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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat - Oliver Sacks
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognise everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities; who have been dismissed as autistic or retarded, yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales illuminate what it means to be human.”
In this book, the stories of Dr. Oliver Sacks are shared. Dr. Oliver Sacks shares his stories of the patients he got to see with fascinating neurological disorders. He describes the symptoms his patients experienced. How a diagnosis came to be, and he speaks about related cases.
This is the second time I am reading this book. The first time, I was about to start my psychology bachelor's. Right now, I am in the second year of my bachelor's. From this experience, I noticed that some knowledge of psychology is needed to understand this book. Many diagnoses are mentioned, but most are not explained in detail. Nonetheless, I immensely enjoyed this book. This book was an excellent read to broaden my knowledge of many disorders. Moreover, it was exciting to read about the different cases described in this book. I would recommend this book but only to those who have a certain level of knowledge on neurological disorders.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognise everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities; who have been dismissed as autistic or retarded, yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales illuminate what it means to be human.”
In this book, the stories of Dr. Oliver Sacks are shared. Dr. Oliver Sacks shares his stories of the patients he got to see with fascinating neurological disorders. He describes the symptoms his patients experienced. How a diagnosis came to be, and he speaks about related cases.
This is the second time I am reading this book. The first time, I was about to start my psychology bachelor's. Right now, I am in the second year of my bachelor's. From this experience, I noticed that some knowledge of psychology is needed to understand this book. Many diagnoses are mentioned, but most are not explained in detail. Nonetheless, I immensely enjoyed this book. This book was an excellent read to broaden my knowledge of many disorders. Moreover, it was exciting to read about the different cases described in this book. I would recommend this book but only to those who have a certain level of knowledge on neurological disorders.
This is an interesting book. Written in a vignette style, where each case is disconnected. There are some very interesting little stories, some however I think could have been omitted. Overall a nice read.
informative
slow-paced
"But he has a passion and a real power for the particular—he loves it, he enters into it, he re-creates it. And the particular, if one is particular enough, is also a road—one might say nature's road—to reality and truth."
- Part IV, The World of the Simple, Autist Artist, Oliver Sacks
This vivid and classic collection of empathetic entries serve as a grand introduction to the work of Oliver Sacks, professor of clinical neurology and pop scientist of the 20th century. His idea of fusing medicine with philosophy—a "romantic science"—does more than make each case accessible or readable. It engenders a true sense of compassion towards the individuals within, who are often suffering, misunderstood, or debilitated.
My entry was thankfully an early pressing, so the language has remained intact. Moron, retard, simpleton - vulgar words now, yet they persist in a text and a voice far more kind, more understanding and more helpful than any 'advocate' today focused solely on language. Sacks was a rare fellow, who truly went beyond the physical in each of his patients. Drawing from poets, philosophers, religion, music, arts and nature, he found ways to "awaken" clients rather than simply "cure" them.
While each section or chapter shone with its own gems (I especially enjoyed those centered on aphasia, as with the feeling-tone of "The President's Speech"), it was the final section, "The World of the Simple", which focused on autistics and similar, that truly moved me. These case studies became less about a behemoth of autism as slur or fear, and rather, as an emergence of the individuals within, with their desperate, passionate and private attempts to communicate, if one only had the eye and propensity to listen. It made my heart sing (and then, ache) to see such positive treatments and findings recorded, while knowing the expertise and kindness of a Dr. Sacks isn't necessarily the leading direction in 2025.
When is a cure, a dismissal? And when is healing, more than establishing one's norm?
Definitely a book to make one think!
- Part IV, The World of the Simple, Autist Artist, Oliver Sacks
This vivid and classic collection of empathetic entries serve as a grand introduction to the work of Oliver Sacks, professor of clinical neurology and pop scientist of the 20th century. His idea of fusing medicine with philosophy—a "romantic science"—does more than make each case accessible or readable. It engenders a true sense of compassion towards the individuals within, who are often suffering, misunderstood, or debilitated.
My entry was thankfully an early pressing, so the language has remained intact. Moron, retard, simpleton - vulgar words now, yet they persist in a text and a voice far more kind, more understanding and more helpful than any 'advocate' today focused solely on language. Sacks was a rare fellow, who truly went beyond the physical in each of his patients. Drawing from poets, philosophers, religion, music, arts and nature, he found ways to "awaken" clients rather than simply "cure" them.
While each section or chapter shone with its own gems (I especially enjoyed those centered on aphasia, as with the feeling-tone of "The President's Speech"), it was the final section, "The World of the Simple", which focused on autistics and similar, that truly moved me. These case studies became less about a behemoth of autism as slur or fear, and rather, as an emergence of the individuals within, with their desperate, passionate and private attempts to communicate, if one only had the eye and propensity to listen. It made my heart sing (and then, ache) to see such positive treatments and findings recorded, while knowing the expertise and kindness of a Dr. Sacks isn't necessarily the leading direction in 2025.
When is a cure, a dismissal? And when is healing, more than establishing one's norm?
Definitely a book to make one think!
Absolutely Brilliant!
can't wait for the next one :D
can't wait for the next one :D
this is very outdated, which the author acknowledges, but is also fairly redundant and oddly technical. I do appreciate the idea of narrative medical histories, but I’m not convinced these were organized in the most natural or effective manner.