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The Mind Mappers: Friendship, Betrayal and the Obsessive Quest to Chart the Brain
The riveting true story of the star-crossed friendship between two neuroscientists—one famous, the other forgotten—who mapped the brain, but lost each other.
In 1924, when brain surgery was still in its infancy and more of a death sentence than a cure, Dr. Wilder Penfield met Dr. William Cone at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital. The two men, who could not have been more different in personality or appearance, were quickly drawn to each other by their fascination with the “undiscovered country” inside our heads.
Globe and Mail journalist Eric Andrew-Gee unfurls a rich history of the partnership that birthed the world-renowned Montreal Neurological Institute and revolutionized the study of the human mind. While Cone labored anonymously in the trenches of The Neuro, spending long hours at patients’ bedsides and in the blood-spattered operating room, Penfield pursued the loftier goal of discovering the seat of consciousness. He went on to develop the Montreal procedure for treating epilepsy, which helped identify the source of speech, executive function, and memory in narrow slivers of grey matter.
Under Penfield and Cone’s leadership, The Neuro grew into a hotbed for neurological study, attracting men and women from across the globe to a thriving mid-century Montreal, including the first Chinese, Indian, Arab, and African-American neurosurgeons. But it was at the cost of their friendship, which became fraught with personal and professional hurts—and suddenly ended when Cone was found dead in his office at the age of 62.
In this compelling, meticulously researched dual biography, Andrew-Gee breathes new life into a familiar hero and revives the oft-forgotten, tragic story of his partner. In doing so, he writes Dr. William Cone back into the historical record and reveals the untold story of the birthplace of neuroscience.
In 1924, when brain surgery was still in its infancy and more of a death sentence than a cure, Dr. Wilder Penfield met Dr. William Cone at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital. The two men, who could not have been more different in personality or appearance, were quickly drawn to each other by their fascination with the “undiscovered country” inside our heads.
Globe and Mail journalist Eric Andrew-Gee unfurls a rich history of the partnership that birthed the world-renowned Montreal Neurological Institute and revolutionized the study of the human mind. While Cone labored anonymously in the trenches of The Neuro, spending long hours at patients’ bedsides and in the blood-spattered operating room, Penfield pursued the loftier goal of discovering the seat of consciousness. He went on to develop the Montreal procedure for treating epilepsy, which helped identify the source of speech, executive function, and memory in narrow slivers of grey matter.
Under Penfield and Cone’s leadership, The Neuro grew into a hotbed for neurological study, attracting men and women from across the globe to a thriving mid-century Montreal, including the first Chinese, Indian, Arab, and African-American neurosurgeons. But it was at the cost of their friendship, which became fraught with personal and professional hurts—and suddenly ended when Cone was found dead in his office at the age of 62.
In this compelling, meticulously researched dual biography, Andrew-Gee breathes new life into a familiar hero and revives the oft-forgotten, tragic story of his partner. In doing so, he writes Dr. William Cone back into the historical record and reveals the untold story of the birthplace of neuroscience.
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Published May 27, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 3, 2025
If there were ever any doubts as to whether Andrew-Gee is goated with the sauce, the Mind Mappers should put them firmly and finally to rest.
July 2, 2025
Utterly riveting , meticulously researched , and beautifully written . The Vic has a significance for me , apart from being from Montreal , but I dont think Im biased in my appraisal of this brilliant book .
August 14, 2025
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Eric Andrew/Gee weaves his meticulous research into an engaging story.
December 17, 2025
I was curious to read this book because of its intriguing title. I know the Montreal Neurological Institute very well, and I wondered what this author would say about its best-known scandal. He did have plenty to say, but I take it with a big grain of salt because there is clearly a lot of guessing in what is said. I found the writing style irritating; for example in the continuous referral to Penfield and Cone as "the friends." I expected to enjoy this book, but unfortunately it was just annoying.
Addendum: I don't know why it says I read this book twice. I read it once, and once was enough!
Addendum: I don't know why it says I read this book twice. I read it once, and once was enough!
August 18, 2025
I’m sure most Canadians who watched any amount of television in the 1990s will know who Wilder Penfield is - remember the Heritage moment where the woman smells burnt toast? That’s him, the neurosurgeon who cured her epilepsy. Who you may not know though is Penfield’s partner, Dr. William Cone, who as illustrated in this book, contributed as much as, if not more than, Penfield to the expansion of our knowledge and understanding of the brain and its functions.
Writing for an audience without medical training or background, Erik Andrew-Gee has provided us with a history of the Montreal Neurological Institute and its founding fathers, Penfield and Cone. An extremely interesting read.
