|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HELP | |
|
  $13.95 List price: 25.00 You save: $11.05
HARDCOVER, USED
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBN:Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brainby Oliver Sacks
Staff Pick
Musicophilia is a fascinating look at music and its effects on our brains. Who but Oliver Sacks could make such a compulsively readable book? Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does — humans are a musical species.
Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people — from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; from people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds — for everything but music. Our exquisite sensitivity to music can sometimes go wrong: Sacks explores how catchy tunes can subject us to hours of mental replay, and how a surprising number of people acquire nonstop musical hallucinations that assault them night and day. Yet far more frequently, music goes right: 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 whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer's or amnesia. Music is irresistible, haunting, andunforgettable, and in Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks tells us why. Review:"Sacks is an unparalleled chronicler of modern medicine, and fans of his work will find much to enjoy when he turns his prodigious talent for observation to music and its relationship to the brain. The subtitle aptly frames the book as a series of medical case studies — some in-depth, some abruptly short. The tales themselves range from the relatively mundane (a song that gets stuck on a continuing loop in one's mind) through the uncommon (Tourette's or Parkinson's patients whose symptoms are calmed by particular kinds of music) to the outright startling (a man struck by lightning subsequently developed a newfound passion and talent for the concert piano). In this latest collection, Sacks introduces new and fascinating characters, while also touching on the role of music in some of his classic cases (the man who mistook his wife for a hat makes a brief appearance). Though at times the narrative meanders, drawing connections through juxtaposition while leaving broader theories to be inferred by the reader, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. This book leaves one a little more attuned to the remarkable complexity of human beings, and a bit more conscious of the role of music in our lives." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:Sacks's own enthusiasm about the complex workings of the human mind
(he teaches clinical neurology and psychiatry at Columbia U.) becomes
infectious in his writings. In this volume, he turns his attention to
the many phenomena concerning music and the brain, relating the
scientific explanations alongside numerous and compelling case
studies. Sacks describes the effects of music--and different aspects
of music--on ordinary individuals, musicians, and people who have had
accidents or disabilities, in chapters on music and memory, musical
hallucinations, music therapy, and perfect pitch, among other topics.
Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Review:"Sacks portrays our innate propensity toward music as an overall plus — often therapeutic and occasionally a lifesaver." Los Angeles Times Review:"Sacks is not in the business of answers carved in stone....His ultimate gift to readers is a sustained sense of wonder at the enormous variability of individual human experience." Oregonian Review:"Sacks' tales...work their way beyond passionate personal appreciation of music toward potential uses with neurological conditions." Seattle Times Review:"Sacks is less interested in providing answers here than he is in creating awareness. While the stories Sacks relates are not as fantastical and colorful as in previous books, they are just as compelling." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Review:"Pleasantly rollicking, but with a definite hint that the grand old man is taking it easy." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Neurologist Sacks...charmingly argues that music is essential to being human in ways that have only begun to be understood....His customary erudition and fellow-feeling ensure that, no matter how clinical the discussion becomes, it remains, like the music of Mozart, accessible and congenial." Booklist Review:"A gifted writer and a neurologist, Sacks spins one fascinating tale after another to show what happens when music and the brain mix it up." Newsweek Synopsis:Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. About the AuthorOliver Sacks is a physician and the author of nine previous books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings (which inspired the Oscar-nominated film). He lives in New York City, where he is Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University. Table of ContentsPreface Part I: Haunted by Music 1. A Bolt from the Blue: Sudden Musicophilia 2. A Strangely Familiar Feeling: Musical Seizures 3. Fear of Music: Musicogenic Epilepsy 4. Music on the Brain: Imagery and Imagination 5. Brainworms, Sticky Music, and Catchy Tunes 6. Musical Hallucinations Part II: A Range of Musicality 7. Sense and Sensibility: A Range of Musicality 8. Things Fall Apart: Amusia and Dysharmonia 9. Papa Blows His Nose in G: Absolute Pitch 10. Pitch Imperfect: Cochlear Amusia 11. In Living Stereo: Why We Have Two Ears 12. Two Thousand Operas: Musical Savants 13. An Auditory World: Music and Blindness 14. The Key of Clear Green: Synesthesia and Music Part III: Memory, Movement, and Music 15. In the Moment: Music and Amnesia 16. Speech and Song: Aphasia and Music Therapy 17. Accidental Davening: Dyskinesia and Cantillation 18. Come Together: Music and Tourette’s Syndrome 19. Keeping Time: Rhythm and Movement 20. Kinetic Melody: Parkinson’s Disease and Music Therapy 21. Phantom Fingers: The Case of the One-Armed Pianist 22. Athletes of the Small Muscles: Musician’s Dystonia Part IV: Emotion, Identity, and Music 23. Awake and Asleep: Musical Dreams 24. Seduction and Indifference 25. Lamentations: Music and Depression 26. The Case of Harry S.: Music and Emotion 27. Irrepressible: Music and the Temporal Lobes 28. A Hypermusical Species: Williams Syndrome 29. Music and Identity: Dementia and Music Therapy Acknowledgments Bibliography Index What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 9 comments: | ||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Don't Miss
