fascinating medical oddity for their enrichment and entertainment.

In Phineas Gage John Fleischman chronicles the adult life of a man who has the extreme misfortune to experience an iron rod fly through his head and out the top of his skull ... and live to tell the tale. Literally, in fact, as he sat chatting with his landlord about the accident while he waited the half hour for the nearest doctor to arrive. Despite the extreme improbability given the state of medical treatment in 1848, Phineas recovers from the incident and goes on to live an additional eleven years. However, the true subject of Fleischman's narrative is not really Phineas Gage as an individual, but rather how he helped inspire the medical community. In life, aspiring surgeons look at Gage's recovery as proof of a number of neurological theories. After his death his doctor finally reveals that his patient's recovery was not as "complete" as first suggested, and Phineas' medical history and remains go on to inspire and enlighten medical minds for decades to come.

Phineas Gage is remarkable all on his own, and Fleischman makes his story available to young readers.
2 people found this helpful
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Judy K. Polhemus
5.0 out of 5 stars The leading edge of brain science history
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2009
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John Fleischman once again brings Phineas Gage to the pages of brain science history with his engaging "Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science."

A frequent writer for Discover, Muse, and Air and Space Smithsonian magazines, Fleischman flexes his narrative voice as well as his scientific knowledge in this book for older children and young adult readers. The combination works wonderfully, making this almost a page-turning read. At first I was distracted by Fleischman's use of both past and present tense voices. What I decided was his use of present tense in telling Phineas's story brings immediacy to the narrative--a you-are-there type of storytelling, while past tense relates the scientific story preceding and following the events in Phineas's life.

One reviewer tells us that all medical and most science students know the story of Phineas Gage because of his importance in studies in brain knowledge. So what is the story of Phineas's brain? In 1848 while leading his gang of railroad workers, Phineas suffered a terrible accident: his three-foot tamping iron was shot through his head, entering under his jaw and exiting through his frontal lobe. Fleischman asks the reader: Was he lucky or unlucky? You see, Phineas lived eleven and one-half more years, but everyone who knew him agreed this was no longer Phineas Gage. His personality changed.

While Fleischman relates Phineas's story, he underscores everything with what doctors knew then about brain science in particular, and medicine in general. One photograph shows a group of doctors in street clothes standing around an operating table with a patient on it. No one knew about germs at that time.

The most fascinating part of the book is how easily Fleischman weaves information about the brain, the story of brain science development, and various conclusions and theories made and discarded or enhanced. This is clearly a science book dressed out in a fantastic, but true story.

I particularly was eager to read this book because my school placed this book as required reading for sixth grade this summer. Our reading list came about this way: one teacher created a list of all suggested books for additional reading found at the end of chapters in one of the textbooks. All are young adult books. I read reviews for all the books and whittled a list of 60-80 titles to about 15. We chose Phineas as required because of our principal, a former high school science teacher. She presented information about brain science at a pre-school workshop for teachers. The staff was fascinated, so I thought this kind of knowledge would benefit students as well. Add the bizarre story of Phineas's accident and this book should be a winner.

Phineas's skull and tamping rod are on permanent display at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
5 people found this helpful
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Gio
5.0 out of 5 stars Understand, Please, that this is a Kids' Book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2009
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It's only about a half-hour's worth of reading for an adult, and it's written in language that most adults will find smarmy. Nevertheless, the introduction this book offers to the current state of knowledge about the human brain may well come as news to many adult readers, and the life story of the man Phineas Gage is fascinating. In 1848, Gage had a massive iron bar shot straight through his head in an accident with blasting powder. The bar entered through his mouth and existed through the top of his skull, all in an instant, and yet Gage lived. Any young reader will find this story vivid enough to keep her/his attention focused on the science that Gage's misfortune stimulated. I'm not a teacher, so my guess may be wrong, but I'd say this book is especially suitable to junior high readers.

You'll find mention of Gage in a far more mature piece of writing - "Soul Made Flesh" by Carl Zimmer - which narrates the life-work of the 17th C Englishman, Thomas Willis, who first convinced at least some people that the brain was not merely a blob but in fact the seat of consciousness. I recommend that book heartily/brainily to all readers who enjoy the history of science. I'd also urge people with serious scientific interests to learn about the "Brainbow" project underway at the Harvard Center for Brain Science, directed by my smartest friend, Dr. Joshua Sanes.
9 people found this helpful
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JED
5.0 out of 5 stars great book, but for slightly older kids than the product details suggest
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
I am in the medical world, and I am really enjoying reading this with my 10-year-old son. There is a great deal of medical history in the book that I have not thought about for many years. The description says for grades 5-7/10-12 years - I think it would be a hard read for most 10-year-olds. There are many proper names (not American, so hard to say) plus anatomy terminology that makes it a harder read. While I am enjoying it, I am having to stop and explain some of the concepts, etc. to try to keep his attention and make it interesting for him.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Lizzie Reynell-O'Brien
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2015
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Arrived quickly, very reasonable price- A+++ seller. Thank you
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Laudis
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2016
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Excellent read. What a devastating injury.
One person found this helpful
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