Writing for an audience without medical training or background, Erik Andrew-Gee has provided us with a history of the Montreal Neurological Institute and its founding fathers, Penfield and Cone. An extremely interesting read.
June 23, 2025
An interesting story but I am not sure what I would have thought if I wasn't already familiar with the Neuro. As a native Montrealer whose Mother amd Grandmother had surgery there, I was interested in both its history and its founders.
The abundance of technical terms made it somewhat textbookish although I guess there was no avoiding that. I tried not to get too hung up on that and read through them.
I did enjoy what I learned...just not a page turner.
The abundance of technical terms made it somewhat textbookish although I guess there was no avoiding that. I tried not to get too hung up on that and read through them.
I did enjoy what I learned...just not a page turner.
February 10, 2026
4.5
Eric Andrew-Gee's award-winning book, The Mind Mappers, tells a story of two brain doctors whose partnership began in New York's Presbyterian hospital in the 1920s and ended in Montreal's Neurological Institute, a place they founded and ran together for almost 30 years. The friendship even continued after the younger's tragic death, since it haunted the elder's mind until his own death.
Where does the mind begin and end? How do we become conscious? What makes us blind to the very things we are in search of?
To narrate his quest, Eric Andrew-Gee's research explores and unearths precious personal and historic material from myriad sources. Twenty-nine pages of notes, an average of 4/5 per page, are appended to the main text. There are also several pages of photographs, courtesy of the doctors' families and the Montreal Institute of Neurology. It's a fascinating look at who and what made Montreal's Neuro tick, and how it turned it into a mecca for understanding the brain's hidden powers.
In 1928, when Dr. Wilder Penfield, accompanied by Dr. William Cone, stood to operate on Penfield's sister Ruth's brain, there were just two dozen qualified neurosurgeons in the world. Of the two surgeons wearing surgical gowns that day, Wilder was wilder, and William wiser. Cone warned his partner to be prudent, yet Penfield's boldness almost killed poor Ruth, whose epilepsy he was trying to cure. Cone performed three transfusions, which saved Ruth, but without the right frontal lobe Wilder had excised, she was destined to become a living automaton.
When Drs Penfield and Cone were trying to decide on their career path, most treatments for neurological ailments were nothing short of crude and barbaric. Even during their tenure as chief neurosurgeons at Montreal's Neuro, lobotomies were becoming fashionable and cruel psychological experiments were taking place down the hill at The Allen Institute.
Andrew-Gee's book looks at the progress made in neurosurgery, the interdisciplinary bridges that have allowed the field to progress, and have created new fields like neuropathology and neuropsychology. A fruitful chasm still divides mind from brain. Mind Mappers traces the short mid-twentieth century history in Western medicine, where brain specialists, including Wilder Penfield, vied for advances, poached one another's practices, and dared to believe that they would discover the mysteries of the psyche inside a squishy three-pound organ encased inside the human cranium. Others, like William Cone, approached the practice of neurology conservatively, scrupulously pursuing hygiene, inventing better tools, focussing on patient care, and diminishing the death rate among neurological patients. Saving lives while sacrificing their own.
Andrew-Gee's book is an homage to the partnership between audacity and caution that produces complex insight and a testament to the difficulties inherent in the search.
Eric Andrew-Gee's award-winning book, The Mind Mappers, tells a story of two brain doctors whose partnership began in New York's Presbyterian hospital in the 1920s and ended in Montreal's Neurological Institute, a place they founded and ran together for almost 30 years. The friendship even continued after the younger's tragic death, since it haunted the elder's mind until his own death.
Where does the mind begin and end? How do we become conscious? What makes us blind to the very things we are in search of?
To narrate his quest, Eric Andrew-Gee's research explores and unearths precious personal and historic material from myriad sources. Twenty-nine pages of notes, an average of 4/5 per page, are appended to the main text. There are also several pages of photographs, courtesy of the doctors' families and the Montreal Institute of Neurology. It's a fascinating look at who and what made Montreal's Neuro tick, and how it turned it into a mecca for understanding the brain's hidden powers.
In 1928, when Dr. Wilder Penfield, accompanied by Dr. William Cone, stood to operate on Penfield's sister Ruth's brain, there were just two dozen qualified neurosurgeons in the world. Of the two surgeons wearing surgical gowns that day, Wilder was wilder, and William wiser. Cone warned his partner to be prudent, yet Penfield's boldness almost killed poor Ruth, whose epilepsy he was trying to cure. Cone performed three transfusions, which saved Ruth, but without the right frontal lobe Wilder had excised, she was destined to become a living automaton.
