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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Oliver Sacks was so insightful, and so human. I wish I had had an opportunity to meet him. Hearing him on RadioLab, and reading his books, will be the best I can do. I love how he tells these amazing stories of people and the types of problems that they can face, and his conclusions about why they happen, and what to do about them. Some of the stories certainly don't have happy endings. But, by revealing unusual cases, they help us understand humanity better. I got partway through this book as an ebook borrowed from the library, and read a few of the stories before it was due again. Finally got it in book form and finished it, a couple years later. Sometimes reading on my iPhone works well, but sometimes it ends up being harder.
I used to classify these Oliver Sacks books as "psychology", but clearly "neurology" is quite distinct from that. I'm not sure how to describe the difference, though. Is it fair to say that psychology is of the mind while neurology is of the brain? You'd think, if that is indeed the case (I've decided I'm not going to do any simple internet research in aid of this review and actually find out whether it is), you'd think science of the mind would be less developed than science of the brain, but Sacks' work makes me think otherwise, since he consistently reveals how little is actually known about the causes of the many fascinating disorders he describes.
And fascinating they absolutely are. In this one the focus is mostly on autism and tourette's, though not exclusively. It is comprised of 7 studies in which we meet characters described as "idiots savants", a tourettic surgeon, a victim of a brain tumour, a blind man whose sight was restored and... I forget what else, but all the situations, discussions, background, and detail of other studies are really interesting.
In all, An Anthropologist on Mars is less academic and detailed than "Awakenings" or "Seeing Voices", but more in depth than "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", which is actually the book that it most resembles. Sacks has a really intriguing job, and I wish I'd studied harder at school and could do the same thing. I'll just have to read about it instead.
And fascinating they absolutely are. In this one the focus is mostly on autism and tourette's, though not exclusively. It is comprised of 7 studies in which we meet characters described as "idiots savants", a tourettic surgeon, a victim of a brain tumour, a blind man whose sight was restored and... I forget what else, but all the situations, discussions, background, and detail of other studies are really interesting.
In all, An Anthropologist on Mars is less academic and detailed than "Awakenings" or "Seeing Voices", but more in depth than "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", which is actually the book that it most resembles. Sacks has a really intriguing job, and I wish I'd studied harder at school and could do the same thing. I'll just have to read about it instead.
The illnesses presented are not that interesting to me
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Libro simile ma non troppo a "l'uomo che scambiò sua moglie per un cappello", ha qualcosa in meno ma consiglio sempre Sacks
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Oliver Sacks always writes with both a fascination and deep respect for the people he writes about. He has a way of being matter of fact, and I've realised through reading his books that there is still so much mystery behind how the human mind works.
The book was written a few decades ago and this shows in show of the language used.
A book for anyone with an interest in how our brains work.
The book was written a few decades ago and this shows in show of the language used.
A book for anyone with an interest in how our brains work.
To be truthful: I listened to this as an audiobook when going to bed every night so I was only conscious for ~1/3rd of the book. But as always, Oliver Sacks is a wonderful writer. I've heard criticisms saying he treats his patients too much like subjects to be observed, but I think he does a wonderful job at painting the world in which his patients live and doing justice to the uniqueness and value of their lives.