cover image Making a Good Brain Great: The Amen Clinic Program for Achieving and Sustaining Optimal Mental Performance

Making a Good Brain Great: The Amen Clinic Program for Achieving and Sustaining Optimal Mental Performance

Daniel G. Amen. Random House Audio Assets, $27.5 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7393-2229-1

In order to make muscles grow, one must eat right, exercise and force the muscles to do new things; the same is true of one's brain-which is just one of the things to learn from this short but informative audiobook from one of the world's leading experts on how the brain works. Works of this sort usually aren't well suited to audio, and this one is no exception. Unless listeners are studiously taking notes while listening, they will need to find a hard copy when the time comes to apply Amen's advice. However, Amen's friendly and warm narration relates the precepts of his brain-boosting program in a way that makes them easy to understand and absorb. The audiobook becomes repetitive when Amen tries to reinforce certain points, but this production is otherwise enjoyable and will leave listeners eager to implement some of the strategies outlined. Amen is a renowned keynote speaker and frequently appears on TV, so there's no surprise that his engaging and exuberant style makes this a fascinating exploration of how the brain works.