The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales
In his most extraordinary book, the bestselling author of Awakenings and "poet laureate of medicine" (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients inhabiting the compelling world of neurological disorders, from those who are no longer able to recognize common objects to those who gain extraordinary new skills. Featuring a new preface, Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with perceptual and intellectual disorders: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; whose limbs seem alien to them; who lack some skills yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. In Dr. Sacks's splendid and sympathetic telling, his patients are deeply human and his tales are studies of struggles against incredible adversity. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility: "the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject."
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This book is marketed as insights from a scientist into unusual conditions surrounding his patients. Yet truly, this book is an insight into the romantic diagnostic process of a scientist and how he immerses himself into the being of his patients.
Three of his stories, such as the lost mariner, the disembodied lady, and Rebecca alone yielded the phenomenological and ontological musings I was hoping for. It reaffirmed my understanding of the living soul that exists and undergirds the mental processes of the brain as well as took my grasp on the importance of internal narrative and story for authentic being to the next level.
Some stories are more impactful than others, but the stories overall are worth your time especially in such a short book.
Three of his stories, such as the lost mariner, the disembodied lady, and Rebecca alone yielded the phenomenological and ontological musings I was hoping for. It reaffirmed my understanding of the living soul that exists and undergirds the mental processes of the brain as well as took my grasp on the importance of internal narrative and story for authentic being to the next level.
Some stories are more impactful than others, but the stories overall are worth your time especially in such a short book.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.