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The first chapter of Jay Ingram’s The Burning House (Penguin, £6.99,
ISBN 0 14 017878 3) seizes the reader by the lapels. It is about a brain museum
in Washington and might induce a slight queasiness. The book’s
subtitle—Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain—seems misleading. It
is about the tricks and impressive feats the brain is capable of, including
dreaming, and the bizarre effects of brain damage. You’re left feeling
astonished and privileged to have such a marvel in your own skull.