Sacks shows not only great compassion for the subjects of the book, but also shows the great difficulty in caring for people whose perspective is so fundementally different than the norm.
As a non-psychologist ( I took the one requisite intro psych course in college), I found Sack's explanation of the conditions he encountered clear and as devoid of jargon as he could reasonably make it.
The book consists of a collection of reasonably short clinicial stories of some of the patients that Dr. Sacks has come across in his work as a Neurologist. Sound dry? I assure you, it is not.
With facination, and great humanity, Sacks recounts the stories of people, who, because of one deficit (injury or progressive malady) or another have had their personalites, perceptions, or senses profoundly altered. Taken one at a time, the stories are quirky, yet compassionate, illustrations of the symptoms of various nurological maladies and the people who struggle with them. There's the story of the patient who suffers from an inability to conceive of his own legs as part of his own body. There's the sad and lonely tale of a man who us unable to form long term memories and lives in a constantly shifting world that is perpetually only a few minutes old. There's a recounting of the visions of the ancient Saint Hildegard, whose migrane headaches appeared to her to be visions of heaven.
Taken together, one gets a awe inspring sense of how who and what we are is controlled by the processes of the brain and also a sense that there are certain universal human prepensities- such as the struggle for "wholeness" or a desire for the sublime.
This is one of my favorite books. I frequently loan one of my two copies to friends. I highly recommend the somewhat abridged Audio version as well, as Dr. Sacks voice adds a layer of facination to the tales.
With facination, and great humanity, Sacks recounts the stories of people, who, because of one deficit (injury or progressive malady) or another have had their personalites, perceptions, or senses profoundly altered. Taken one at a time, the stories are quirky, yet compassionate, illustrations of the symptoms of various neurological maladies and the people who struggle with them. There's the story of the patient who suffers from an inability to conceive of his own legs as part of his own body. There's the sad and lonely tale of a man who us unable to form long term memories and lives in a constantly shifting world that is perpetually only a few minutes old. There's a recounting of the visions of the ancient Saint Hildegard, whose migrane headaches appeared to her to be visions of heaven.