An Anthropologist on Mars

Seven Paradoxical Tales

By: Oliver Sacks

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Oliver Sacks

To these seven narratives of neurological disorder, Dr. Sacks brings the same humanity, poetic observation, and infectious sense of wonder that are apparent in his best sellers Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. These men, women, and one extraordinary child emerge as brilliantly adaptive personalities, whose conditions have not so much debilitated them as ushered them into another reality.

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

©1995 Oliver Sacks (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"True to his past work, he offers compelling stories told with the cognizance of a clinician and the heart and compassion of a poet." ( Library Journal)

Read this book

I was a bit annoyed by the narrator (his great voice has nothing to do with it). He seemed like he did't fully understand what he was reading. I would listen the book if the author himself read it.
The stories were good but they were repetitive. Exactly same wording was used multiple times in the same chapter.
I still recommend you to READ it.

Not as good as the man who mistook his wife for a

Interesting stories but could have been much better with some editing, some parts just go on too long. I had to force myself to get through some of it.

always interesting

The brain is fascinating. the book goes off topic a bit sometimes. but is well worth listening to if you like his other books.

a fascinating look at the human mind

This is classic Oliver Sacks! His details are exquisite and, while the anatomical and medical information may be detailed for many readers, it is surrounded and engulfed in compassionate observations of not only the neurological function, but the human drama of neurological dysfunction. anyone with a friend or family member with Tourette's Syndrome or Asperger's or Autism Spectrum disorder would find this a must-read.

paradoxical indeed

a painter who becomes completely color-blind (not your regular red-looks-black colorblind). A surgeon with Turette's. A blind man to whom retina function, but not brain function, is restored and then what happens. No one but Sacks could tell these tales of neurology, a science as complex and nuanced as genomics, but much more concrete.

The narration is good, and reminiscent of Sacks himself.