Review by Choice Review
Sternberg (neuroendocrine immunology/behavior, NIMH) offers a fascinating study of the complex relationships between health and "healing places." The book begins and ends with consideration of special healing places. Intermediate chapters systematically explore hearing, smell, way finding, brain functioning and disease, and the design of hospitals. Sternberg writes from a deep knowledge of the current understanding of the way the brain functions, and uses this base to explore the outer margins of her science, i.e., the buildings, cities, and practices that foster, sometimes mysteriously, healing worldwide. She makes the work of many pioneers in brain and behavioral research accessible to laypersons even as they rub elbows with such figures as Walt Disney, Frank Gehry, and the Dalai Lama. Sternberg is a skillful writer who often opens a chapter anecdotally and then moves into the specialized topography of the brain or other aspects of the nervous system. This is a fine, thoughtful volume. Lengthy bibliography. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. J. Quinan University at Buffalo, SUNY
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Even the ancients understood that some places had healing powers. But in the late 20th century, scientists began to study how space affects both mental and physical health for good and ill. NIH researcher Sternberg (The Balance Within) thoroughly chronicles research on the neural pathways that connect our sensory perception of our environment with our ability to heal. Why, for instance, do hospital patients whose window looks out on a grove of trees require less pain medication than patients looking out on a brick wall? Sternberg also examines how incorporating light and nature into our cities and buildings can promote health and reduce stress, and how this concept is influencing urban design and the layout of hospitals. Finally, Sternberg counsels individuals to find that place in the world that invites and promotes healing and reduces stress (for her, it is a garden of her youth). The conclusions-e.g., that noise induces stress, which can impede healing-seem intuitive and well known, but readers interested in neuroscience will learn much about the research on why this is the case. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
