Oliver Sacks has assembled an astonishing collection of hallucinatory experiences and here presents and categorizes them. He describes out of body experiences, hallucinations that take place on the cusp of migraines, life-saving voices [1], phantom limbs, and many more. He shows that hallucinations are much more common than is often thought and that they need not be a sign of mental illness. One of the book's great strengths is its diversity of source material. Sacks draws on his own clinical cases, the experiences of those who have written to him, literature [2], medical history, and his own hallucinatory experiences. These make for a rich portrait both of hallucinations and how they have been interpreted over time. (He discusses the interpretation of some types of hallucinations as spiritual manifestations, although he falls squarely in the non-religious camp.) Sacks's own experiences with hallucinatory drugs leaves no doubt that the author knows of what he speaks. A limitation is that, although the descriptions are largely in layperson-friendly language, any analysis of why the hallucinations take place tends to technical language, leaving a neuro-novice like myself largely adrift. As a result, the book begins to feel long with the balance between description and analysis upset. Despite the final chapters being filled with intriguing stories, they took me a long time to get through. I highly recommend this survey even if you don't get through every page.Read full review
Autographed first edition copy in very good condition with original cover.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Thanks for a good deal and a good book!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I'm absolutely in love with all of Oliver Sacks' books. My favorite is Musicophilia. Now i'm reading his book "Hallucinations" and i really like also this amazing book.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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