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Books : Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition

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by: Oliver Sacks

 : Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.11
EAN: 9781400033539
ISBN: 1400033535
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 448
Publication Date: September 23, 2008
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: September 23, 2008
Studio: Vintage
Sales Rank: 231




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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Revised and Expanded

With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music.

Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable, Musicophilia is Oliver Sacks' latest masterpiece.

Amazon.com Review:
Amazon Best of the Month, December 2007: Legendary R&B icon Ray Charles claimed that he was "born with music inside me," and neurologist Oliver Sacks believes Ray may have been right. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain examines the extreme effects of music on the human brain and how lives can be utterly transformed by the simplest of harmonies. With clinical studies covering the tragic (individuals afflicted by an inability to connect with any melody) and triumphant (Alzheimer's patients who find order and comfort through music), Sacks provides an erudite look at the notion that humans are truly a "musical species." --Dave Callanan



Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Musicophilia: Reviewed
This book further detailed the fascination with music's neurological connection. Why do some people have a natural talent and others don't? Absolute pitch, musical savants, 'seeing' music, memory training, and gained/lost musical abilities from accidents/health issues/etc are a few of the many topics Sacks addresses. The majority of the book are case reviews from the author's various patients & studies. There are definitely some cases that feel repetitive (Okay great...another story about another ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Man, the musical animal
Sacks does it again, merging clinical precision with insight and real affection for his patients. This time, he explores the biological foundations of music as a human experience. It turns out that music runs deep in the human brain and mind, as it does in possibly no other species. In his medical practice, Sacks has seen how music can heal, as in some Parkison's and psychiatric patients, or even harm, in rare cases where its rhythms can trigger seizures. It can reach in to patients blocked from normal ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Musicophillia
Arrived quickly and in perfect condition.
Great read for anyone interested in the psychology of music, specifically music therapists.



Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - If you've read Sacks and loved it, you'll be disappointed...
Perhaps the "revised and Expanded Edition" has overcome the original failings of repetition and failure to hold together. This book felt link a compendium of short articles.



Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Needs editing
My wife thoughtfully purchased this book for me. I had read about it and was very excited to dive right in. Unfortunately I ended up really having to convince myself to finish it, as it became redundant fairly quickly. Sacks presents (too) many case studies regarding music and the brain, but the presentation feels random and somewhat unfocused. Had his editor suggested grouping the studies by themes or urged Sacks to provide more neurological background information it perhaps would have better kept ... Read More

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