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blymanor's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A collection of case studies viewed through a slightly outdated lens (that may have been progressive for its time). An interesting look back in time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Chronic illness
Minor: Medical content
theofficeflan's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book interesting in theory but pretty unapproachable and difficult to read. Sacks uses way too much academic jargon and assumes the reader has previous knowledge in neuroscience and psychology.
slane4nik's review against another edition
5.0
A deeply compassionate book about the beautiful in the broken and the mysterious in the known. A look beyond disease into the human soul.
thaurisil's review against another edition
5.0
Arrogant, confusing, pretentious - I see these words in other reviews on the site and wonder if people are reading the same book as me.
I loved this book. Oliver Sacks is a neurologist, but he does not work with brains. He works with people. He truly cares for his patients, and the knowledge that he cannot properly treat most of them does not deter him from trying desperately to understand what makes them tick. He does his best to understand the thoughts, emotions and desires of his patients, all the while knowing that he never can. With deep sensitivity, he goes far beyond the role of a neurologist, doing his best to provide for his patients' emotional and mental wellbeing, and expressing genuine regret when he fails in this.
The friend who lent me this book told me that I would love the last section on the autistic. It was certainly interesting, the most eye-opening being a pair of twins who live and breathe numbers. They cannot do simple arithmetic, yet they can tell you on which day of the week any date within an 80,000 year timespan falls. Not only can they identify prime numbers, they savour the numbers. Sacks postulates that they see the harmony of the world in numbers, and it is such ideas on how those with neurological disorders perceive the world that make the book shine. The twins are later forced into pseudo-normal lives apart from each other and consequently lose their ability to 'see' numbers, raising the question of how much talent we lose in conforming.
But my favourite stories were of two men who had Korsakov's, and had no short-term memory, although they remembered incidents up to a certain point in the past (one thought he was a 19 year old living in 1945). I recently read Stiff by Mary Roach, and at one point she asked where the soul is located (heart, brain or liver?). Reading this book, I see a more pertinent question - what makes up the soul? Without memory, the men have no relation to the real world and cannot form relationships with real people. They cannot understand that they have a disorder because they have no memory of the disorder. Yet Sacks quotes A.R. Luria - "... a man does not consist of memory alone. He has feeling, will, sensibilities, moral being..." One man displays his soul in Chapel, and in his appreciation of art and music. The other man though is detached, disconnected - he shows no soul.
It is stories like these, some uplifting, some merely interesting, but many tragic, that allow us to enter the real world of Sacks' patients, and not just a superficial neurological world. He has seen an impressive range of disorders, and has studied many in-depth, such that the book never gets boring.
This book was written in 1985 - I am curious if anything has changed in the world of neurology since then. The idea of the autistic having remarkable talents seems to be more well-known than it was back then, but I wonder if other changes have been made, or if any research has been done in response to this book.
I loved this book. Oliver Sacks is a neurologist, but he does not work with brains. He works with people. He truly cares for his patients, and the knowledge that he cannot properly treat most of them does not deter him from trying desperately to understand what makes them tick. He does his best to understand the thoughts, emotions and desires of his patients, all the while knowing that he never can. With deep sensitivity, he goes far beyond the role of a neurologist, doing his best to provide for his patients' emotional and mental wellbeing, and expressing genuine regret when he fails in this.
The friend who lent me this book told me that I would love the last section on the autistic. It was certainly interesting, the most eye-opening being a pair of twins who live and breathe numbers. They cannot do simple arithmetic, yet they can tell you on which day of the week any date within an 80,000 year timespan falls. Not only can they identify prime numbers, they savour the numbers. Sacks postulates that they see the harmony of the world in numbers, and it is such ideas on how those with neurological disorders perceive the world that make the book shine. The twins are later forced into pseudo-normal lives apart from each other and consequently lose their ability to 'see' numbers, raising the question of how much talent we lose in conforming.
But my favourite stories were of two men who had Korsakov's, and had no short-term memory, although they remembered incidents up to a certain point in the past (one thought he was a 19 year old living in 1945). I recently read Stiff by Mary Roach, and at one point she asked where the soul is located (heart, brain or liver?). Reading this book, I see a more pertinent question - what makes up the soul? Without memory, the men have no relation to the real world and cannot form relationships with real people. They cannot understand that they have a disorder because they have no memory of the disorder. Yet Sacks quotes A.R. Luria - "... a man does not consist of memory alone. He has feeling, will, sensibilities, moral being..." One man displays his soul in Chapel, and in his appreciation of art and music. The other man though is detached, disconnected - he shows no soul.
