paracosm's review against another edition
4.0
You know, one of the best parts of the book is how you can truly see how much the author cared about the patients he treated during his time as a psychiatrist. There are certainly some aspects of the language and treatment that I don't think it would be allowed today, but it was always clear to me that Sacks wanted nothing but to see them get better. I think that's so sweet, he was a good doctor.
sakibat's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.75
Alcuni capitoli erano interessanti, ma in generale l'ho trovato piuttosto noioso. In cambio mi ha fatto diventare ipocondriaca! 😂
mkmaineknitter's review against another edition
5.0
Funny!!!! Was an assigned reading book for neuropsychology class in college. I still read it and love the stories.
gsroney's review against another edition
3.0
“If we wish to know about a man, we ask 'what is his story--his real, inmost story?'--for each of us is a biography, a story. Each of us is a singular narrative, which is constructed, continually, unconsciously, by, through, and in us--through our perceptions, our feelings, our thoughts, our actions; and, not least, our discourse, our spoken narrations. Biologically, physiologically, we are not so different from each other; historically, as narratives--we are each of us unique.”
Unfortunately a little outdated and insensitive, but still interesting.
Unfortunately a little outdated and insensitive, but still interesting.
mkinne's review against another edition
4.0
This took me far too long to read. At many points I wish I had an electronic edition to look up unfamiliar words faster, without breaking the narrative so badly, but for the most part Sacks' language is not overly technical and he is a wonderful storyteller. I've also heard him in several episodes of RadioLab; using his voice to hear some of the more difficult/technical passages (in my head only, of course) helped me not skip chunks of text. The brain & neurology are fascinating - compensating for defects or injury, dealing with excess activity (like seizures - always fascinating to me). Some of the medical information must be out of date (not wrong per se but I know advances have been made) since the book was published in 1970 & draws on cases through Sacks' career to that point, including the patients from Awakenings whom he treated, IIRC, in the 50's. Why read this book? Sacks is a good writer & storyteller. The way he describes these case histories reveals his patients and his own problem-solving & learning process - his humanity & humility come through.