In 1848, Phineas Gage, a foreman on a railroad construction blasting crew, was horribly injured when an explosion sent a 5-foot tamping iron through his skull. Remarkably, Gage survived. Indeed, he walked away from the accident site on his own two feet. In the years immediately following his accident, Gage's survival was considered a miracle. But Gage was a changed man. Once a smart, thoughful individual, he now did everything on impulse, with no regard for consequences. He seemed unable to emphathize or connect emotionally with people or events. Fleischman recalls the details of Gage's accident, and what is known about the 12 years that followed, until his death, in this fascinating account that also looks at how modern day science and technology has been used to shed further light on Gage's injury and subsequent behavior. (Ages 10-14)

Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.

At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.

His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn't happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.