The brain insightsSeptember 11, 2009 Kalind Bakshi(Langhorne,Pa) Very detailed case-accounts of fascinating aspects of brain function and truly enjoyable reading. well written-a must read for those interested in and intrigued by the human brain!
A Great ReadAugust 29, 2009 Shannon Rivera(Atlanta, GA) It was a wonderful book, that is an easy read for most every person. It allows great insight into the world of psychology.
The book, the subject and the author are all fascinatingAugust 13, 2009 Audrey Spilker(Los Angeles) THe book is heartbreaking and heartwarming and Saks' unyielding fascination, enthusiasm, and care for his patients shines through in his stories. I think that in some ways we can compare the complexity and vastness of the mind to the unexplored reaches of the galaxy. The fact is that we really are our brain. It is an incredibly interesting subject that Saks explores. He is always striving to get to the heart of what the individual is thinking. We know what the amnesiac is saying in his repeated story, but what else is going on that he doesn't express?
Any one of us are vulnerable to stroke or head injury and we all know or have been exposed to people who have suffered some sort of mental illness or brain damage. There is nothing entertaining about brain injury or deficiency but Saks does indeed write with a sense of wit and humor and this book allows us to relish the unique gifts and differences among those with neurological conditions. Saks himself is a bit of an eccentric which perhaps makes him all the more sympathetic to those whose neurological affects make them stand apart from the rest of society.
Saks relates how some individuals who can't take basic care of themselves and must live in institutions, solve incredibly difficult and complex mathematical equations in milliseconds because it is simplysecond nature to them. Compared to them in that regard, we then are now the mentally disabled.
We might be shocked at the man who mistakes his wife for a hat and wonder not only how and why this can happen but how does the wife live with this person? We may wonder why the doctor with Tourettes who stops ticking during surgeries can't stop the rest of his waking hours. But that is the mystery of the mind and Saks as the Doctor/Detective teaches us so much, and yet leaves us wanting to learn so much more.
Audrey Spilker Hagar, Author
Our Lives Have Gone To The Dogs
Clinical Mysteries of NeurologyMay 27, 2009 Bonnie Brody(Fairbanks, Alaska) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book. It consists of clinical tales by a neurologist. He discusses his patients, always with a concern for their humanity, uniqueness, and quality of life. He waves the philosophical, literate, and aesthetic with the physiological, trying to mete out the underlying wholeness and spirituality of human beings. His concern is not mind/body splits, but the wholeness we find despite all odds against it and the clinical conditions that often limit one's ability to find or recognize our true selves.
If I needed a neurologist, I would want a Doctor like Dr. Sachs.
Follow the format!May 26, 2009 Andrew W(Japan) 3 out of 37 found this review helpful
The one star does not refer to the text, which I have only partially read. The one star is for the retarded publishers at Picador.
When publishing a work of any genre, there are universal guidelines that publishers and editors MUST follow. These give the reading public a sense of cohesion and makes them able to pick-up and read any text by any publisher. If all publishers had vastly different systems of layout, style and protocol, then reading would become increasingly difficult and tiresome. Point in contention, titles.
On the upper portion of a page there are one of four basic options:
i) author's name (not recommended),
ii) book title (also, not recommended),
iii) chapter (recommended),
iv) sub-group, such as single story title in a collection of short stories (necessary).
Whichever of these you pick, the left and right pages need to contain DIFFERENT information so that the reader can find, re-find or locate their place in the book - the last page they were reading if they put the text down. So, that established, the upper titles act as form of navigation for the reader, a universally adhered to rule (unless you are David Carson et al.). So then, editors at Picador, why did you in your ultimate wisdom (can you sense my sarcasm there) decide to put the SAME chapter title on BOTH the left AND the right page? Pray tell, what inspired such divergence from the established protocol? Especially when all it serves to do is disorientate the reader and render navigation redundant. E.g., I am reading the first story and the title piece to the book, and I look up to see the information on the upper page, and what does it say? NOTHING! It simply tells me TWICE, the title of this chapter! not the title of the story I am reading!
When I noticed this I was quite taken aback at the utter stupidity of the publishers in allowing this decision to pass numerous committee stages, and for what ultimate purpose was it agreed? Does in add to my reading experience? No! Does it give me extra information? No! Does it aid me in any way, shape or form? NO! Does it annoy me? Yes! Does it detract from the enjoyment of reading? Yes! Does it make navigation difficult? YES!
My advice to any potential reader is to buy another imprint, there are lots out there. Choose one my a publishing house that follows publishing protocol and etiquette, and not one that wants to re-write the rules because they appear to have nothing better to do with their time.
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