Scan barcode
A review by geekwayne
Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks
3.0
I enjoy reading Oliver Sacks. He combines a brilliant scientific mind with the voice of a compassionate and empathetic clinician.
Most of his books that I've read are case studies based on different brain disorders. This book is a bit different. It's really 3 shorter pieces, all dealing with deafness that he wrote over a period of about 10 years. The first third is a New York Time Book Review piece that he wrote, the second is more of a paper expanding on the first third and the last section is a firsthand account of rioting and protests at Gallaudet University in the late 80s when students demanded a deaf president.
Along the way, we learn the history of the deaf over the last 150 years. How different schools of thought have helped and hindered their ability to communicate with each other and the world at large. We learn how communication is formed in the brain and how there is a crucial age for learning.
Many fascinating things were discussed in the book, but it was a bit drier than other books of his. Still recommended, but if you are new to Sacks, I highly recommend [b:An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales|64666|An Anthropologist on Mars Seven Paradoxical Tales|Oliver Sacks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170623971s/64666.jpg|77298] or [b:The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|63697|The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|Oliver Sacks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266463238s/63697.jpg|882844]. Approach this one after you've exhausted his more approachable works.
Most of his books that I've read are case studies based on different brain disorders. This book is a bit different. It's really 3 shorter pieces, all dealing with deafness that he wrote over a period of about 10 years. The first third is a New York Time Book Review piece that he wrote, the second is more of a paper expanding on the first third and the last section is a firsthand account of rioting and protests at Gallaudet University in the late 80s when students demanded a deaf president.
Along the way, we learn the history of the deaf over the last 150 years. How different schools of thought have helped and hindered their ability to communicate with each other and the world at large. We learn how communication is formed in the brain and how there is a crucial age for learning.
Many fascinating things were discussed in the book, but it was a bit drier than other books of his. Still recommended, but if you are new to Sacks, I highly recommend [b:An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales|64666|An Anthropologist on Mars Seven Paradoxical Tales|Oliver Sacks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170623971s/64666.jpg|77298] or [b:The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|63697|The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|Oliver Sacks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266463238s/63697.jpg|882844]. Approach this one after you've exhausted his more approachable works.