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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Picador)
Registered by Paws4Books of Deal, Kent United Kingdom on 9/13/2011
This book is in a Controlled Release!

1 journaler for this copy...

Product Description
‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is populated by a cast as strange as that of the most fantastic fiction. The subject of this strange and wonderful book is what happens when things go wrong with parts of the brain most of us don’t know exist . . . Dr Sacks shows the awesome powers of our mind and just how delicately balanced they have to be’ Sunday Times
‘Who is this book for? Who is it not for? It is for everybody who has felt from time to time that certain twinge of self-identity and sensed how easily, at any moment, one might lose it’ The Times
‘This is, in the best sense, a serious book. It is, indeed, a wonderful book, by which I mean not only that it is excellent (which it is) but also that it is full of wonder, wonders and wondering. He brings to these often unhappy people understanding, sympathy and respect. Sacks is always learning from his patients, marvelling at them, widening his own understanding and ours’ Punch
About the Author
Oliver Sacks was educated in London, Oxford, California and New York. He is a professor of clinical neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is the author of many books, including Musicophilia and Awakenings.
‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is populated by a cast as strange as that of the most fantastic fiction. The subject of this strange and wonderful book is what happens when things go wrong with parts of the brain most of us don’t know exist . . . Dr Sacks shows the awesome powers of our mind and just how delicately balanced they have to be’ Sunday Times
‘Who is this book for? Who is it not for? It is for everybody who has felt from time to time that certain twinge of self-identity and sensed how easily, at any moment, one might lose it’ The Times
‘This is, in the best sense, a serious book. It is, indeed, a wonderful book, by which I mean not only that it is excellent (which it is) but also that it is full of wonder, wonders and wondering. He brings to these often unhappy people understanding, sympathy and respect. Sacks is always learning from his patients, marvelling at them, widening his own understanding and ours’ Punch
About the Author
Oliver Sacks was educated in London, Oxford, California and New York. He is a professor of clinical neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is the author of many books, including Musicophilia and Awakenings.

Journal Entry 2 by Paws4Books at Northampton, Northamptonshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, September 13, 2011
I have been slowly working my way through this book and have found it absolutely fascinating. My current job involves working with people with dementia, something that has proved to me just how complex a brain is and how damage in certain areas of it can cause and create all sorts of complex problems.
The first section included a man who really did mistake his wife for a hat and on several occasions too! Other cases that were just as shocking and fascinating included a woman who suddenly was unable to control her body anymore, a man who fell out of bed after trying to throw out a leg that he felt couldn't belong to him...which did belong to him and was the whole reason he ended up on the floor! A patient with Parkinson's who ended up assisting his doctor with making a device for his glasses in order to prevent him from leaning (something he initially did not believe he did until he watched a film of himself walking from one side of a room to another). ....there were so many amazing cases in the first section.
The second section, involved examining drawings made by someone with Tourette's syndrome...where a basic box was considered boring and until the individual concerned received medication, various changes were made to the picture he drew of the box.
Part three: This was simply amazing, a woman actually started hearing music in her head from her childhood and it turned out it was linked to her having a series of strokes....as she improved the music gradually went away...
The other case that blew me away was the student doctor who suddenly developed a sense of smells similar to that of a dogs...the individual could smell moods and all sorts...absolutely incredible if you ask me!!
Part four was very interesting but the author did reveal a negative bias at the beginning...i myself feel slightly biased as i have a member of my family with learning disabilities and i did not like some of the language used within this section, i had to keep reminding myself of the time it was written and also that these observations took place in America where terminology is considerably different to the UK. I found these cases so fascinating, the skills uncovered such as music, art and mathematics from people that lacked basic self care abilities....amazing!
Despite me becoming so absorbed into these case studies i frequently found myself struggling with such a complex use of language, it was written with a mix of academic/medical and general writing styles...very difficult to get around at times and at the beginning of the book i found myself re-reading passages in order to try and understand what exactly was going on.
Overall, however, this really was an impressive read!!
The first section included a man who really did mistake his wife for a hat and on several occasions too! Other cases that were just as shocking and fascinating included a woman who suddenly was unable to control her body anymore, a man who fell out of bed after trying to throw out a leg that he felt couldn't belong to him...which did belong to him and was the whole reason he ended up on the floor! A patient with Parkinson's who ended up assisting his doctor with making a device for his glasses in order to prevent him from leaning (something he initially did not believe he did until he watched a film of himself walking from one side of a room to another). ....there were so many amazing cases in the first section.
The second section, involved examining drawings made by someone with Tourette's syndrome...where a basic box was considered boring and until the individual concerned received medication, various changes were made to the picture he drew of the box.
Part three: This was simply amazing, a woman actually started hearing music in her head from her childhood and it turned out it was linked to her having a series of strokes....as she improved the music gradually went away...
The other case that blew me away was the student doctor who suddenly developed a sense of smells similar to that of a dogs...the individual could smell moods and all sorts...absolutely incredible if you ask me!!
Part four was very interesting but the author did reveal a negative bias at the beginning...i myself feel slightly biased as i have a member of my family with learning disabilities and i did not like some of the language used within this section, i had to keep reminding myself of the time it was written and also that these observations took place in America where terminology is considerably different to the UK. I found these cases so fascinating, the skills uncovered such as music, art and mathematics from people that lacked basic self care abilities....amazing!
Despite me becoming so absorbed into these case studies i frequently found myself struggling with such a complex use of language, it was written with a mix of academic/medical and general writing styles...very difficult to get around at times and at the beginning of the book i found myself re-reading passages in order to try and understand what exactly was going on.
Overall, however, this really was an impressive read!!

Journal Entry 3 by Paws4Books at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Released 13 yrs ago (9/22/2011 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
To be given to a work friend that I think would find this book interesting.
Hope you enjoy.
Hope you enjoy.