Oliver Sacks

The letters of one of the greatest observers of the human species, revealing his passion for life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family, and fellow intellectuals over the decades. Collected here for the first time.

One of The New Statesman's Best Books of the YearOne of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction Books of 2024One of The New Yorker's 'Best Books We've Read in 2024 So Far' THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE - The letters of one of the greatest observers of the human species, revealing his passion for life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family, and fellow intellectuals over the decades, collected here for the first time "Here is the unedited Oliver Sacks--struggling, passionate, a furiously intelligent misfit. And also endless interesting. He was a man like no other." --Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal Dr. Oliver Sacks--who describes himself in these pages as a "philosophical physician" and a "neuropathological Talmudist"--wrote letters throughout his life: to his parents and his beloved Auntie Len, to friends and colleagues from London, Oxford, California, and around the world. The letters begin with his arrival in America as a young man, eager to establish himself away from the confines of postwar England, and carry us through his bumpy early career in medicine and the discovery of his writer's voice; his weight-lifting, motorcycle-riding years and his explosive seasons of discovery with the patients who populate his book Awakenings; his growing interest in matters of sight and the musical brain; his many friendships and exchanges with writers, artists, and scientists (to say nothing of astronauts, botanists, and mathematicians), and his deep gratitude for all these relationships at the end of his life. Sensitively introduced and edited by Kate Edgar, Sacks's longtime editor, the letters deliver a portrait of Sacks as he wrestles with the workings of the brain and mind. We see, through his eyes, the beginnings of modern neuroscience, following the thought processes of one of the great intellectuals of our time, whose words, as evidenced in these pages, were unfailingly shaped with generosity and wonder toward other people.

Oliver Saks - britanskij nevrolog i nejropsikholog, avtor rjada populjarnykh knig, v kotorykh on rasskazyvaet realnye istorii svoikh patsientov. Ekranizatsija ego knigi "Probuzhdenija" s Robertom De Niro v glavnoj roli imela bolshoj uspekh. Proizvedenija Saksa perevedeny na dvadtsat jazykov, no naibolshuju populjarnost zavoevali mezhdunarodnye bestsellery "Chelovek, kotoryj prinjal zhenu za shljapu" i "Antropolog na Marse", napisannye v zhanre "klinicheskikh rasskazov" XIX veka.V "Antropologe na Marse" sobrany neverojatnye istorii patsientov doktora Saksa, sumevshikh otstojat svoe mesto v zhizni, nevziraja na strogij meditsinskij prigovor, ne podlezhaschij peresmotru. Sem udivitelnykh istorij o neischerpaemykh vozmozhnostjakh chelovecheskogo mozga, o stojkosti i ljubvi, kotoraja zaschischaet, spasaet, daet sily zhit i preodolevat dazhe samye zhestokie udary sudby.

Oliver Saks - vsemirno izvestnyj nevrolog, avtor bestsellerov "Chelovek, kotoryj prinjal zhenu za shljapu" i "Antropolog na Marse". "Glaz razuma" - odno iz samykh interesnykh proizvedenij Olivera Saksa, zhivoj, iskrennij i neobyknovenno interesnyj rasskaz o realnykh ljudjakh s narushenijami zrenija, kotorye popytalis razvit v sebe drugie sposobnosti, chtoby kompensirovat etot nedostatok, i o tom, chto predlagajut v etikh sluchajakh sovremennaja meditsina, psikhologija i vysokie tekhnologii.

Chto takoe muzykalnaja odarennost? Patologija ili Bozhij dar? Chem genialnost Chajkovskogo otlichaetsja ot genialnosti Vagnera? Chem obuslovlena udivitelnaja ljubov k muzyke ljudej s sindromom Viljamsa i pochemu stradajuschie "amuziej", naprotiv, vosprinimajut ee kak nevynosimoe nagromozhdenie zvukov? Kakie izmenenija proizoshli v soznanii cheloveka, kotoryj, vyzhiv posle udara molnii, neozhidanno dlja vsekh i prezhde vsego dlja samogo sebja stal gorjachim poklonnikom Shopena i dazhe vyuchilsja igrat na fortepjano dlja togo, chtoby imet vozmozhnost ispolnjat ego proizvedenija? Dazhe esli vy ne ljubite muzyku, vy ne smozhete otorvatsja ot etoj knigi, kotoraja otkroet takie glubiny v vashem sobstvennom "ja", o kotorykh vy dazhe ne dogadyvalis.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NBC SERIES BRILLIANT MINDS - A Contemporary Classics hardcover edition of Dr. Sacks's most extraordinary book, in which the "poet laureate of medicine" (The New York Times) recounts fascinating case histories of patients with neurological disorders. An influential landmark in the tradition of writing about the body and the brain, 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." Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Contemporary Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.

Neurologist Oliver Sacks investigates the complex relationship between the brain and the mind and, almost impossibly, manages to make his subject matter not only accessible to the general reader, but utterly absorbing. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals suffering from 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. Their struggles are recounted with sympathy and respect. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility to assist 'the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject'.A work of profound humanity.

An impassioned, tender and joyous memoir by the author of Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

From the bestselling author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia.

