In his new book, Paul Broca and the Origins of Language in the Brain, Leonard L. LaPointe describes Paul Broca as “a child prodigy who fulfilled his promise by becoming a brilliant neurologist, surgeon, anthropologist, and more.” Broca is the nineteenth-century scientist best known for identifying the region of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex responsible for speech and language—“Broca’s Area.” However, as Dr. LaPointe writes, he was also a philosopher, inventor, political figure, and rabble-rousing horn player.
In Paul Broca and the Origins of Language in the Brain, Dr. LaPointe tells the story of Broca’s life and details his contributions to the study of neurology. He paints a complete picture of the man by placing him in the context of his time and place and in the company of his contemporaries in the arts and sciences. LaPointe also details his own visits to the museums of Paris, where he conducted extensive research and visited the preserved brains of Broca’s most famous subjects: Leborgne and Lelong.
The book even contains an element of mystery: The brain of Paul Broca himself, which the famed scientist Carl Sagan once claimed to have seen preserved in formalin in the Museum of Man, is now nowhere to be found. Dr. LaPointe ponders the irony that “no one seems to know the whereabouts” of the brain of one of the greatest pioneers of brain research.
Dr. LaPointe with two Saudi Arabian friends at ASHA 2012.
Dr. LaPointe, the Francis Eppes Professor of Communication Science & Disorder at Florida State University in Tallahassee, could be accused of being a Broca fanatic. He has a personalized license plate that reads “BROCA,” And he has been known to don a pair of Converse sneakers inscribed with the late neurologist’s moniker. Perhaps it is the author’s enthusiasm–along with his undeniable writing talent and vast experience in the field–that has resulted in the popularity of the new book. Paul Broca and the Origins of Language in the Brain was Plural’s best-selling book at ASHA 2012. We ran dry of copies during Dr. LaPointe’s Meet the Author session.
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