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|  | Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Vintage
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $6.23
as of 11/23/2009 18:19 CST details
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Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 1879
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised & enlarged
Pages: 448
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1400033535
Dewey Decimal Number: 781
EAN: 9781400033539
ASIN: 1400033535
Publication Date: September 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Light shelf or reading wear only. No tears or marks in text. We always ship same or next day!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 115
 Interesting Pop Case Studies February 10, 2009
Michael A. Chary (NYC)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Oliver Sacks is a great writer in the popular medical case study genre. While his stories are understandably fuzzy scientifically, they touch upon the humanity of a disease. This point is particularly salient in neurological conditions where to those stricken it may seem like their mind is rebelling against themselves. Although there is not doubt for the author's enthusiasm for the topic, his prose is less clear than before. In particular he alludes to so many other authors that I felt ill-prepared for reading this book without also having read all those he referenced. After a while, this smacks of name-dropping and detracts from what are at heart very unique stories. From a literary standpoint, I think he has taken the genre to his limit and sacrificed clear prose for speculative and obfuscatory language. While before he walked the fine line between narrative and medicine, I feel he does neither justice in this book.
 More to Music than Meets the Ear January 29, 2009
J.Z. Eldorado (bridgehampon, ny, ny USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Read this and smile a lot more. A great inspirational for the music lover, who wants to see what else is happening in that space between your ears. You will want to read it more than once.
Truly Fascinating January 28, 2009
Sodakgrrl
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks is one of the most interesting and engaging books I've read in a long time. As a musician, I am fascinated at the interaction of neurology and music. Be prepared for thinking about music in new ways, and for learning about the intricate and delicate aspects of our brains that make it possible for us to even hear music as music (rather than noise), let alone enjoy it.
Musicophagia January 9, 2009
Robert Carlberg (Seattle)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've been a huge fan of Oliver's ever since TMWMHWFAH, I even went back and read all his previous books and I've loved (almost) everything since then. Not only do I enjoy the weird little neurological symptoms he describes but I love his folksy, self-deprecating voice.
"Musicophilia" however I found to be tough sledding -- I read at least 3 other books while trying to finish this one. The reason is not the material -- the relationship of musicality to mentation is fascinating, and he does an admirable job of covering the subject here. The problem lies in his voice -- this book is written from a somewhat scholarly third-person perspective (most of it) and it's made worse by this paperback "revised and expanded edition" which adds about 30% more to it in the form of endless repetition, tedious footnotes, and totally extraneous postscripts. Rather than using a few entertaining case histories to illustrate the subjects under discussion, Sacks lists dozens and dozens of nearly identical case histories with way too much detail and way not enough commentary.
The 425 page book could have made an entertaining 180 page book without losing any of the essential narrative. You really learn the value of a good editor when you don't have one.
A deeply intelligent, loving book. January 5, 2009
Stones In My Pocket (Arlington, VA, USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dr. Sacks has written a book that is astounding in its depth and love for humanity, his patients, the mysteries of life and music the great connector of us all. Music, how we each perceive it and it effects us. The stories in this book amaze and awaken us to the marvels of the brain, our wiring, science and possibility.
Showing reviews 21-25 of 115
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