Conville & Walsh Ltd

CROWDED MIND
Rita Carter
Conville & Walsh Ltd
Non-fiction
A groundbreaking book that redefines the nature of personality
Why should there be just one ‘self’ per body? Recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated
that a ‘self’ is only a construct of the human brain – a closely woven idea. So why should a brain not
weave two selves – or more? This is precisely what seems to happen in people with multiple
personality disorder. In this bizarre condition, a single person has several entirely different characters,
some of whom seem to be unaware of the existence of the others.
THE CROWDED MIND is not about these extreme cases of ‘split personality’, however. It is about
normal people – and the many characters who inhabit them. The book presents an entirely new way
of looking at our selves. Its central thesis is that every person is a ‘collective’ of personalities, each
one of which can be identified as a ‘self’. Findings in the burgeoning area of ‘psychoneurology’ show
how the brain tricks us into thinking this collective is a single entity. The only difference between
people with multiple personality disorder and others is that in the latter the different selves share a
common memory, and so believe they are part of a single entity.
As with all tight-knit groups, the various selves within each of us sometimes co-exist in perfect
harmony, and sometimes clash – which explains why people often report that they feel they are
‘falling apart’ or ‘acting out of character’. In presenting this novel scientific view of personality, the
acclaimed science writer Rita Carter shows us how we can recognize these inner characters and
weave them together for the benefit of all. THE CROWDED MIND is rooted in mainstream brain
science but written in a way that makes it comprehensible and relevant to everyone: one of those rare
works that says something new and important about who and what we are.
Rita Carter is an award-winning science and medical writer. She contributes to a wide range of
newspapers and magazines, including the New Scientist, The Times, Independent and Daily Mail.
Before specializing in science she worked for six years as a television news presenter (Thames
Television) and radio host and producer. She continues to appear and be heard regularly on television
and radio as a medical and science commentator, and gives frequent talks and lectures throughout
Europe and the US. She has written two books about the workings of the human mind, MAPPING THE
MIND (1998) and CONSCIOUSNESS (2002), both published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK and
the University of California Press in the US. MAPPING THE MIND has sold in 18 territories and 11
languages and is still selling strongly.
UK Publisher Little, Brown
US Publisher Little, Brown
Delivery Autumn 2006
UK Publication Autumn 2007
Status Manuscript
Length 80,000 words
Agent PT
All rights available excluding UK & Commonwealth, US, Brazil (Editora Rocco), Italy (Ponte Alle Grazie), Japan
(Random House Kodansha), Korea (Gyoyangin), Poland (Amber)
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