emmmmmers's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. Conceptually great, but struggled to really engage.
sneakilee's review against another edition
4.0
What a fascinating read! Every case is a unique insight into the human mind. I’ve often heard that we know very little about how the brain works and yet I never quite fathomed how much we don’t know. This book has been a glimpse into that. Sacks draws you in so easily into the stories that you start sharing his curiosity. Can’t wait to pick up “The man who mistook his wife for a hat”.
kiramke's review against another edition
4.0
Sacks is always worthwhile. Fascinating explorations of how we construct and are constructed.
hannahmarkezich's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging and thought-provoking.
I really enjoyed this! Sacks does a great job closely examining the lives of these individuals: both their personal lives and the aspects of their minds that make them so fascinating to study from a psychological perspective. Some of his terminology/information is a little dated since this book is from the 90s, but I can forgive that. For the most part, he does a great job at painting an image of these individuals and connecting their stories to current (at the time) psychological, philosophical, sociological, and medical perspectives.
I will say that I found some of the chapters stronger than others. The story of the colorblind painter was...painfully boring, BUT that's probably because I know very little about the mechanics of the eye/vision and found it confusing. The other stories were much more accessible and interesting.
I really enjoyed this! Sacks does a great job closely examining the lives of these individuals: both their personal lives and the aspects of their minds that make them so fascinating to study from a psychological perspective. Some of his terminology/information is a little dated since this book is from the 90s, but I can forgive that. For the most part, he does a great job at painting an image of these individuals and connecting their stories to current (at the time) psychological, philosophical, sociological, and medical perspectives.
I will say that I found some of the chapters stronger than others. The story of the colorblind painter was...painfully boring, BUT that's probably because I know very little about the mechanics of the eye/vision and found it confusing. The other stories were much more accessible and interesting.
jackdawjones's review against another edition
3.0
Oliver Sacks was a marvellous clinician and writer, and clearly his books have shaped popular understanding of neurological differences. But this is not one of my favourite reads from Sacks, for two key reasons.
Firstly, an editorial/structural gripe: Sacks is far too fond of footnotes. They're littered everywhere, are often half a page long, and constantly interrupt the narrative flow, making for disjointed and confusing reading.
Secondly, and more importantly, some of Sacks' comments have aged incredibly poorly, particularly when he discusses autism (as with Temple Grandin), doubly so when he discusses autistic people with an intellectual disability (as with Stephen Wiltshire). I don't believe Sacks meant his cases to be unkind, in fact I get the impression he was an incredibly kind and compassionate person, but his descriptions of autism are discomforting, deeply patronising, and at worst, simply dehumanising.
I appreciate that this book is now 25+ years old, which is a testament to how rapidly the dialogue around neurodivergence has evolved. But, much like Rain Man, I'm sure there are readers who take these description as good authority into insights into autistic people.
Firstly, an editorial/structural gripe: Sacks is far too fond of footnotes. They're littered everywhere, are often half a page long, and constantly interrupt the narrative flow, making for disjointed and confusing reading.
Secondly, and more importantly, some of Sacks' comments have aged incredibly poorly, particularly when he discusses autism (as with Temple Grandin), doubly so when he discusses autistic people with an intellectual disability (as with Stephen Wiltshire). I don't believe Sacks meant his cases to be unkind, in fact I get the impression he was an incredibly kind and compassionate person, but his descriptions of autism are discomforting, deeply patronising, and at worst, simply dehumanising.
I appreciate that this book is now 25+ years old, which is a testament to how rapidly the dialogue around neurodivergence has evolved. But, much like Rain Man, I'm sure there are readers who take these description as good authority into insights into autistic people.
daredeviling's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than Hallucinations. It's a series of case studies about different neurological disorders and how they affect the lives of the people who suffer from them, and in some cases, how they enrich the lives of those people as well. I found that the case studies themselves were well written and were generally a good balance between the personal and the science, although a few of the cases probably could have been shortened and condensed a bit, as they started to drag on a bit, especially the one about Virgil, the blind man who regained his sight.
I enjoyed getting to look at the lives of these different people, and as one other reviewer said, there were cases within the book I might have rated four stars, but as a whole, because of some of the less interesting cases that dragged a bit, I'm rating the overall book as three stars. He also has a tiny bit of a judgmental tone, especially towards the last two chapters in the book (both of which are about autism in various forms), and it started to make me a little uncomfortable as I kept reading. It didn't stand out or anything, but there was an undercurrent of it running through those chapters.
Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in case studies of psychological and neurological problems as well as interested in looking at the people's lives as well as the problem itself. The only thing to keep in mind is that this book was published back in 1995, so some of the research that he cites is outdated.
I enjoyed getting to look at the lives of these different people, and as one other reviewer said, there were cases within the book I might have rated four stars, but as a whole, because of some of the less interesting cases that dragged a bit, I'm rating the overall book as three stars. He also has a tiny bit of a judgmental tone, especially towards the last two chapters in the book (both of which are about autism in various forms), and it started to make me a little uncomfortable as I kept reading. It didn't stand out or anything, but there was an undercurrent of it running through those chapters.
Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in case studies of psychological and neurological problems as well as interested in looking at the people's lives as well as the problem itself. The only thing to keep in mind is that this book was published back in 1995, so some of the research that he cites is outdated.
knarr's review against another edition
I know Sacks is popular, and I understand why. But I can't shake the feeling that his writing about these ... patients of his is both voyeuristic and exploitative. No - I take that back. Our interest in his writing about them is both of those things. You can learn a lot about the brain and the mind from his work, but I never enjoy the feeling I get when I am done with a chapter.
This book was assigned for a course I took in graduate school.
This book was assigned for a course I took in graduate school.
natgeographic's review against another edition
5.0
sooo interesting. it’s hard to know what’s going on in the brain until something goes wrong. the first half was more fascinating to me than the second, but all of it was interesting! especially if you’re interested in neurology
disabledreamer's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredible find. While dense the book combines a scientific and factual analysis to different neurological disorders with basic human emotions. I hope to read more by this author soon. I highly recommend this book.