The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius - Hardcover

"Ahead of the curve. . .  . Ms. Andreasen is lucid in arguing that with creativity--as with most human traits--a strict opposition between nature and nurture is too simplistic. . . . Ms. Andreasen's book describe the first steps in what should be a long and fascinating effort to understand true creative genius."

"I've been a novelist for 37 years and suddenly I understand myself better. Nancy Andreasen's The Creating Brain is a fascinating journey in to the nature and secrets of the creative brain. The sections on Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are amazing, and the concluding exercises could be life changing."--David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of The Brotherhood of the Rose  and Creepers   

"This is fascinating reading for people who would like to know more about what happens inside their heads." -- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi "Washington Post Book World" (02/26/2006)

0;Our leading authority on creativity reveals herself with this splendid book as one of the most valuably creative persons of our time.1;--
Kurt Vonnegut

0;Drawing on her expertise as a scientist, physician, and scholar of literature, Nancy Andreasen gives a clear, readable, synoptic account of current knowledge in human creativity.1;--Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Education and Cognition, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"Our leading authority on creativity reveals herself with this splendid book as one of the most valuably creative persons of our time."-- Kurt Vonnegut

"Drawing on her expertise as a scientist, physician, and scholar of literature, Nancy Andreasen gives a clear, readable, synoptic account of current knowledge in human creativity."--Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Education and Cognition, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"An expert analysis of the connections between extraordinary creativity, mental illness, intelligence and the social environment. The complex subject matter is punctuated with intriguing research. . . . Andreasen leaves us with hope that the potential exists to enhance the creative capacity in our children and in ourselves."--Publishers Weekly

"I''ve been a novelist for 37 years and suddenly I understand myself better. Nancy Andreasen''s The Creating Brain is a fascinating journey in to the nature and secrets of the creative brain. The sections on Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are amazing, and the concluding exercises could be life changing."--David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of The Brotherhood of the Rose and Creepers

"This splendid, quick read should be a compulsory assignment for those students of the humanities who think themselves irrevocably bored with biology of any sort, including what they will find to be the fascinating links to the human brain''s most powerful cultural tool, the capacity for extraordinary creativity. . . . I highly recommend it."--Floyd Bloom, professor emeritus of neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute and former editor-in-chief of Science

Michelangelo was raised in a rustic village by a family of modest means. Shakespeare's father was a middle-class businessman. Abraham Lincoln came from a family of itinerant farmers. Yet all these men broke free from their limited circumstances and achieved brilliant careers as creative artists and leaders. How such extraordinary creativity develops in the human brain is the subject of renowned psychiatrist Nancy Andreasen's The Creating Brain.
Andreasen explains here how the brain produces creative breakthroughs in art, literature, and science, revealing that creativity is not the same thing as intelligence. She scrutinizes the complex factors involved in the development of creativity, including the role of patrons and mentors, "non-standard" educations, and the possession of an "omnivorous" vision. A fascinating interview with acclaimed playwright Neil Simon sheds further light on the creative process.The relationship between genius and insanity also plays an important role in Andreasen's examination. Drawing on her studies of writers in the Iowa Writers' Workshop and other scientific evidence, Andreasen asserts that while creativity may sometimes be linked to mental disorders and may be partially due to familial/genetic factors, neither is inevitable nor needed for creativity to flourish.
Scientist's increasing understanding of the brain's plasticity suggests even more possibilities for nurturing the creative drive, and Andreasen looks ahead to exciting implications for child-rearing and education. The Creating Brain presents an inspiring vision for a future where everyone—not just artists or writers—can fulfill their creative capacity.