The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

Critics

• The Sixth Sense

  Dr. Oliver Sacks is a British-trained neurologist who now practices in New York, where he is professor of clinical neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. With his earlier book, Awakenings (1973), which described the remarkable effect o ... (read full critics)

  nybooks published on Sun, 22 Aug 2010

8 Reviews

• 

  I have very mixed feelings after having closed this book. Maybe it will be worthwhile coming back for a second reading during holidays.
  On one hand I am neither a neurologist nor a student entitled to give a "judgment". On the other hand I'd like to express my feelings as an amateur...
  Dr. Sacks ex ... (continue)

  I have very mixed feelings after having closed this book. Maybe it will be worthwhile coming back for a second reading during holidays.
  On one hand I am neither a neurologist nor a student entitled to give a "judgment". On the other hand I'd like to express my feelings as an amateur...
  Dr. Sacks exposes a collection of clinical cases related to very unusual neurological cases he met during his career: in all, more than twenty cases. He gives a rationale by dividing cases into four sections. The first section is the most famous case, dealing with deficits; it contains a clinical story giving the title to the book, "the man who mistook his wife for a hat".
  As I delved into the book I started to feel sort of uneasy in Dr. Sacks' circus with due respect for the famous neurologist and his patients. Also, the level of descriptions varied from popularization to informal communication for Dr. Sacks' peers.

  The last section ("The World of the Simple") is five star and restored my admiration for Dr. Sacks (as a writer) , since he gracefully led me by the hand into the world of the so-called "retarded", showing how to approach such cases with a different point of view.

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  Plucino said on Apr 12, 2012 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 

  I found this book very very difficult to read. Patient accounts were interspersed (rather generously) with philosophical reflections and the author's opinions. Although this was not a regretful read; i would certainly not be re-reading it, nor will i be getting another of his book. It took me over a ... (continue)

  I found this book very very difficult to read. Patient accounts were interspersed (rather generously) with philosophical reflections and the author's opinions. Although this was not a regretful read; i would certainly not be re-reading it, nor will i be getting another of his book. It took me over a year and a half just to get through this book because the language was quite dry and the concepts quite abstract.

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  The Underdog said on Oct 15, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Brilliant !
  I loved this book even if i'm not in the field. In addition, the novel left me hungry to know more about the fascinating world of the brain.
  Sacks never loses sight of the person, of the soul,
  that he treats.
  Very enligtening and touching, especially the story
  of "Jimmie".

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  Middlemarch said on Sep 28, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  An amazing set of tales. It shows the extraordinary ways the brain works, but most of all it shows the ways people cope with their bodies and lifes when faced with a brain that doesn't work anymore as supposed to.

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  xpro said on Jun 1, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  honestly, i read this book because paul draper read it while he wrote songs in Six. it's so difficult for me, lots of neurology terms. however, it introduces a lot of amazing facts on neutrology and pathology. the brain is really a mysterious thing.

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  hermia said on Aug 21, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Fascinating, eye-opening, entertaining, mind-boggling... beautifully written... a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction romp through some of neurology's most bizarre disorders...

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  NetLeaper said on Mar 5, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

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• English Books
• Hardcover 243 Pages
• ISBN-10: 1416542787
• ISBN-13: 9781416542780
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Pub date: Jan 01, 2006
• Dimensions: 1419 mm x 903 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, 简体书, 和書, Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Livros em Português, llibres en català, Libri Italiani, Türk kitap

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