First published 2017
Michael Paterniti embarks on an extraordinary cross-country journey with Thomas Harvey, the elderly pathologist who removed Einstein's brain during the 1955 autopsy and kept it for decades. Harvey claimed he would study the specimen and publish findings, but his research never materialized and his reputation suffered. The brain became the stuff of urban legends while Harvey transformed into a folk hero, distributing pieces to researchers worldwide. Now the deteriorating organ floats in formaldehyde, stored in Tupperware containers in the trunk of Harvey's Buick Skylark. As they traverse America together, Paterniti grapples with his own fascination with the relic. He wants to touch it, hold its fifteen billion dormant neurons, understand what makes him crave contact with genius itself. The journey becomes a meditation on celebrity, science, and the American obsession with physical proof of greatness. Harvey guards his treasure while Paterniti seeks meaning in their unlikely expedition across a post-atomic landscape.
Genres: medical, non-fiction, biography-memoir, history-of-science
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: road-trip, unlikely-friendship
Period: 1955
1 pages · Paperback · Bilge Kültür Sanat