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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A fascinating exploration of patients with various neurological conditions and Dr. Sacks’ observations thereof. As the foreword acknowledges, the book was written in the 80’s and prior and this uses language that is considered offensive or crass in today’s light. However, the personal sensitivity of the Doctors perspective shines through the uncomfortable language. The assembled essays question effectively our perspective on those that are not neurotypical and exposes cases and consequences I’d not previously been exposed to. It’s not the most comfortable of reads, but it will broaden your world and experience.
Might have been more interesting without my psych/OT background because I had already been introduced to every diagnosis covered. That said, would be a good start to learn about the variety of human experiences for someone without this background.
funny
informative
The recount of some odd cases of Dr. Sacks. What the pacients had and how were they besides the desease/condition. It was very interesting and some cases are very difficult to imagine what that person is dealing with. I want to read the others books of Dr. Sacks, he writes them well and in a very passionate way. I recomend if you like neurology. The only thing i think it was not that ok was the were no explaining of some of the medical terms (in neurology). Some i understood because of my background but others i had to look it up. It would be nice if he added a glossary.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
"The man who mistook his wife for a hat" is a wonderful collection of of medical case studies (or potentially it would be more accurate to call them anecdotes) of patients with mental health issues and conditions that change their perception of and relation to reality.
While the vocabulary is very much a product of it's time and medical research has undoubtedly moved on a good deal from the time a lot of the essays in this collection were conceived, rendering a lot of the strictly neurological and biochemical information conveyed in this book somewhat obsolete, the strong advocacy and humanisation of his patients by the author continue to shine through and make this a very life-affirming read. While some of the more outdated nomenclature and sentiments towards disabled people at the time can come of as patronising which then suddenly is contrasted by an almost metaphysical quasi-religious mystification of the character and abilities of his patients, the overwhelming main message of this book is a burning passion for those deemed alien by society. Far from being painted as burdens, his patients are odd characters, misunderstood geniuses or simply in touch with a society that's different from our own. Deeply compassionate.
While the vocabulary is very much a product of it's time and medical research has undoubtedly moved on a good deal from the time a lot of the essays in this collection were conceived, rendering a lot of the strictly neurological and biochemical information conveyed in this book somewhat obsolete, the strong advocacy and humanisation of his patients by the author continue to shine through and make this a very life-affirming read. While some of the more outdated nomenclature and sentiments towards disabled people at the time can come of as patronising which then suddenly is contrasted by an almost metaphysical quasi-religious mystification of the character and abilities of his patients, the overwhelming main message of this book is a burning passion for those deemed alien by society. Far from being painted as burdens, his patients are odd characters, misunderstood geniuses or simply in touch with a society that's different from our own. Deeply compassionate.
informative
medium-paced
My sister read this book around 25 years ago and the title always stuck with me. How could it not? Now, I've finally gotten around to reading it myself. This is not my usual genre and I was sometimes out of my element with much of the scientific terminology, but I usually got the concepts. The human mind is amazing and is still a mystery. Since this book was written in the 1980s, I'm sure that much more has been studied and learned, and more medicines developed and tested. The stories are wonderful and varied and made me want to learn more about the brain and how it works. I had no idea that the author of this book was the same one who wrote "Awakenings" which was used for the movie of the same title. Parts of the book reminded me of the movie "Rainman" as well... another movie I enjoyed many years ago.