This book examines a profound and mysterious puzzle: how does the biological tissue that makes up the brain give rise to the activities that our culture refers to as 'the mind'? How does the three pounds of electric sponge stowed in the top of your head allow you to experience enchantment in front of the evening landscape, and then make you remember the shopping, say 'Damn!' and head off to the supermarket? It explains what the sciences have to say about planning and action, language, memory, attention, emotions and vision. It traces the historical development of ideas about the brain and its function from antiquity to the age of neuro-imaging. Through a clear combination of words and images, the reader is invited to take a fresh look at the nature of mind, consciousness and personal identity.