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keen's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
seahorsesister's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating! Page after page I was stunned to learn the many root causes and instances of hallucinations. In true Oliver Sacks style, he blends his personal narrative, with research and a historical perspective that is both fast moving and dense. This is a must read for the generally curious and for anyone who has experienced first hand hallucinations or been a second hand witness to their influence.
11corvus11's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first Oliver Sacks book and given his popularity I went in with high expectations. They were unfortunately not met. I don't fault a person writing pop-neurology for focusing on structural and biological aspects of hallucination. That said, I found this book boring. It read basically like repeating themes of "people with this hallucinate that and here is an example." I would have liked to have read more about what differentiates hallucinations from psychosis, how our pathologizing of any perceptual abnormality has led to said abnormalities being labeled dangerous when they are not, etc. He touched very briefly on these topics then quickly shied away.
There also was a lot of "this is true because I say so." Many stories were told of how people's religious, paranormal, anxious, etc experiences were just hallucinations without any explanation of how he knows this to be true. I am an atheist who leans far more to the side of science than ghost hunting, but I also am not easily swayed by the idea that we know and explain everything easily with such a young field like neurology, psychology, neuroscience, or anything else.
That said, it wasn't all bad. There were some interesting case studies and fun stories about Sacks own experiences that made him relatable. I don't regret reading the book. I may give Sacks another try since other reviews indicate this is not one of his best books.
There also was a lot of "this is true because I say so." Many stories were told of how people's religious, paranormal, anxious, etc experiences were just hallucinations without any explanation of how he knows this to be true. I am an atheist who leans far more to the side of science than ghost hunting, but I also am not easily swayed by the idea that we know and explain everything easily with such a young field like neurology, psychology, neuroscience, or anything else.
That said, it wasn't all bad. There were some interesting case studies and fun stories about Sacks own experiences that made him relatable. I don't regret reading the book. I may give Sacks another try since other reviews indicate this is not one of his best books.
radarocco's review against another edition
3.0
it's very hard to read non-fiction books on topics that barely interest you. i wish oliver sacks talked more about sleep paralysis and other sleeping hallucinations.
also, a chapter on taste hallucinations hits very different considering... you know... covid...
also, a chapter on taste hallucinations hits very different considering... you know... covid...
verbosevespertine's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
The information in this book is great, and it’s written in a way that is approachable and easy-to-digest, but the narrator on audiobook was something else with his badly-imitated accents whenever anyone was quoted (who knew that Freud sounded like a bargain bin Arnold Schwarzenegger? And the “hey! I’m walkin’ here!”-esqe timbre of his Brooklyn accent was a joke). Anyway, I love Oliver Sacks and his writing is always great, but this one is probably better in print than in audio.
mary_sh's review against another edition
5.0
Interessantissimo escursus sulle allucinazioni di diversa eziologia, ma soprattutto sul quelle di origine neurologica, con riferimenti abbastanza puntuali alla letteratura scientifica e allo stesso tempo tante citazioni artistico-letterarie, adorato.
Unico difetto: ogni capitolo si dilunga un po' troppo, diventando saltuariamente un po' prolisso e ripetitivo.
Unico difetto: ogni capitolo si dilunga un po' troppo, diventando saltuariamente un po' prolisso e ripetitivo.