Books

Praise for Mind Wars:

“There has been virtually no debate on the ethical questions raised by the brave new brain technologies. . . . The time to speak up is before the genie is out of the bottle.”—Wall Street Journal

“Quietly provocative . . . Moreno takes an evenhanded, thorough look at how deeply the intelligence and defense communities are involved in many of those advances and the mindfields that might lie ahead.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Even-handed and thought-provoking.[Mind Wars] is very readable, and easily accessible to people without a background in neuroscience.” —Neurophilosophy at the Guardian (UK)

“Fascinating and frightening.”—Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

“More than a serious work of public policy, the volume is a son’s quest to understand the work of his psychiatrist father, who pioneered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) experiments in the 1960s . . . Moreno deserves credit for having the courage to go where no bioethicist has gone before. His philosophical forays into mind-brain questions are learned, and his narrative about the rise of big science and the “garrison state” represents a provocative historical synthesis. . . . Mind Wars is not the last word on this fascinating, frightening, and potentially transformative corner of neuroscience and neuroethics. But it is the first.” —Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

“An exhilarating and anxiety-provoking whirlwind tour of recent developments in neuroscience that possess defense or national security potential . . . groundbreaking.”
—American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB)

“A fascinating and sometimes unsettling book. . . . Any academic involvement in military research presents an ethical dilemma, and Moreno’s exploration of this theme is one of the most interesting aspects of the book.” —Nature

“The world we encounter in Mind Wars is like the world in [Philip K.] Dick’s A Scanner Darkly.” —Conspiracy Times

“Crisply written . . . praiseworthy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Renowned bioethics authority Moreno travels to the nexus of brain science, engineering, and national security to explore the connections between neuroscience research and national defense agencies. . . . Given the topic’s provocative nature, this is recommended for all science and bioethics collections.” —Library Journal

“Raises serious social and policy questions . . . deserves a wide readership.” —CHOICE

“One of the most important thinkers describes the literally mind-boggling possibilities that modern brain science could present for national security.” —LAWRENCE J. KORB, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense

“The revolution in neurosciences is drawing increasing attention from ethicists, public policy experts and the general public. But, one aspect of that revolution has elicited little notice or comment—how those charged with insuring the national security and the military dominance of their nations will utilize the growing understanding of the human brain to achieve these ends. The paucity of attention to this crucially important topic is now over. Mind Wars presents the science, outlines the potential applications of it for military and national security purposes, and sounds exactly the right cautionary warnings about where the enormously powerful merger of brain sciences and biodefense might go. This will certainly be the source book on the ways in which neurobiology may rewrite the rules of warfare, spying and intelligence collection in the twenty-first century.”—ARTHUR L. CAPLAN, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania

“Few people ever think about brain research as a national security discipline. This intriguing and provocative book lays out how neurotechnologies for brain analysis, repair and enhancement can be multi-purpose and serve both good and nefarious functions. Moreno forces the reader to think about the possible dangers and the accompanying ethical issues that co-occur with the great potential benefits of accelerating neuroscience advances.” —ALAN I. LESHNER, Ph.D., American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) CEO and Science Executive Publisher

“Fascinating, clear-headed, optimistic, and lucidly written, Mind Wars makes a compelling yet nuanced case for scientific progress in the area of neurology enhancement and for the transparent collaboration of the academy and the military.” —SALLY SATEL, M.D., author of PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine and Resident Scholar at American Enterprise Institute