When I first found this book, it took some convincing before I bought it. The book is fairly expensive, and from looking at the chapter sections, the book seems to promise to explain the impossible... and in a very short space.
However, there was one other review, which was very positive. I then learned that the book had been positively reviewed by both V.S. Ramachandran and Oliver Sacks. So I bought it, and I sure am glad I did!
To put it bluntly, this is by far the best book on the brain that I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, I love the books by Sacks, Ramachandran, Pinker, etc and recommend them to people all of the time. But as for overall readability, wittiness (I laughed out loud numerous times), and extremely clear explanations of complicated topics, this book is tops. There were a few things in the book I already knew about, but Firth explained them again in new ways I hadn't considered. I was constantly blown away the awesome amount of information in each chapter.
The book does exactly as the title promises, and explains from basically the ground up, what different parts of the brain do, how they do it, why they do it, and how we know... and how this all comes together to make the mental world that we experience. He addresses all of the common questions and objections that arise during discussing such topics, and even addresses why many scientists give psychologists such a hard time about being "soft scientists", and why this is changing.
So in conclusion, if you know nothing about the brain, or even if you know a lot about the brain, read this book. I am sure that everyone will learn a TON from it, and enjoy it immensely. I guarantee that you wont regret it.
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Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World Books In Print, Audio Books.