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elisacarlene's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Drug use
re5urgence's review against another edition
5.0
pretty cool book, written in a v unique manner. like it's a story/novel kinda but also full of info about diff neurological diseases and stuff
ellyrarg's review against another edition
4.0
An easy book to put down, but equally easy to pick up again. I found this one delightful and interesting, and took my time moving through it.
lbeam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
joweston's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, suspect the read would be very interesting with more detail than a radio reading can allow.
ammmiiiii's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this just as much (if not more) rereading it this time as when I first read it.
This is for anyone who likes medicine, puzzles, neurology, House MD, or vignettes. Not obscurely clinical, and engaging all the way through, Ropper and Burrell really bring the patients’ stories (and the patients themselves) to life.
This is for anyone who likes medicine, puzzles, neurology, House MD, or vignettes. Not obscurely clinical, and engaging all the way through, Ropper and Burrell really bring the patients’ stories (and the patients themselves) to life.
boandr's review against another edition
2.5
This read comprised primarily of short chapters (20ish pages each) each consisting of a few anecdotes concerning different neurological conditions and cases. Surface level and simplistic, which made for an easy read, but not a immersive or analytical one.
The downfall here was in the simplicity, there was little analysis or discussion, no actual depth to the neurology of the cases. While this did slightly improve later into the book, and where it lacked scientific depth there was some behavioural/attitudinal debates I found myself enjoying, overall it just wasn’t what I look for in these sorts of books.
Also, the author is somewhat egocentric, which detracts from the overall enjoyment slightly (then again, this seems frequent with doctor-authored books, so perhaps it’s simply a criticism to keep in mind, but let not put you off.
As I said, there were some highlights- such as the debate about life-support, and the choices patients make regarding this- it was compelling and balanced, I still find myself considering the other side of the argument now, a few days later, which is quite brilliant.
I found the writing tone was more enjoyable in the latter half of the book. This is a good one if you’re looking for something more simple and anecdotal- but if you’re looking for something a bit heavier on depth I wouldn’t recommend it for that.
The downfall here was in the simplicity, there was little analysis or discussion, no actual depth to the neurology of the cases. While this did slightly improve later into the book, and where it lacked scientific depth there was some behavioural/attitudinal debates I found myself enjoying, overall it just wasn’t what I look for in these sorts of books.
Also, the author is somewhat egocentric, which detracts from the overall enjoyment slightly (then again, this seems frequent with doctor-authored books, so perhaps it’s simply a criticism to keep in mind, but let not put you off.
As I said, there were some highlights- such as the debate about life-support, and the choices patients make regarding this- it was compelling and balanced, I still find myself considering the other side of the argument now, a few days later, which is quite brilliant.
I found the writing tone was more enjoyable in the latter half of the book. This is a good one if you’re looking for something more simple and anecdotal- but if you’re looking for something a bit heavier on depth I wouldn’t recommend it for that.