Rapt

April 13, 2009
Gallagher (The Power of Place, Working on God) couples personal ruminations and interviews with experts to explore the role of attention in defining consciousness, identity and the human experience: "who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love-is the sum of what you focus on." From paying attention to your inner dialogue (helping eliminate negative thought patterns) to bucking the myths of multi-tasking (says cognitive scientist David Meyer, "Einstein didn't invent the theory of relativity while multi-tasking at the Swiss patent office"), Gallagher draws practical conclusions from her examination of conscious ("top-down") and unconscious ("bottom-up") attention strategies. Though her claims to "a psychological version of... physicist's 'grand universal theory'" are a bit outsized, Gallagher takes illuminating forays into the evolution of the species and the global diaspora, looking for instance at how "Western individualism" emphasizes top-down focus while the Asian mentality encourages a broader, contextual perspective. A fascinating psycho-social look at human motivation and the power of focus, Gallagher's latest is worth paying attention to.

April 1, 2009
Although attention-deficit problems are much discussed, attention itself is not well understood. A writer who pays uncommon attention to such aspects of our lives as our definition of the self and the design of our dwellings, Gallagher has become adept at tracing the links between neuroscience and psychology, a skill essential to elucidating the study of attention and how it shapes our lives. In clear and lively language, Gallagher defines different types and styles of attention and explains how attention orders physical stimuli (all that our senses gather) and thoughts and feelings. Drawing on sources as far-flung as Darwin and This American Life, Gallagher describes the role attention plays in culture, relationships, creativity, work, and health. Sheexplains why negative thoughts and feelings obsess and isolate us and how paying rapt attention to positive emotions and ideas literally expands your world. She alsoadvocates attention training as an alternative to behavioral drugs. Gallagher reinvigorates our understanding of a crucialcognitive function inafluent and fascinating blend of cutting-edge science and thoughtfulguidelines for living anattentive life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)