What I’ve Been Reading

Those of you who know me well will no doubt be aware of my delight in some good myth busting! This book is full of myth-busting goodness, including myths about intelligence, brain architecture and structure, teaching and learning, human development, learning environments, mind-body balance, brain plasticity, memory, attention, and language. A neuromyth is an entertaining […]

This book is all about defining moments in our lives – the ones that happen by accident, but also ones that we can create for ourselves and for others. These moments can be positive or negative (such as experiences of embarrassment or trauma). The book focuses on recognising and creating moments that create positive emotions

This book is a conversation between Bruce Perry (child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, child trauma specialist, and author of another excellent but emotionally difficult to read book The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog) and Oprah Winfrey, media leader and philanthropist, who has a special interest in child trauma. I wasn’t sure what to expect

The author Joseph LeDoux is the world’s leading expert on fear and anxiety. This book is a follow up to his earlier book The Emotional Brain. In this book he critiques much of the historical work on fear (e.g. the role of the amygdala and the relationship between the physiological threat response and the feeling

This book was originally published in 1992, but was republished in 2022. It’s essential reading for anyone who works with people who have experienced trauma. The book is in two parts: the first part explores the experience of trauma, and the second the stages of recovery. The book provides an overview of the history of

In this book Tversky argues that movement and actions are the foundation of thought, rather than language. The first part of the book explores how we represent the world in the mind, and the second part how we represent our mind in the world (e.g. by actions, maps, drawing, and art). The book shows how

This book is a fascinating account of how networks work. It explores how who we are connected to, directly and indirectly, can make a significant difference to things like power, opportunities, spread of infections, and dissemination of information. It also demonstrates how different kinds of connections (e.g. whether you are the hub of various connections,

As one of the reviewers said, this book will, in thirty year’s time remain a – possibly the – classic treatment of power in the English language. I revisited this book when preparing some advanced training about power in conflict. It’s one of the best overviews of power that I have come across – it’s

I found this book absolutely fascinating. While I’ve read a lot about body language, this book is about something distinct and different. It is about the hand signals that we use in conjunction with speech, and how they can communicate and sometimes change what a person is thinking (both the person gesturing and the person

In this book Riskin covers three different areas that are useful in managing conflict. The first part is a basic overview of various negotiation theories (positions and interests, emotions and core concerns, and difficult conversations). The second part introduces some different approaches to mindfulness practice. The third part explores Internal Family Systems and how this