Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,073 global ratings
5 star
71%
4 star
17%
3 star
8%
2 star
2%
1 star
2%
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review this product

Reviews with images

Customer image
See all customer images

Read reviews that mention

new york mistook his wife wife for a hat case studies san francisco man who mistook sacks books worth reading uncle tungsten life story robin williams weight lifter highly recommend beautifully written weight lifting many years muscle beach well worth thom gunn want to read
Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

katarinaism
5.0 out of 5 stars and the like. To read Sacks' account of what motivated him ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
A poignant, powerful memoir of Sacks' life and the line between the humanities and the sciences that he so elegantly balanced his life's work upon. This is my second of Sacks' books that I have read ('Migraine' was the other, though I own them all and plan to read them), and it walks the reader through his life - from his childhood in England, to his coming-of-age and sexual awakening, to his motorbike-riding days in residency in San Francisco and the subsequent career for which most of us know him.

As a migraine sufferer, I too was both frightened and fascinated by my visual auras. I always felt a little crazy admitting or describing them, until I picked up Sacks' "Migraine" in high school and flipped through the pages upon pages of elegantly drawn visual auras and the accompanying descriptions. As a med student, I was impressed by Sacks' ability to write popular science books in the field of neurology, a skill which perhaps is only rivaled by those greats such as Steven Hawking, Isaac Asimov, and the like. To read Sacks' account of what motivated him to write the book and the challenges he faced in doing so only made me appreciate it more.

As a neurologist, I found a lot to relate to here: particular passages of interest were his approach to migraines, and his feeling as though he was "not like a super-specialist in migraine but like the general practitioner these patients should have seen to begin with. I felt it my business, my responsibility, to enquire about every aspect of their lives." Any neurologist who cares for migraine patients would relay the complex entanglement between sleep, stress, caffeine habits, and medical comorbidities to patients' migraine disorders. He also writes eloquently and relatably about the intersection between neurology and psychiatry and the importance of realizing a holistic, multifaceted approach.

But most of all, what I enjoyed about this book, was that it tears down the stereotypes of what a traditional 'neurologist' is. Many of us have the picture of the neurologist as the straitlaced, nerdy physician with the briefcase full of tools and a very bookish approach (and I am a neurologist). The image of the artistic, motorbike riding, poetry-appreciating young neurologist with a rebellious, inquisitive streak is satisfying because it shows who a neurologist can be -- an artist, a bodybuilder, a traveler, a writer. Sacks' memoir paints the picture of a life well-lived, well-enjoyed, and well-spent; he spent his life not dwelling on limitations of science but savoring scientific inquiry, by pursuing purpose and possibility. I hope his book inspires the artists to appreciate the beauty and subtlety of science, and the scientists to appreciate the emotion and abstraction of art. It certainly inspired me.
Read more
Christopher
5.0 out of 5 stars 'On the Move' is a "moving" masterpiece.
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
I fell in love with Oliver Sacks and his writing after my parents gave me "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" this past Christmas. Ever since, I've been hooked and can't get enough. I've now read "Hat", "Hallucinations," " Musicophilia," and now his autobiography. His writing is so elegant yet lucid, that it feels as though I'm reading fiction at times. This new book of his is no different, and may perhaps be the most fascinating of them all.

To say that he has lived life to the fullest would be a severe understatement; he has filled his life with enough adventure and excitement to occupy four lifetimes, and he is still going (and may he continue to do so for many years, in spite of his cancer). His openness and honesty in "On the Move" is spectacular, moving, and one feels as though he is having a fireside conversation with Sacks himself. There is so much I never knew about him, so much that I almost found hard to believe! (You'll understand this as you read through the book). What a man, what a life!

As a student who will be starting his first year at medical school this August, I can say that I aspire to be half the man that Oliver Sacks has become. He is part of the reason that I have fallen even more in love with the medical field, particularly neurology and psychiatry. There is much to learn from this book, regardless of one's profession, interests, and background. There is so much more to say, but I'm no wordsmith as Sacks is, so I'll let you read it for yourself. It is my hope that you enjoy every page, sentence, and carefully crafted word that Oliver Sacks has used to print his life onto paper. As Albert Schweitzer said, "my life is my argument," and no doubt Sacks will embody this message until the end.
Read more
Paul Halpern
5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting autobiography by one of the greatest minds of our age
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
Oliver Sacks is one of the most important thinkers of our time. His prior works have offered considerable insight about and needed compassion toward the immensely broad spectrum of the human condition: from memory loss and divergent modes of mental processing to profound sensory limitations. Above all, he has enabled us to walk in others' shoes and imagine perceiving the world from a wholly different perspective. Not only is he a compassionate and thorough physician, he is also an extraordinary writer. His prose is compelling, vivid, and persuasive. Yet in his intellectual discourse, it is easy to focus on his mind and think of him as purely a thinker, rather than as a complete person. On the Move, a brilliant autobiography, sheds considerable insight into the rest of his life, showing his 'human' side, including passions, strengths and weaknesses. It is a fascinating chronicle of a young man who discovers his sexual orientation during a very prejudiced age, who struggles with a drinking problem, who values the life of the body (working out) as well as the mind, and who loves roaming free, whether on his motorcycle, running or scuba diving. At last, the error in the film Awakenings, in which the character supposed to be Sacks is shown as timid and barely attuned to life, is corrected. Sacks is certainly not timid, and despite medical challenges, has shown himself to be very much full of life. It is society that has been too timid, and at long last needs to embrace diversity.

