Introduction to Luria

I have just read two and a half books of the half dozen or so I bought written by Alexander Romanovich Luria. Luria expands behavioral neurology well beyond what "classical" behavioral neurology. Whereas here we have been captive to anatomy and classical syndromes, Luria incorporates much more discussion of unknown Russian authors, known but underestimated Russian neurophysiologists, Pavlovian theory, developmental neurology, cross cultural neurology, politics, and evolutionary neurology. Need I add that Luria does discuss all the classical Western behaviorists from the time of Wernicke and before, and adds more bedside examination devices than I knew existed? The next few blogs will discuss this giant of neurology who happened to live in the Soviet Union. As a tidbit, the epilog written in "The Making of a Mind" takes us through the political contexts of the twists and turns in Luria's fascinating career, including purges, and makes sense of events that have caused some to label him as a "Soviet" neuropsychologist.