HarperCollins Publishers

An astounding memoir that recounts the life of one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons. Saving the lives of hundreds during his 35-year career, here he details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases.

Tells the story of 50 journeys that changed the world, with photos, statistics and detailed "Times" mapping. These include the Apollo 11 moon landing, Charles Darwin's voyage aboard "HMS Beagle", Christopher Columbus's discovery of America and more.

Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize upon initial release. Julia comes out of a three-year dry spot and soon finds herself accused of breaking a one-night stand's penis along with other sexual and romantic misadventures. Funny, honest and likely to bring about conversations.

Phantoms In The Brain, using a series of case histories, introduces strange and unexplored mental worlds. Ramachandran, through his research into brain damage, has discovered that the brain is continually organising itself in response to change. A woman maintains that her left arm is not paralysed, a young man loses his right arm in a motorcycle accident, yet he continues to feel a phantom arm with vivid sensation of movement. In a series of experiments using nothing more than Q-tips and dribbles of warm water the young man helped Ramachandran discover how the brain is remapped after injury. Ramachandran believes that cases such as these illustrate fundamental principles of how the human brain operates. The brain 'needs to create a "script" or a story to make sense of the world, a unified and internally consistent belief system.'

Ramachandran's radical new approach will have far-reaching effects.

This fast-paced narrative by the author of "Empire Of The Sun" is a stunning evocation of a flooded, tropical London of the near future and a foray into the workings of the unconscious mind.