tonyreadsbooks 's review for:

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

5.0

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Profoundly fascinating and endlessly entertaining. I came in expecting a collection of lighthearted but intriguing psychological case studies. The title of the book seems set an almost humorous tone. However, this book is just as much about philosophy than it is about psychology/neurology. Sacks uses a few technical terms here and there as well as some references to literature (he seems to be fond of Borges’ “Funes the Memorious”, which I am also very fond of) which I understand can make the book difficult to read for some. Even so, beneath every sentence is a deep well of knowledge and fruit for thought. This book has shown that art, science, and philosophy can all be combined masterfully provide hours of pondering every time that it is read. Even though the terms used might be dated (there are words used that are considered offensive today however they were the appropriate medical terms in the time of writing), it is still a very “modern” book with issues and ideas still worth tackling and discussing today. I greatly enjoyed reading this book. 5/5.