Incognito cover art

Incognito

The Secret Lives of The Brain

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

Incognito

By: David Eagleman
Narrated by: David Eagleman
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.40

Buy Now for $22.40

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary

*Why can your foot move halfway to the brake pedal before you're consciously aware of danger? *Why do you notice when your name is mentioned in a conversation that you didn't think you were listening to? *Why are people whose name begins with J more likely to marry other people whose name begins with J? *Why is it so difficult to keep a secret?

Renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate these surprising mysteries.

Taking in brain damage, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence and visual illusions - INCOGNITO is a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.

It is read by the author.

©2012 David Eagleman Biological Sciences Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Physics Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Human Brain Health Computer Science Mental Health
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic Reviews

"[An] entertaining and truly brainy front-line report from the neuroscience labs... I guarantee it'll change the way you think of yourself"
"A fun read by a smart person for smart people... It will attract a new generation to ponder their inner workings"
"Eagleman engagingly sums up recent discoveries about the unconscious processes that dominate our mental life. . . . [He] is the kind of guy who really does make being a neuroscientist look like fun"
"David Eagleman's lobe-spangling new study of how thoroughly our genetic make-up, deep-lying subroutines and chemical changes can affect the submerged mind gives dizzying up-to-the-minute insight as to just whose hand is really on the tiller. . . Incognito is a fascinating book that will not so much turn your mind upside down as flip it right-side up. You'll never hear the phase "You don't know what you're doing!" in the same way again"
"Breezy, fun, optimistic and full of the latest research"
"A dream to read... I couldn't resist telling people about a couple of things I read here" (Brian Clegg)
"Witty, bright, sharp and unexpected... as surprising a book as I've read for years. Every story is a new Heaven" (Brian Eno)
"

Readers may discover much to appreciate - not least the lives they are living now... quirky, occasionally unsettling... never short of new new ideas, all of them rolled out with style

" (Nicholas Tucker)
"Eagleman provides an excellent overview of the workings of our most vital organ" (Ian Critchley)
"***** I was completely immersed. Eagleman writes well and has brought together great stories from the wild shores of neuroresearch, taking a field that is enormously complex and creating a clear path through it... A book that will stay with you" (Michael Mosley)
"A shining example of lucid and easy-to-grasp science writing" (Laurence Phelan)
"A well-written popular science book, with a clear narrative, friendly explanations that respect both the lay-reader's intelligence and their ignorance, and a plethora of weird facts that make you nudge the person next to you and say 'Listen to this!'" (Brandon Robshaw)
"Contains startling revelations. . . beginning with the awesome and shadowy power of the subconscious"
"You will learn a great deal that is fascinating from Incognito"
"A popularizer of impressive gusto . . . [Eagleman] aims, grandly, to do for the study of the mind what Copernicus did for the study of the stars. . . Incognito proposes a grand new account of the relationship between consciousness and the brain. It is full of dazzling ideas, as it is chockablock with facts and instances"
"A bold argument, and perhaps just the beginning of the debate"
"Eagleman's style is accessible and easily understood"
"A fascinating and engaging look at the nature of consciousness... Eagleman brings a concise prose style, historical research and the latest scientific thinking to a book that will have you re-examining the nature of personality and identity"
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed it and the way it interweaves with what I already know about human interaction. It confirmed beliefs on how we work and act as humans.

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Still a good book, but it pales in comparison to 'the brain' by the same author.

Lots of anecdotes, not a lot of substance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
David Eagleman does a fantastic job of exploring the concepts of free-will, the subconscious and what it means to be human. I highly recommend this book and I love that it’s so expertly read by the author.

Fascinating. So many interesting introspections to expand your mind!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it but slightly repetitive.

Thanks for the research though

Keep up the good work

Head blown

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book.

Makes me appreciate some things I do on auto pilot. Like driving some times, and then realising that I have arrived at my destination without consciously remembering how I drive there.

And playing sports, just let your inner self take over, and think less.

The brain is like magic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.