When Drs Penfield and Cone were trying to decide on their career path, most treatments for neurological ailments were nothing short of crude and barbaric. Even during their tenure as chief neurosurgeons at Montreal's Neuro, lobotomies were becoming fashionable and cruel psychological experiments were taking place down the hill at The Allen Institute.
Andrew-Gee's book looks at the progress made in neurosurgery, the interdisciplinary bridges that have allowed the field to progress, and have created new fields like neuropathology and neuropsychology. A fruitful chasm still divides mind from brain. Mind Mappers traces the short mid-twentieth century history in Western medicine, where brain specialists, including Wilder Penfield, vied for advances, poached one another's practices, and dared to believe that they would discover the mysteries of the psyche inside a squishy three-pound organ encased inside the human cranium. Others, like William Cone, approached the practice of neurology conservatively, scrupulously pursuing hygiene, inventing better tools, focussing on patient care, and diminishing the death rate among neurological patients. Saving lives while sacrificing their own.
Andrew-Gee's book is an homage to the partnership between audacity and caution that produces complex insight and a testament to the difficulties inherent in the search.
May 14, 2025
The ancient Egyptians practiced neuroscience and throughout the centuries, people began to make the connections between the brain and how manipulating different areas affected movement, pleasure, memories, hallucinations and speech. Modern neuroscientists made great discoveries into the realm of falling disease, epilepsy.
In the 1920s, two male neuroscientists met and became fast friends in their shared passion. Wilder Penfield and William Cone established the Montreal Neurological Institute - the Neuro - and the brain world made leaps and bounds. Cone's was content to be Chief Penfield's associate and made much less money. He was the most gifted surgeon of his time while Penfield was passionate about discoveries, research and wanted to know what made the brain tick. Penfield probed into the world of epilepsy and both worked in a "double harness" and were inseparable. They made breakthroughs on tumours, used local scalp anaesthetic and sewed fabric into the scalp for sanitation. Preventing infection was paramount. Epilepsy surgery was particularly tricky as it could trigger pain and hallucinations. The patients were anaesthetized during the surgeries, too, and were exposed to the terrifying saws and other instruments. Many patients continued to die (including a sister!) but as experience and knowledge grew, some patients began to survive. Cone became enamored by pathology and chemical cutting of brain tissue. But he rarely slept and chastised those students who dared to hope for a few hours or day off.
Eventually, Cone left and led a hospital twice the size of the Neuro in England. He had always clung to Penfield and showed him appreciation and sought his approval. Penfield, a family man, didn't show his love for his colleague in the same way. For various reasons, the two drifted apart.
Amongst other things such as sleeplessness, Cone had mood swings and frequent illnesses which signified depression. He committed suicide which affected Penfield badly. Penfield developed a rare neurological disease. As the author explains, the two men mapped brains but lost each other. Betrayal and guilt ran deep.
My favourite aspects of this book are the interpersonal relationships of the two men as well as the surgical procedures themselves which were incredibly eye opening. Personal letters and photographs brought these men to life. Talk about a fascinating book! It riveted me the entire time.
In the 1920s, two male neuroscientists met and became fast friends in their shared passion. Wilder Penfield and William Cone established the Montreal Neurological Institute - the Neuro - and the brain world made leaps and bounds. Cone's was content to be Chief Penfield's associate and made much less money. He was the most gifted surgeon of his time while Penfield was passionate about discoveries, research and wanted to know what made the brain tick. Penfield probed into the world of epilepsy and both worked in a "double harness" and were inseparable. They made breakthroughs on tumours, used local scalp anaesthetic and sewed fabric into the scalp for sanitation. Preventing infection was paramount. Epilepsy surgery was particularly tricky as it could trigger pain and hallucinations. The patients were anaesthetized during the surgeries, too, and were exposed to the terrifying saws and other instruments. Many patients continued to die (including a sister!) but as experience and knowledge grew, some patients began to survive. Cone became enamored by pathology and chemical cutting of brain tissue. But he rarely slept and chastised those students who dared to hope for a few hours or day off.
Eventually, Cone left and led a hospital twice the size of the Neuro in England. He had always clung to Penfield and showed him appreciation and sought his approval. Penfield, a family man, didn't show his love for his colleague in the same way. For various reasons, the two drifted apart.
Amongst other things such as sleeplessness, Cone had mood swings and frequent illnesses which signified depression. He committed suicide which affected Penfield badly. Penfield developed a rare neurological disease. As the author explains, the two men mapped brains but lost each other. Betrayal and guilt ran deep.