Paul Halpern, author of  Einstein's Dice and Schrödinger's Cat: How Two Great Minds Battled Quantum Randomness to Create a Unified Theory of Physics
Read more
See all reviews

Top reviews from other countries

Vicuña
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary man who lived life to the full. One of the best autobiographies I've read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
I must confess to having enjoyed everything I've read by Oliver Sacks. He writes about disease and neurological impairment in a way that's interesting and easy for a lay person to understand. I was sad to learn of his own illness last year, which finally claimed him and I was looking forward to reading this. What an amazing individual and this is possibly one of the best autobiographies I've ever read.

He writes in a way that's immediately engaging and the reader is drawn in to the excitement of his life. I had no idea that he'd done so many extraordinary things and I'm delighted that he lived life to the full ( and occasional excess) in every way. It's quite an emotional roller coaster at times, both professionally and personally. Here was a man prepared to take risks and by and large they paid off. The world is a poorer place without him.
Read more
ACB(swansea)
5.0 out of 5 stars Oliver Sacks - Always On The Move
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Oliver Sacks is an individual who has determined his own destiny. His upbringing within a medical environment led to his statement, "By the time I was fourteen, it was 'understood' that I was going to be a doctor", following his parents and elder brothers. Whether it was his chosen route in life he has doubts, but his eventual medical career as a neurologist is one of eminence with a way of explaining the intricacies of the brain that appeal to laymen and fellow professionals. The pulling-power of this autobiography is Oliver Sack's honesty expressed though his experiences. His writing has always been fluent. He details his love of motor cycles, swimming and body building, his sexual orientation that he and his parents were aware of when he was twelve, later graphically exemplified by his experiences in Amsterdam and Hampstead.

Oliver Sacks never seems to have taken life lying down. Despite his dedication to his distinguished medical career, he has managed to embrace himself as a self-confessed 'field-worker', a man who is constantly striving to fit his and other human behaviour within his professional knowledge and experiences as a 'brain doctor'. This is a forthright and honest autobiography written by a man who has an audience and who has lived life to the full. His terminal disease makes this even more compelling. A book that is as pleasurable and interesting to read as its author intended. Full of revelations and humanity, it is highly recommended.
Read more
Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating peek into the life of an extraordinary man
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
A gripping story of an extraordinary man's extraordinary life. The narrative tends to flit around a lot which I found a bit disconcerting at times, but once I'd gotten used to it I relaxed about it. As it was all fascinating that helped a lot. What I really enjoyed about this book apart from discovering more about Sacks himself, was learning about his quite astonishing family as well. His parents sound like amazing people and even his wider family are fairly awe inspiring. I was particularly interested to learn about Sacks' younger brother and his mental health problems. You can imagine how hard it would be to be in that kind of mental space in a family of eccentric characters in whom intellect was such a prize. I was devastated to get to the end of the book. I wanted more.
Read more
Dr. B. Prynn
5.0 out of 5 stars I have been a fan of Oliver Sachs for a ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have been a fan of Oliver Sachs for a long time. His autobiography is fascinating, giving detail about his early family life, his double life when he was first in the United States as a doctor and medical researcher and his private life of body-building and biking at a time when being gay was hardly respectable. He wrote extremely well, and knew a lot of important and influential people, and he writes about all aspects of his life in a witty and informative style.
Read more
Louis Jebb
5.0 out of 5 stars A master story-teller's moving memoir
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
Oliver Sacks tells a case history - medical or otherwise - like no one else. He is neurology's answer to Malcolm Gladwell. Here the subject is Sacks's own life and the stories of love and loss - and it is unsparingly told - are moving and inspiring in equal measure. As good as anything this master storyteller has given us before.
Read more
See all reviews