RADARW
henI wasaroundeightornine,therewasa
wholeseriesofHowAndWhybook son
di erentscienceandhistorysubjects.It was
theHowAndWhyWonderBookOfTheHumanBodythat
intriguedme.Therewerepicturesoftheskeletonand
themusclesandthecirculation,andI justcouldn’tget
enoughofit.Fromthatage,I knewI wanted to be a
doctorandstudythehumanbody.
EnglishwasthesubjectatschoolthatI wasleastgood
at.Scienceseemedquiteobviousandnaturaltome,but I
thinkmystrugglewithEnglishhasbeenrewarding.
Thereweretwobooksthatwestudiedatschool,round
aboutO Levels,thatreallymadeanimpression.They
wereLordOfTheFliesbyWilliamGoldingandA Kestrel
ForA KnavebyBarryHines.Thesewerebook swhereI
suddenlyrealisedthatbookscouldbepowerhousesof
hugeideas,moraldilemmas.InthecaseofLordOfThe
Fliesthedilemmais aboutthenatureofhumanit yand
goodandevil,andforA KestrelForA Knaveit wasall
aboutsocialinjusticeandhowwecanpromotechange.
I readTheDividedSelfbyR D L ainga sa youngs tudent ,
probablyjustatthebeginningofuniversity,andthiswas
reallywhatswitchedmeontopsychiatry.Hewrotethis
bookbeforehewas30,andit wasa radicalrethinkingof
psychiatryandparticularlyschizophrenia,themost
severeformofmentalillness.It wasa verydi icult,
technicalbook,butit wasrevelatory.I sincebecamea
muchmoreconventionalpsychiatrist,butI’venever lost
thatsortofslightlyradicaledgethatLainghad.
Mynextchoiceis completelydi erent.It’sa novel
calledTheHeartBrokeInbyJamesMeek ,andit ’sa
wonderful story; it’s a state-of-the-nation novel aboutTHE BOOKS THAT MADE ME: ANTHONY DAVID
NEUROPSYCHIATRISTANTHONYDAVIDHASHADA LONGCAREERSTUDYINGTHEMYSTERIESOFMENTAL
ILLNESS.HISNEWBOOK,INTOTHEABYSS, OFFERSFASCINATINGINSIGHTSINTOTHECOMPLEX,FRAGILE
THING THAT IS THE BRAIN. HERE, HE TALKS ABOUT THE BOOKS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED HOW HE THINKS...“ erewerepicturesofthe
skeletonandthemuscles
andthecirculation,and
I justcouldn’tgetenough
ofit.Fromthatage,I knew
I wantedtobea doctorand
study the human body”
GreatBritaininthe1990s
and2000s.It’sa great
re ectiononthecountry
generally,butparticularly
therelationshipbetween
ordinarypeopleand
science.Oneofthe
charactersinthebookis
researchinga malaria
vaccine,andit doesn’t
quitegoaswellasshe’d
hoped.Anelementofthe
novelis aboutfundingfor
researchandcharities
andhowtheycanshapethescientist’sapproachand
compromisetheirideals.It makesthebookquiteunique.
I learntsomucheditingInsightAndPsychosis:
AwarenessOfIllnessInSchizophrenia, obviouslyabout
thesubjectma eritself,butalsohowsatisfyingit is to
bringtogetherpeoplefromdi erentdisciplineswhoare
allstrugglingwiththesametopic.That’ssomethingI
thinkpsychiatry’sbrilliantat.It wasa greatexperience
forme,andit hasbeena bigpartofmylifeaswell.
MyfinalchoiceisConsciousnessExplainedby Daniel
Denne . He’sa philosopher,andincredibly
knowledgeableaboutpsychologyandneuroscience.He
showshowyoucanapplyempiricalknowledgein
psychologytothegreatquestionsofthephilosophy of
mind.He’soneofthosewritersthatwearstheir
scholarshiplightly.It’sa brillianttalenttobeableto
tacklethesehugesubjectsandmake them accessible
without dumbing them down.byP R O FA N T H O N Y
DAV ID
(@Pro fTo n y D a v i d)
Anthonyis headof
psychiatryattheInstituteof
Psychiatry,King’sCollege
London.Heis a practicing
clinicianattheMaudsley
andBethlemhospitals.His
latestbookisIntoThe
Abyss (£14.99, Oneworld).2 3 4 5 6BBC
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