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Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver W. Sacks

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1297985.Musicophilia_Tales_of_Music_and_the_Brain?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1190905003m/1297985.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1297985.Musicophilia_Tales_of_Music_and_the_Brain?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/843200.Oliver_W_Sacks">Oliver W. Sacks</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18127339?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 2 of 5 stars<br/>I have to agree wholeheartedly with the reviews of Mike (3/18/08) and Ginnie (12/2007). Sacks presents here a somewhat rambling zoology of neurological observations relating to music, heavy on anecdote, light on peer-reviewed study, analysis, or interesting speculation. A typical example of this is Sacks' chapter on Williams Syndrome patients, in which Sacks reiterates the near-identical symptoms/traits of Steven, Meghan, Christian, Anne ("the eldest at forty-six"), Majestic, Debbie, Tomer, Pamela, et al. for 17 monotonous pages, without once delving into the basis of the condition, attempting generalizable principles about brain function/performance, or drawing any inferences beyond noting that Williams sufferers are highly-musical, empathic extroverts. Surely, with his extensive exposure to these individuals and familiarity with the brain's geography Sacks could hypothesize a bit about what makes us human?
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<br/>Sacks' best chapter (and the one most worth reading) is the one on Music and Amnesia, in which he tells the tragic story of Clive Wearing, a man whose damaged amygdala has cost him 40+ years of memory along with all ability to make new memories (think "Memento," only much worse). However, this resonance derives less from Sacks himself than from Sacks' frequent quotation of Deborah Wearing's Forever Today: A Memoir of Love and Amnesia, to the extent of serving as a Cliff's Notes.
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<br/>"What a waste it is to lose one's mind," misquoted G.W. Bush, to say nothing of one's frontal lobes. I had hoped that a reading of this book would have given me a better understanding of how brain function and music appreciation interrelate. Alas, after a superficial whirlwind tour of many things mental and musica,l all it has given me is a headache.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/897874?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Bruce's review
rating:
recommended for: diehard fans of Oliver Sacks' writings only

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the reviews of Mike (3/18/08) and Ginnie (12/2007). Sacks presents here a somewhat rambling zoology of neurological observations relating to music, heavy on anecdote, light on peer-reviewed study, analysis, or interesting speculation. A typical example of this is Sacks' chapter on Williams Syndrome patients, in which Sacks reiterates the near-identical symptoms/traits of Steven, Meghan, Christian, Anne ("the eldest at forty-six"), Majestic, Debbie, Tomer, Pamela, et al. for 17 monotonous pages, without once delving into the basis of the condition, attempting generalizable principles about brain function/performance, or drawing any inferences beyond noting that Williams sufferers are highly-musical, empathic extroverts. Surely, with his extensive exposure to these individuals and familiarity with the brain's geography Sacks could hypothesize a bit about what makes us human?

Sacks' best chapter (and the one most worth reading) is the one o...more

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