better than most medical writing Having both a strong interest in music and a medical training, this book greatly appealed to me. Sacks is also a good speaker, and although I would have bought this book anyway, the lecture I attended didn't do anything to dissuade me from doing so. Having read copious medical text, I always baulk at anything that might remotely stink of such, when choosing my recreational reading. Musicophilia does discuss the dry scientific evidence, in a fairly in-depth dry scientific way. This, I suppose is... more info
Not as good as I had hoped Really read like a collection of articles - slightly repetitious, surprisingly little engagement with the depth of the topic. Lots of anecdotes - maybe that's the way that knowledge proceeds in neurology? Anyway, it's back to 'Music and the Mind' for me, and then perhaps on to 'The Singing Neanderthals'.
Minds making music By now, it's a given that an Oliver Sacks' book is worth your time and close attention. His particular talent lies in making the science interesting without becoming a "pop-science" writer. This is not an easy achievement, but Sacks manages it with facility. He can explain the science in terms of case studies - many of which have claimed his medical attention. He does this while mixing in experiences of his own and some personal reflections which are anything but intrusions. While some of his books are... more info
Disappointing I am usually a fan of Oliver Sacks but this is a disappointing book. I am about halfway through and on the verge of putting it down, although will perservere as it's a fast read (ie. lightweight and not amazingly thought-provoking). It just reads, as someone else said, more like a series of magazine articles, with each chapter ("article") simply being a list of half a dozen or so interesting cases, but without much analysis of the whys and wherefores. Lightweight, unsatisfying and not up to his usual... more info
