On Pain: The Science of Suffering

I can't say that I enjoyed this book immensely. I thought Wall gave great examples in some areas such as the chapter on placebos, but all of the medical terms, etc. went over my head. I think Wall offers valuable insight and explains some things like phantom limbs very well. I think his analysis of the stages of pain are intelligent, but he leaves a lot of questions still unanswered. For example, he gives discusses the military man in Switzerland who is does not feel his pain until after being rescued. Later he explains that attention can only be focused on one thing at a time, in this case, escaping a dangerous situation, so he could not be aware of his injury. While it makes sense, I don't find his argument particularly convincing. The book was interesting, with the exception of chapter 3 from which I've retained zero information. However, Wall tackles the question of pain from so many different angles that it becomes more confusing than helpful and by the end, I still had not completely figured out the point of the book. If I had to take a stab at it, I would say that Wall is describing how intricate pain is, and that it involves both mental and physical functions, and cannot be fully understood by either individuals or society. From what I read, the book simply explores every minute detail associated with that idea.