Recommended: Mastermind

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Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
by Maria Konnikova
Viking, 2013 ($26.95)

Konnikova, author of the Scientific American blog Literally Psyched, has been fascinated by Sherlock Holmes since the days when her father read aloud to her from Conan Doyle's classic mysteries. Now a Ph.D. candidate in psychology, she examines Holmes's powers of perception and problem solving through the lens of her discipline. The book is part literary analysis and part self-help guide, teaching readers how to sharpen the ways they observe the world, store and retrieve memories, and make decisions.

Anna Kuchment is a contributing editor at Scientific American and a staff science reporter at the Dallas Morning News. She is also co-author of a forthcoming book about earthquakes triggered by energy production.

More by Anna Kuchment
Scientific American Magazine Vol 308 Issue 1This article was published with the title “Recommended: Mastermind” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 308 No. 1 (), p. 76
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0113-76e

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