Hallucinations

By: Oliver Sacks

Narrated by: Dan Woren, Oliver Sacks

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Hallucinations don’t belong wholly to the insane. Much more commonly, they are linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. Here Dr. Sacks weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences to illuminate what hallucinations tell us about the organization and structure of our brains, how they have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:

American Academy of Neurology: Excerpt from “Anton’s Syndrome Accompanying Withdrawal Hallucinosis in a Blind Alcoholic” by Barbara E. Swartz and John C. M. Brust from Neurology 34 (1984). Reprinted by permission of the American Academy of Neurology as administered by Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research.

American Psychiatric Publishing: Excerpt from “Weir Mitchell’s Visual Hallucinations as a Grief Reaction” by Jerome S. Schneck, M.D., from American Journal of Psychiatry (1989). © 1989 by American Journal of Psychiatry. Reprinted by permission of American Psychiatric Publishing a division of American Psychiatric Association.

BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.: Excerpt from “Heautoscopy, Epilepsy and Suicide” by P. Brugger, R. Agosti, M. Regard, H. G. Wieser and T. Landis from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, July 1, 1994. Reprinted by permission of BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. as administered by the Copyright Clearance Center.

Cambridge University Press: Excerpts from Disturbances of the Mind by Douwe Draaisma, translated by Barbara Fasting. © 2006 by Douwe Draaisma. Reprinted by permission of Cambridge University Press.

Canadian Psychological Association: Excerpt from “Effects of Decreased Variation of the Sensory Environment” by W. H. Bexton, W. Heron and T. H. Scott from Canadian Psychology (1954). © 1954 by Canadian Psychological Association.

Excerpt from “Perceptual Changes after Prolonged Sensory Isolation (Darkness and Silence)” by John P. Zubek, Dolores Pushkar, Wilma Sansom and J. Gowing from Canadian Psychology (1961). © 1961 by Canadian Psychological Association. Reprinted by permission of Canadian Psychological Association.

Elsevier Limited: Excerpt from “Migraine: From Cappadocia to Queen Square” in Background to Migraine, edited by Robert Smith (London: William Heinemann, 1967). Reprinted by permission of Elsevier Limited.

The New York Times: Excerpts from “Lifting, Lights, and Little People” by Siri Hustvedt from The New York Times Blog, February 17, 2008. Reprinted by permission of The New York Times as administered by PARS International Corp.

Oxford University Press: Excerpt from “Dostoiewski’s Epilepsy” by T. Alajouanine from Brain, June 1, 1963. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press as administered by Copyright Clearance Center.

Royal College of Psychiatrists: Excerpt from “Sudden Religious Conversion in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy” by Kenneth Dewhurst and A. W. Beard from British Journal of Psychiatry 117 (1970). Reprinted by permission of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Scientific American: Excerpt from “Abducted!” by Michael Shermer from Scientifi c American 292 (2005). © 2005 by Scientifi c American, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Scientific American.

Vintage Books: Excerpts from Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov, © 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1967, copyright renewed 1994 by the Estate of Vladimir Nabokov. Used by permission of Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

©2012 Oliver Sacks (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Fascinating…Dr. Sacks’s compassion for his patients and philosophical outlook transform what might have been clinical case studies into humanely written short stories that illuminate the complexities of the human brain and the mysteries of the human mind." (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Top Ten of the Year)

“Oliver Sacks is my hero, so any book he publishes is a book of the year for me…His book explores not only his own experiences but a wide variety of conditions that can cause patients to see things that aren't there, and his writing is characterized by a mix of close-focus scientific scrutiny and broad human sympathy.” (Hilary Mantel, Wall Street Journal Favorites of 2012)

Hallucinations was great!!

Absolutely fascinating real life cases of hallucinations. Great narration! Loved all of it. Would read another book.

Quite an eyeful (for your ear)

Like Malcolm Gladwell, Sacks rarely misses the bullseye when spinning a great anecdote, and when his sights are tightened on a topic as ripe (and as personally held dear) as this one -hallucinations- you have the makings of a minor masterpiece. Wryly reported and expertly narrated, here is an accounting both personal and academic that begs you to bed early to sneak in an extra chapter, and then later to gaze at your medicine cabinet with curious and longing eyes.

a compilation of fascinating tales

this is a fascinating compilation of hallucination experiences... its full of stories and knowledge.. it doesnt tell you why these experiences happen or their meaning but it provides some psychological, psychiatric and physical explanations... but as someone who experienced hallucinations in different contexts throughout life as well as having regular lucid dreams, I found this listen very interesting, relevant and fun... this book is certainly not boring...

fascinating

Illuminating. Informative. Explains throughly and cites documented examples. I highly recommend this book to all.

Sacks at his best, why couldn't he narrate?

Sensitive, compassionate and interesting case studies, with a sprinkling of autobiography. As always, Sacks writes at a level that is interesting to this neuroscientist, without being too jargon-y for my sweetie, who also loved the book. Major drawback is the narrator. At least Dan Woren can pronounce all the brain structures correctly (thank goodness) -- but Sacks' voice doesn't really get translated in the flat performance. We get a tease of Sacks' fantastic reading of the introduction, so we know what could have been with appropriate narration. As the title suggests,the book is an exploration of hallucination - seen, heard, smelled and felt through avenues involuntary (associated with some neuropathology), or voluntary (drug induced). Hallucinations is historical, witty, and scholarly without being dispassionate or boring. Well worth a credit.

Great material

What made the experience of listening to Hallucinations the most enjoyable?

The book is great. Material is extremely interesting and written well in understandable terms for the layman. Left me wanting more information about the neuro processes involved. Great mix of science and sociology.

Any additional comments?

Not the best suited for audio. Difficult to navigate between listening on iPhone and hooking up to car system. Kept resetting to beginning of chapter.

Very Thorough

This is a great book for someone wanting to learn the broad array of causes and situations in which a hallucination could occur! He covers many different situations and has countless interesting stories to go along with them. He also does a very good job at using the correct DSM-5 terms and differentiating between the different hallucination situations.

A Fascinating Book

A fascination look into hallucinations and how they're actually not all that uncommon. This book covers a lot; visual and auditory, hallucinations caused by drugs, phantom limbs, you name it. If there's something I learned it's that I need to be reading more books from Oliver Sacks.
I didn't have as many issues with the narration as other listeners did although I will say that Oliver Sacks does the introduction and I think he would have made an amazing narrator.

A book by oliver Sacks, another way of "seein thin

What made the experience of listening to Hallucinations the most enjoyable?

experiential and neurological meanings.

What was most disappointing about Oliver Sacks’s story?

I want to do further research into auditory and other nonvisual hallucinations.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

he uses literature, sight, and "stories."

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

a little off as respects inflection

Awful Accents

The reader insists on using accents for any quote. He even does a high pitched voice for women. At its best it's bad, at its worst it's offensive. Someone somewhere should have intervened. Otherwise the performance is great.