The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: and Other Clinical Tales

By: Oliver Sacks

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Oliver Sacks - introduction

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In his most extraordinary book, "one of the great clinical writers of the 20th century" (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders. Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: 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; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.

If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks' splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility: "the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject".

PLEASE NOTE: Some changes have been made to the original manuscript with the permission of Oliver Sacks.

©1970, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985 Oliver Sacks (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dr. Sacks's best book.... One sees a wise, compassionate and very literate mind at work in these 20 stories, nearly all remarkable, and many the kind that restore one's faith in humanity." ( Chicago Sun-Times)

"Dr. Sacks's most absorbing book.... His tales are so compelling that many of them serve as eerie metaphors not only for the condition of modern medicine but of modern man." ( New York magazine)

Intriging with a Twist of Funny

Any additional comments?

The author has done a great job of taking boring psychology and making it interesting and fun. With true life stories he teaching us about human psychology, and yet the stories themselves are worth listening to even if you think you have no interest in psychology.

Exceptional

An universe of diversity which was completely unknown to me is revealed. Empathy can be felt throughout the book and it is clear that dr. Sachs loves his patients.

Agnosia and gifted writing by Dr. Oliver Sacks!

To me sinful chocolatey wisdom is conveyed best in stories and “The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” presents twenty-four such anecdotes (neurological histories) by Dr. Sacks (author of Awakenings and A Leg to Stand On). Within, words becoming “émettant de la lumière” serving as shining diagnostic gems for people in his care. London born Sacks is soft-spoken and
spellbinding in his telling of stories---including his terminal one.

When Dr. Oliver Sacks was diagnosed with terminal cancer he said, “The most we can do is to write — intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively — about what it is like living in the world at this time.”
—Oliver Sacks, MD

“The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” is equivalent to a visceral motorbike ride in leather via the Malibu Canyon with treacherous hairpin turns into loss, heartache and hope---for patients afflicted with Parkinson's, Tourette's and Korsakov's syndrome. This ride imparts a sensory journey into a moldy neurological dungeon with Sacks narrating and illuminating the strengths in each deficit ridden patient.

The patient who served as the inspiration for this book was afflicted with apperceptive agnosia---a rare disease characterized by individuals who cannot properly process what they see. Though Dr. Oliver Sacks is no longer with us, the evidence of his life, craft and the way he affected the world lives on in his books, partner Bill Hayes and his foundation. Definite must read for those curious about the brain! Brilliant! Buy.

You decide if it is worth your time.

The stories contained in this book are sometimes hard to hear, others, hard to follow. I have no professional background or interest in its subject, however it is most fascinating to me to learn about the brain and the psyche.

Took me many months to complete the book as the subject in itself can feel pretty heavy at times. Oliver's reading with his captivating voice was greatly appreciated.

If you are interested in the subject and audiobooks work for you, by all means get it!

A classic

Great to finally listen to one of the original texts in the field. Narration and content are both solid.

narrator was too affected and did not match

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was too affected and over did the reading. He made me think of James Lipton throughout the book, which detracted from my listening as I know what the author sounds like. He sounded too dramatic and not like a behavioralist (author).

I am a psychologist and I loved it!

Loved it! It may be difficult read for the general public but it is a great summary of many individuals with severe deficits and pathology.

Very Good

Such an enjoyable and often moving book about patients dealing with neurological impairment. It makes you consciously aware of how hard their lives might be. In some cases, how beautiful it must also be to have their minds.

Kind of dry in the beginning ,gets better

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Make the introduction shorter

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis and Oliver Sacks (Introduction) ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no I liked the movie awakening but did not read the book

Pretty dull stuff unless you’re a neuroscientist

I’ve heard about this book for years. As a mental health professional, I expected it to be fascinating; full of lively examples of the uniqueness of human differences. There were these, to be sure, but they were embedded in endless scientific and philosophical theorizing. There’s a lot in this book - Dr sacks is very wordy- and for those who are inclined towards such it might be a deeply satisfying book. For me, meh.