Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
In a review for The Washington Post, Peter D. Kramer wrote,
"In Musicophilia, Sacks turns to the intersection of music and neurology -- music as affliction and music as treatment." Kramer wrote, "Lacking the dynamic that propels Sacks's other work, Musicophilia threatens to disintegrate into a catalogue of disparate phenomena." Kramer went on to say, "What makes Musicophilia cohere is Sacks himself. He is the book's moral argument. Curious, cultured, caring, in his person Sacks justifies the medical profession and, one is tempted to say, the human race." Kramer concluded his review by writing, "Sacks is, in short, the ideal exponent of the view that responsiveness to music is intrinsic to our makeup. He is also the ideal guide to the territory he covers. Musicophilia allows readers to join Sacks where he is most alive, amid melodies and with his patients."
The book is not compelled by one individual case or story. The book features many different neurological afflictions associated with music, and then within each case Sacks gives examples and stories of various patients and people he knows.
The book is a very interesting read, however it will not really keep you on the edge of your seat, and sometimes can get a little boring. However I really liked it and recommend it to anyone who is interested in music, or neurology, or both.
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