It is stories like these, some uplifting, some merely interesting, but many tragic, that allow us to enter the real world of Sacks' patients, and not just a superficial neurological world. He has seen an impressive range of disorders, and has studied many in-depth, such that the book never gets boring.
This book was written in 1985 - I am curious if anything has changed in the world of neurology since then. The idea of the autistic having remarkable talents seems to be more well-known than it was back then, but I wonder if other changes have been made, or if any research has been done in response to this book.
ethanjarrell's review against another edition
5.0
Typically, books or stories like these are provided on youtube channels meant to sensationalize an interesting story. The author here provides these stories and clinical tales that helps the reader appreciate the humanity and the suffering of those that might be different than we are.
emmarena's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully written look at the highs, lows, and mysteries of the human brain. Sacks truly brings to life his patients - both their brokenness and their dignity in the midst of that brokenness.
I alternated between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook. Definitely recommend the physical book more — Sacks’ heart for his patients comes through better. The audio felt more coolly clinical to me for some reason (though don’t be fooled, it IS still a very clinical book).
A very fascinating read. Looking forward to reading his Musicophilia next!
I alternated between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook. Definitely recommend the physical book more — Sacks’ heart for his patients comes through better. The audio felt more coolly clinical to me for some reason (though don’t be fooled, it IS still a very clinical book).
A very fascinating read. Looking forward to reading his Musicophilia next!
kessler21's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting and wonderful collection of unusual neurological clinical studies.
Oliver Sacks was a world renowned neurologist, and though this book does read a "clinical" sometimes, Sacks has a poetical style to his writing and has a great since of humanity. He sees his patients as people, where his colleges might see them as patients or as disorders.
In this collection, Sacks covers several types of neurological disorders such as not being able to recognize animate objects (hence the title) a woman without a body, the man who sees his own leg as an disgusting amputated leg, different types of autism, and hallucinations. In these, Sacks studies the person like no other neurologist or doctor. He has received much criticism in his field due to his lack of formality in his studies. A few of the studies are heart wrenching, some amazing, some weird but all true and all human.
Oliver Sacks was a world renowned neurologist, and though this book does read a "clinical" sometimes, Sacks has a poetical style to his writing and has a great since of humanity. He sees his patients as people, where his colleges might see them as patients or as disorders.
In this collection, Sacks covers several types of neurological disorders such as not being able to recognize animate objects (hence the title) a woman without a body, the man who sees his own leg as an disgusting amputated leg, different types of autism, and hallucinations. In these, Sacks studies the person like no other neurologist or doctor. He has received much criticism in his field due to his lack of formality in his studies. A few of the studies are heart wrenching, some amazing, some weird but all true and all human.
sophiemaher's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
soooo fascinating! granted, it’s very outdated, but it was written in the 80’s, so judging it using current ideals isn’t really fair. however, it’s also interesting to see how the field, and medicine more generally, has advanced since.
like with any collection of stories, some will be stronger than others, which is fine! personally, the chapters that stood out to me were “the man who mistook his wife for a hat” (of course), “the lost mariner”, the “disembodied lady”, and the “autist artist” (of course!).
i LOVED the focus on each patients “soul” and how their personhood is as big of a part of their story as their empirical illness, as well as the parts where sacks describes all the different ways he tried to reinstate joy and meaning into his patients lives, once learning about their illness!
“however great the organic damage and humean dissolution, these remains the undiminished possibility of reintergration by art, by communion, by touching the human spirit: and this can be preserved in what seems at first a hopeless state of neurological devastation”
a must read! :-)
like with any collection of stories, some will be stronger than others, which is fine! personally, the chapters that stood out to me were “the man who mistook his wife for a hat” (of course), “the lost mariner”, the “disembodied lady”, and the “autist artist” (of course!).
i LOVED the focus on each patients “soul” and how their personhood is as big of a part of their story as their empirical illness, as well as the parts where sacks describes all the different ways he tried to reinstate joy and meaning into his patients lives, once learning about their illness!
“however great the organic damage and humean dissolution, these remains the undiminished possibility of reintergration by art, by communion, by touching the human spirit: and this can be preserved in what seems at first a hopeless state of neurological devastation”
a must read! :-)
lizeylu's review against another edition
4.0
I felt like this was a super interesting read, I don’t know what I expected with just the title but in the end I felt like it opened my mind to other people’s way of thinking. Weirdly some parts were relatable with my own illness and I felt seen which was nice.
Read this book for a book club :)
Read this book for a book club :)
505arcticmonkeys's review against another edition
2.0
some interesting cases, a lot of unnecessary words, jargon. this is so not what i was expecting and i am so intensely disappointed