The bestselling author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia.

The bestselling author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia.

From the bestselling author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia.

A million-copy bestseller by the twentieth century's greatest neurologist.

Oliver Saks - izvestnyj britanskij nevrolog, avtor rjada populjarnykh knig, perevedennykh na dvadtsat jazykov, dve iz kotorykh - "Chelovek, kotoryj prinjal zhenu za shljapu" i "Antropolog na Marse" - stali mezhdunarodnymi bestsellerami i vyderzhali ogromnoe kolichestvo pereizdanij.V svoej knige "Chelovek, kotoryj prinjal zhenu za shljapu" Oliver Saks issleduet strannye, trudnopostizhimye svjazi mezhdu soznaniem i mozgom. Zhivym dostupnym jazykom Saks rasskazyvaet udivitelnye i zachastuju kureznye istorii iz svoej praktiki, pokazyvaja na primerakh, kakim prichudlivym obrazom mogut izmenit vosprijatie mira razlichnye povrezhdenija mozga i kak ljudi preodolevajut eti narushenija, ispolzuja kolossalnye rezervnye vozmozhnosti svoego organizma.

"Chelovek, kotoryj prinjal zhenu za shljapu" - kniga-sensatsija, napisannaja Oliverom Saksom esche v 1971 godu i vyderzhavshaja s tekh por desjatki pereizdanij tolko na anglijskom jazyke, ne govorja uzhe o mnogochislennykh perevodakh. Eto istorii o sovremennykh ljudjakh, pytajuschikhsja poborot sereznye i neobychnye narushenija psikhiki i borjuschikhsja za vyzhivanie v uslovijakh, nevoobrazimykh dlja zdorovykh ljudej, i o mistikakh proshlogo, oderzhimykh videnijami, kotorye sovremennaja nauka diagnostiruet kak projavlenie tjazhelykh nevrozov. Strannye, trudnopostizhimye otnoshenija mezhdu mozgom i soznaniem Saks objasnjaet dostupno, zhivo i interesno.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NBC SERIES BRILLIANT MINDS - 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. "Oliver Sacks has become the world's best-known neurologist. His case studies of broken minds offer brilliant insight into the mysteries of consciousness."--The Guardian 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."

Oliver Saks - izvestnyj britanskijnevrolog i nejropsikholog, avtor rjadapopuljarnykh knig, perevedennykh nadvadtsat jazykov, mnogie iz kotorykh, vkljuchaja takie, kak "Chelovek, kotoryjprinjal zhenu za shljapu", "Antropolog naMarse" i "Migren", stali mezhdunarodnymibestsellerami.V "Migreni" znamenityj nevrolog netolko znakomit chitatelej s klinicheskimiistorijami svoikh patsientov, no takzhepodrobno issleduet prirodu takogozagadochnogo javlenija, kak migren. Postatistike kazhdyj pjatyj rossijaninstradaet migrenju. Obychno etim slovomoboznachajut izmatyvajuschuju golovnuju bol, no v dejstvitelnosti eto lish odin, samyj tipichnyj priznak migreni. Zachastujuljudi, ne ispytyvajuschie golovnykh bolej, nostradajuschie vnezapnym rasstrojstvomzrenija, diskomfortom v zhivote, migrirujuschimi boljami vo vsem tele idrugimi nedomoganijami, na samom delestradajut ot projavlenij vse toj zhevezdesuschej migreni. Oni godami ischutprichinu svoikh nedugov, dazhe nepodozrevaja, chto ikh diagnoz - migren.

From the bestselling author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Here the doctor becomes the patient as Dr. Sacks chronicles the mountaineering accident which left him with the uncanny feeling of being "legless," and raises profound questions of the physical basis of identity. "One of the great clinical writers of the 20th century." --The New York Times Book ReviewIn A Leg to Stand On, it is Sacks himself who is the patient: an encounter with a bull on a desolate mountain in Norway has left him with a severely damaged leg. But what should be a routine recuperation is actually the beginning of a strange medical journey when he finds that his leg uncannily no longer feels like part of his body. Sacks's brilliant description of his crisis and eventual recovery is not only an illuminating examination of the experience of patienthood and the inner nature of illness and health but also a fascinating exploration of the physical basis of identity. This 1984 classic is now available in an expanded edition with a new foreword, written by Kate Edgar, executive director of the Oliver Sacks Foundation.

From the bestselling author of On Gratitude and On the Move.In this spirited volume, Oliver Sacks examines the many passions of his own life – both as a doctor engaged with the central questions of human existence, and as a polymath conversant in all the sciences. Why do humans need gardens? How, and when, does a physician tell his patient she has Alzheimer's? What is social media doing to our brains? In several of the compassionate case histories collected here, Sacks considers for the first time the enigmas of depression, psychosis, and schizophrenia, and in others he returns to conditions that have long fascinated him: Tourette’s syndrome, ageing, dementia, and hallucinations. In counterpoint to these elegant investigations of what makes us human, this volume also includes pieces that celebrate Sacks’s love of the natural world – and his last meditations on life in the twenty-first century. Everything in Its Place gives us an intimate portrait of a master writer and thinker at work.