The thesis of this book is that it was during the 1950s that the multiplicity of disciplines that constitute modern neuroscience first came together to achieve a measure of coherence. This is not an especially original or contentious claim. However, few, if any, have spelt out the case as clearly and coherently as Shepherd. He lists the key concepts and fields that were established during this decade, including the action potential, neurotransmitter systems, neuroendocrinology, and membrane physiology. The 1950s were also when the foundations of modern brain imaging – with all its implications both for clinical neurology and for basic science – were laid. Moreover, the growing knowledge of brain chemistry acquired at this time made possible the first attempts to devise pharmacological remedies for a range of psychiatric conditions.
The origins of this book lie in a course on ‘History of Modern Neuroscience’. This source is especially evident in the first chapter, which reads very much like a set of lecture notes. Overall, Shepherd adopts a broadly biographical approach to the subject. He is not embarrassed to embrace a ‘great man’ – along with the occasional great woman – view of the history of science. He is writing of an epoch in which, in his view, ‘giants walked the earth’ (p. 219). Shepherd was acquainted with many of the leading figures discussed in the book, and the text is sprinkled with personal anecdotes and reminiscences. Shepherd admits that the institutional context within which these individuals operated is, on the other hand, largely overlooked in his account.
This all makes for a readable and engaging narrative. The technical details are carefully explained with little background knowledge assumed of the reader. Some explanatory figures embedded in the text might in places have added further clarity. There is a clear bias in Shepherd’s survey toward the cellular and molecular aspects of neuroscience, with less attention to ethology and psychology.
Shepherd’s account of some of the fields he discusses would have benefited by reference to the existing secondary literature. For instance, Kenton Kroker’s The Sleep of Others (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007) is clearly relevant to the section on Eugene Aserinsky’s research; while any discussion of twentieth-century cognitive science needs to engage with Margaret Boden’s monumental Mind as Machine (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). Shepherd seems to be aware of the limitations of what his book offers. He modestly expresses the hope that it will, nonetheless: ‘serve as a stimulus to interest professional historians of science in a deeper analysis of this period’ (p. 237).
