David Horrobin: The Madness of Adam and Eve: How Schizophrenia Shaped Humanity

By MARGIE THOMSON

The relationship between creative brilliance and madness has long fascinated us. In this book Horrobin theorises that the faulty brain wiring that makes us prone to schizophrenia, psychopathy and mania was an essential part of the evolutionary process that made us such a successful, aggressively creative species.

This highly controversial theory has been criticised for romanticising mental illness (the schizophrenic brain makes disorganised connections, not creative ones, one reviewer has noted) and yet, because of Horrobin's scientific standing, it has formed a serious talking point among the scientists and professionals who work in this field. Horrobin is certainly an original thinker, and his book is bright, enthusiastic and riveting.

Corgi
$29.95