Book excerpt: This book presents an innovative study of cognition from a clinical point of view. From observations of patients' behavior, it illustrates and analyzes the disorders of the thinking process caused by focal brain damage or more widespread cerebral dysfunction. The disorders are organized in functional categories and integrated in the effort to outline a neural basis for thought processing. The author takes a broad view of this subject, ranging from sensory input to executive control of cognition and motor output. He uses striking clinical vignettes throughout the book to illustrate the various disorders, and discusses the case histories with respect to relevant literature. This detailed work provides an illuminating account of the neurological basis for components of thinking such as language, memory, visual imagery, and emotion. It will interest all who are concerned with the relation between brain and behavior, including neurologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and cognitive scientists.