Ramachandran--the "Marco Polo of neuroscience"--reveals what baffling and extreme case studies can teach us about normal brain function and how it evolved. Among the topics he discusses are synesthesia as a window to creativity and autism as a springboard to understanding self-awareness.

No mere ape -- Phantom limbs and plastic brains -- Seeing and knowing -- Loud colors and hot babes : synesthesia -- The neurons that shaped civilization -- Where is Steven? : The riddle of autism -- The power of babble : the evolution of language -- Beauty and the brain : the emergence of aesthetics -- The artful brain : universal laws -- An ape with a soul : how introspection evolved.