How do we know our memories are real? Which brain mechanisms allow us to distinguish between dreams, thoughts and the recollection of past experiences? These are the kind of questions addressed by Armin Schnider in The Confabulating Mind. To answer them he draws upon his unique expertise on the striking neuropsychological phenomenon of confabulation, the tendency of some individuals with a brain damage to unintentionally produce false or distorted memories. The result is an authoritative and comprehensive book on confabulation that will no doubt make experts wonder how the field has progressed thus far without it. For psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and neuroscientists interested in memory, The Confabulating Mind provides an in-depth analysis of all facets of the phenomenon, including engaging clinical descriptions of patients, excellent neuroanatomical specification, rich behavioural varieties, theoretical considerations and findings from functional imaging. For scholars working on confabulation, this book not only contextualises and sets out in unprecedented detail the views of one of their most successful colleagues, but provides the first contemporary, in-depth review of the relevant early German and French literature.

What impresses most about this book is how each aspect of the complex syndrome of confabulation is dealt with in separate, clearly delineated chapters that end up bringing to life the full psychological and neurological picture of the syndrome without glossing over any of its facets. An illustrative case vignette is given at the outset and referred to frequently throughout the book. The fascinating chapter on the history of confabulation is followed by a rich and clear delineation of its subtypes and most importantly, a lengthy chapter that describes the different characteristics of amnesia and confabulation with different aetiologies. This syndrome-based approach is invaluable to clinicians and provides a refreshing alternative to the usual narrow, symptom-based view of confabulation in scientific journals. Lacking theoretical depth, but not clarity or precision, the ensuing chapters present concomitant disorders, false memories in the healthy population and the psychological models previously proposed to explain confabulation. The book concludes with two chapters brilliantly reviewing the author's pioneering work on confabulation and considering the more general implications of this work.

What impresses less about this book is how little Schnider has allowed his in-depth analysis of the literature to enrich his views on confabulation, particularly as regards the psychology of the syndrome. For example, his well-intended and pertinent attempt to separate between specific confabulation subtypes throughout the book carries the empirical weight of his previous research but lacks any theoretical considerations. Overall, however, this book is a testimony to the author's unparalleled contribution to the study of confabulation. Any library priding itself on promoting the neuropsychology of memory should soon find shelf space for a copy.