Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain [J0333]

2008 PB in nice clean condition. With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls "musical misalignments." Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable. Dr. Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson's disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people who are deeply disoriented by Alzheimer's or schizophrenia. Music can be inspiring, moving us to the heights or depths of emotion - and it can also be our best medicine. In Musicophilia Oliver Sacks tells us why.

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Musicophilia completely changed the way I think about music and the brain. I loved how it mixed real-life stories with science without ever feeling like a textbook. Some chapters were a little slower than others, but overall it was fascinating and surprisingly easy to read."; "I knew music was powerful, but this book reveals the magic that rhythm and beat hold as parts of the brain stop working as expected, either due to birth, injury, illness, or aging. This can change the relationship one has with sound, when the brain forces them to hear music against their will. I found this book invigorating as it expresses just a few of the ways our bodies can deceive us."; "Amazing mix of personal stories and scientific information that had me enthralled from cover to cover."