Product Description A neurologist who claims to be equally interested in disease and people, Sacks (Awakenings, etc.) explores neurological disorders with a novelist's skill and an appreciation of his patients as human beings. These cases, some of which have appeared in literary or medical publications, illustrate the tragedy of losing neurological facultiesmemory, powers of visualization, word-recognitionor the also-devastating fate of those suffering an excess of neurological functions causing such hyper states as chorea, tics, Tourette's syndrome and Parkinsonism. Still other patients experience organically based hallucinations, transports, visions, etc., usually deemed to be psychic in nature. The science of neurology, Sacks charges, stresses the abstract and computerized at the expense of judgment and emotional depthsin his view, the most important human qualities. Therapy for brain-damaged patients (by medication, accommodation, music or art) should, he asserts, be designed to help restore the essentially personal quality of the individual. First serial to New York Review of Books, The Sciences and Science; Reader's Subscription alternate.
Oliver Sacks knows how to writeJuly 23, 2010 L. Lin The mind and the diseases that afflict it are not understood very well, even today. Oliver Sacks writes about a variety of these different afflictions and each one is unique, interesting, and very personal. He delves into the neuroscience of the disease, but also portrays the patients in a human light. The story of "The Lost Mariner" is no longer simply a case study of anterograde amnesia, but a tragic story of a former Navy serviceman who can not create new memories after a certain point in his life. The world ages around him, but he is forever young in his own mind.
Each story is an excellent example of some sort of mental disease or problem, but more importantly is a narrative on a person's life in dealing with these maladies. The author adds his own musings and seems like he is telling the story directly to the reader. Their stories are encapsulated in each chapter and are very clear and enjoyable to read. For those interested in neuroscience, I can not recommend this book enough.
Interesting readJuly 21, 2010 Starborn A co worker gave this book to me as a present. He had heard of this book a long time ago. After looking it up online, I realized that the author also wrote Awakenings. I had seen the movie version of Awakenings years ago and remembered how much the patient's recovery touched me. This book did the same thing. It is full of stories of mentally ill patients. The author, a neurologist, looks at things in a way that the average person would not and genuinely cares for the patients. This is a fascinating read.
The man who mistook his wife fo a hatMay 25, 2010 Uriel Jimenez Sanchez(Seattle, WA USA) This product arrived to my house as described, in good conditions, and in a timely manner! Thanks!
A Classic!May 25, 2010 Jason Stancil Fun resource that makes neuropsych/ biopsych a fun topic to learn! Very interesting anecdotes! Great shape and great "classic" in the Psychology field!
Great Insights Into the Human ConditionApril 30, 2010 J. Murray(Laguna Hills, CA United States) The first time I heard of Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, I was amused that anyone would do that. See his wife and think 'hat'? How silly! I figured when I read the book, I'd find this was a clever play on words. It didn't take long, though--less than a chapter--to find out that this was the world of one man and his psychosis. His brain couldn't collect the pieces picked up by his eyes and put them together sufficiently to determine what was his wife and what was the thing he'd put on his head to keep it dry.
Sacks tells this story, and many other odd illnesses that our fellow humans suffer, with empathy and knowledge but no pity. I like that. He approaches these individuals with an interest in helping them recover a reality they've lost, not with any attitude that they are somehow lessor individuals because their bodies have stopped functioning like those around them. As a writer, I want to 1) include these fascinating oddities into my characters, and 2) share his sense of wonder about what is outside the norm with my readers.
I came away from my time spent with Oliver Sacks and his patients wondering what I've missed when watching others, what goes on in their brains that I can't see and maybe haven't taken the time to understand. Is the human race more different than the same? Now, one book richer in my intellect, I'm quite sure that the slight difference in DNA between us and chimps and other life forms doesn't nearly tell the real story of life and its many forms.
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