91 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.52

Oliver's Bookshelves

read (96)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (0)

Oliver’s Friends (82)

Dalar B

4,238 books | 207 friends

Michele Piccini

34,633 books | 3,079 friends

Alaa

472 books | 384 friends

.सोनिया.

700 books | 22 friends

Alexia

616 books | 8 friends

Joost Perreijn

722 books | 42 friends

Janus

845 books | 84 friends

Flávia

5,166 books | 539 friends

More friends…

Oliver is following 0 people

Oliver Sacks

Goodreads author profile

born

in London, The United Kingdom

gender

male

website

http://www.oliversacks.com/

genre

Science, Nonfiction

member since

March 2012

About this author

edit data

Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE (born July 9, 1933, London), is a British neurologist residing in the United States, who has written popular books about his patients, the most famous of which is Awakenings, which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.

Sacks was the youngest of four children born to a prosperous North London Jewish couple: Sam, a physician, and Elsie, a surgeon. When he was six years old, he and his brother were evacuated from London to escape The Blitz, retreating to a boarding school in the Midlands, where he remained until 1943. During his youth, he was a keen amateur chemist, as recalled in his memoir Uncle Tungsten. He also learned to share his parents' enthusiasm for medicine and ent...more Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE (born July 9, 1933, London), is a British neurologist residing in the United States, who has written popular books about his patients, the most famous of which is Awakenings, which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.

Sacks was the youngest of four children born to a prosperous North London Jewish couple: Sam, a physician, and Elsie, a surgeon. When he was six years old, he and his brother were evacuated from London to escape The Blitz, retreating to a boarding school in the Midlands, where he remained until 1943. During his youth, he was a keen amateur chemist, as recalled in his memoir Uncle Tungsten. He also learned to share his parents' enthusiasm for medicine and entered The Queen's College, Oxford University in 1951, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in physiology and biology in 1954. At the same institution, he went on to earn in 1958, a Master of Arts (MA) and an MB ChB in chemistry, thereby qualifying to practice medicine.

After converting his British qualifications to American recognition (i.e., an MD as opposed to MB ChB), Sacks moved to New York, where he has lived since 1965, and taken twice weekly therapy sessions since 1966.

Sacks began consulting at chronic care facility Beth Abraham Hospital (now Beth Abraham Health Service) in 1966. At Beth Abraham, Sacks worked with a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica, who had been unable to move on their own for decades. These patients and his treatment of them were the basis of Sacks' book Awakenings.

His work at Beth Abraham helped provide the foundation on which the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), where Sacks is currently an honorary medical advisor, is built. In 2000, IMNF honored Sacks, its founder, with its first Music Has Power Award. The IMNF again bestowed a Music Has Power Award on Sacks in 2006 to commemorate "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honor his outstanding contributions in support of music therapy and the effect of music on the human brain and mind".

Sacks was formerly employed as a clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and at the New York University School of Medicine, serving the latter school for 42 years. On 1 July 2007, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons appointed Sacks to a position as professor of clinical neurology and clinical psychiatry, at the same time opening to him a new position as "artist", which the university hoped will help interconnect disciplines such as medicine, law, and economics. Sacks remains a consultant neurologist to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and maintains a practice in New York City.

Since 1996, Sacks is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature). In 1999, Sacks became a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences. Also in 1999, he became an Honorary Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford. In 2002, he became Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Arts, Section 4—Literature).[38] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Thomas Prize by Rockefeller University. Sacks has been awarded honorary doctorates from the College of Staten Island (1991), Tufts University (1991), New York Medical College (1991), Georgetown University (1992), Medical College of Pennsylvania (1992), Bard College (1992), Queen's University (Ontario) (2001), Gallaudet University (2005), University of Oxford (2005), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. Asteroid 84928 Oliversacks, discovered in 2003 and 2 miles (3.2 km) in diameter, has been named in his honor.
(less)

32 posts
Oliver Sacks's Blog

Ending the Stigma of Mental Illness

President Obama, marking National Mental Health Awareness Month, has called for an end to the shame and stigma attached to mental illness. As activistElyn Saksputs it, “there is a tremendous need to implode the myths of mental illness, to put a face on it, to show people that a diagnosis does not have to lead to a painful and oblique life.”

The twenty-first century has brought major progress i...

combine editions
Oliver Sacks's Books

Average rating: 3.98 · 90,427 ratings · 5,761 reviews · 59 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 44,467 ratings — published 1985 — 72 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 15,369 ratings — published 2007 — 39 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 6,462 ratings — published 1995 — 42 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Awakenings 4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 3,798 ratings — published 1973 — 40 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mind's Eye 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 3,545 ratings — published 2010 — 29 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hallucinations 3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 2,681 ratings — published 2012 — 21 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uncle Tungsten 3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 1,956 ratings — published 2001 — 23 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Island of the Colorblind 3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 1,598 ratings — published 1997 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Seeing Voices 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 1,388 ratings — published 1989 — 22 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Leg to Stand On 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 946 ratings — published 1984 — 19 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Oliver Sacks…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

rss
Oliver's Recent Updates

Oliver Sacks wrote a new blog post Ending the Stigma of Mental Illness President Obama, marking National Mental Health Awareness Month, has called for an end to the shame and stigma attached to mental illness. As activ... Read more of this blog post »
22 mai 03:29 · 11 likes · like
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Biophilia by Edward O. Wilson	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:04
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Last Dance at the Hotel Kempinski by Robin Hirsch	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:03
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Grayson by Lynne Cox	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:02
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer by Lynne Cox	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:02
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Listening to Pain: Finding Words, Compassion, and Relief by David Biro	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:01
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach by Christof Koch	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:01
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Another Day in the Monkey's Brain by Ralph Mitchell Siegel	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:00
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars An Introduction to Nervous Systems by Ralph J. Greenspan	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 18:00
Oliver Sacks rated a book 4 of 5 stars Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water, With a new preface by Philip Ball	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22 avr. 17:59

More of Oliver's books…

Quotes by Oliver Sacks

“Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more - it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.”
― Oliver Sacks

110 people liked it

“My religion is nature. That’s what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me.”
― Oliver Sacks

tags: naturalist

77 people liked it

“Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination.”
― Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: La musique, le cerveau et nous

73 people liked it

See all Oliver Sacks's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Challenge: 50 Books: Tim's 50 books for 2009	19	200	30 déc. 17:53
The Book Addicts!: Abbey's TBR Challenge - 2010	24	102	16 jan. 13:42
Between the Lines: Last Letter Game (Writers/Authors)	340	255	07 mar. 12:55
Book Nook Cafe: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales ~ July 2010	80	107	05 août 11:50
Readers and Reading: July 2010 reads	31	92	21 août 14:49
Book Nook Cafe: What I read in July 2010	161	177	03 oct. 13:20
The Next Best Boo...: Mackenzie's Goal for 2010	23	115	24 oct. 10:02
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	2791	937	30 nov. 21:03

More…

Add New
Videos

Oliver's Bookshelves

Oliver’s Friends (82)

Oliver's Fans (1175)

Oliver Sacks

Goodreads author profile

32 posts
Oliver Sacks's Blog

combine editions
Oliver Sacks's Books

Upcoming Events

rss
Oliver's Recent Updates

Quotes by Oliver Sacks

Topics Mentioning This Author

Oliver’s Friend Comments

Flag Abuse

Oliver Sacks

Goodreads author profile

Upcoming Events

rssOliver's Recent Updates

Topics Mentioning This Author

Flag Abuse

rss
Oliver's Recent Updates