My favourite aspects of this book are the interpersonal relationships of the two men as well as the surgical procedures themselves which were incredibly eye opening. Personal letters and photographs brought these men to life. Talk about a fascinating book! It riveted me the entire time.
November 9, 2025
This was an absolutely fascinating and disturbing story about the beginnings of the Montreal Neurological Institute.
Dr. Wilder Penfield and Dr. William Cone were two brilliant neurosurgeons who forged a friendship and subsequent partnership that led to the opening of the MNI. Two vastly different personalities, they managed their own work together yet separately. Penfield was the gregarious one, always ready for the spotlight while Cone was content to remain in the background. The author has put together a well fleshed out look into the friendship and medical achievements of both doctors and the subsequent failure of their partnership and more importantly their friendship.
The narration could have used better sound editing, it was noticeable at times when the sound was different from the previous sentence. It wasn't enough to take me out of the book, only something I found a bit off.
Dr. Wilder Penfield and Dr. William Cone were two brilliant neurosurgeons who forged a friendship and subsequent partnership that led to the opening of the MNI. Two vastly different personalities, they managed their own work together yet separately. Penfield was the gregarious one, always ready for the spotlight while Cone was content to remain in the background. The author has put together a well fleshed out look into the friendship and medical achievements of both doctors and the subsequent failure of their partnership and more importantly their friendship.
The narration could have used better sound editing, it was noticeable at times when the sound was different from the previous sentence. It wasn't enough to take me out of the book, only something I found a bit off.
August 16, 2025
This is an excellent book that I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in science, medicine or neurology. It is the incredible story of how 2 American neurosurgeons Wilder Penfield and William Cone were recruited to Montreal in the 1920s and set up the Montreal Neurological Institute and whose groundbreaking research and surgery led to the development of neurosurgery as a discipline. The book also chronicles how the partners initially gradually and then suddenly drifted apart. Although Penfield was the more notable and prominent of the partners, the book really demonstrates the significant contributions of William Cone in the development of neurosurgery. A very compelling read.
August 23, 2025
I was excited to read The Mind Mappers, a story about Dr. Wilder Penfield and the hey-days of the Montreal Neurological Institute, but realized by the introductory pages that I would struggle to get through the book. Unlike a thesis, a story can stretch and manipulate the truth to provide entertainment. Something we unfortunately see too much of these days. And The Mind Mappers has done just that. It is hard to know where the real truth lies and where the embellishment and massaging of facts presents a fun story line but questionable reality. An unfortunate publication, I wish it had been better written and better edited.
November 26, 2025
As a medical librarian and medical history nerd, I really loved this book. It really is a book about not one, but two towering geniuses, whose lifelong collaboration was so much more than the sum of its parts. Wilder Penfield is probably known to most Canadians from his vignette in the "toast is burning" Heritage Minute, but he was well known in his lifetime and beyond as a giant of neurosurgery and a pioneer of the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. William Cone is shrouded in undeserved obscurity, and Andrew-Gee does his legacy as a pioneering neurosurgeon and pathologist justice, all while chronicling his personal struggles with a deft touch.
August 12, 2025
From page 2 on, without even knowing anything about the author, I knew he was from Toronto. It was annoying how he constantly put down Montreal. He constantly described the city as a back water, even though at the time Montreal was the biggest, most important city in Canada. I crossed Dr. Penfield avenue quite a lot without knowing about the man. It was a pleasure to learn his history and Dr. Cone's story is almost painful to read. The writing was okay.
June 10, 2025
A beautiful story, beautifully written.
June 22, 2025
4.5, probably the best non-fiction I've ever read.
July 12, 2025
I really liked this book but was certainly biased by my past involvement in the Neuro
August 5, 2025
A 4.5, very interesting history. I was mostly fascinated by Cone, brilliant man, loved reading about his inventions!
September 23, 2025
3.5 stars. There was a lot of research done with this book, but it needed to be pared down a little.
November 6, 2025
Well written & I learned a lot about the early days of neurosurgery and how Canadian researchers were put on the map!
November 24, 2025
Fascinating story of 2 geniuses and their foray into neurosurgery during the 20th century. Would recommend this strongly to anyone interested in this subject.
January 1, 2026
A fascinating book.
January 29, 2026
Interesting piece of Canadian history
February 4, 2026
An amazing Canadian story, containing two committed and competing scientists , a Montreal institute and the emergence of a new medical field: neurosurgery. Fascinating read.
February 10, 2026
Reads like a novel. Such a gentle and caring look into two pioneers of science and their relationship.
October 1, 2025
A fascinating east to read account, for anyone interested in the brain.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews