An important and well-structured book, for sure. The mixture of scientific research and anecdotal storytelling is compelling and convincing. A tad melodramatic, but I cried several times, so if the melodrama is effective, who am I to judge? However, they need to fix the part about Jean Valjean being in court in the early 1900s for the trade paperback edition. Seriously? Did Richtel even read the work so beloved by the featured judge in his story? While I admire the work that went into this book, the writing was just too overdone and poorly edited for the book to be enjoyable to me. Everything had to be spelled out again and again-- after chapters of describing Reggie's town and family and religious community, the author summarizes just in case we didn't get the point: "After all, it's not uncommon for young people to lie to parents or a pastor….And they tell those lies even when there isn't the intense cultural pressure that Reggie felt as part of a small Mormon community. The very language used by people in Tremonton betrayed just how intense that pressure was. Mary Jane feared a "disgrace" when Reggie came home. Gaylyn even wondered about how people come home after a failed mission. The environment explains how Reggie could have felt himself in a fishbowl or crucible, how he's put his family in a bad light." The author didn't seem to trust the reader to make obvious connections, and would repeat things time and again. He explained The author explained what a zipline is twice in the book, in chapters 21 and 33. A prison sentence is described as 18 days in Chapter 43 and 30 days in Chapter 45. Not only were points over-explained, but there were typos and mistakes in the version I read (discussing how Les Miserables by Victor Hugo discusses a chaotic courtroom scene in France in the early 1900s, which is strange because the book was already historical fiction when published in the mid-1800s, and "In reflecting at who I was age at nineteen, I am very ashamed…") The only reason I would recommend this book is if the topic really interests you-- the reporting is comprehensive, even if it makes for an awkward read.
What do You think about Reggie's Brain (2014)?
A wonderful combination of life, religion, technology, justice and redemption.
—ash
I enjoyed learning how technology affects the brain. Very good book.
—jade
very informative and fascinating and current
—chris
A powerful, sobering, transformative read.
—Cee_Mariie
