A review by mkinne
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

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 Some of the medical information must be out of date (not wrong per se but I know advances have been made) since the book was published in 1970 & draws on cases through Sacks' career to that point, including the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.