- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Picador; 2007 Publication edition (2 Nov 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330418378
- ISBN-13: 978-0330418379
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 239,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
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Review
"Oliver Sacks is that rare creature, a respected man of science who is also a mean storyteller."
--"Toronto Star"
--"Toronto Star"
"From the Hardcover edition."
Sunday Herald
'These are among the most effective and beautifully written human narratives since Sigmund Freud's case studies.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a pretty good book, of interest to anyone who feels themselves somewhat musicophiliac and wants to know more about how music has the effect it does. Musicophilia isn't particularly focused and doesn't really go too deep into how music works on the brain, it's mostly just a string of case studies of people and conditions involving strange and intense relationships with music. It's well-written and accessible, and worth a read, though it doesn't attempt to give any major insights into why music is so important to people in general.
"Musicophilia" is preferable to "This is your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin, which was released around the same time and deals with somewhat similar themes, though Levitin's book includes much more technical info on music and neurology. This info is presented in a style that is dry, unengaging and lacking in clarity. Sacks on the other hand is an effortlessly good writer. For that reason, this book is worth reading, though it would have benefitted from greater cohesion, a more focused approach and some general theorizing along with the case studies.
"Musicophilia" is preferable to "This is your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin, which was released around the same time and deals with somewhat similar themes, though Levitin's book includes much more technical info on music and neurology. This info is presented in a style that is dry, unengaging and lacking in clarity. Sacks on the other hand is an effortlessly good writer. For that reason, this book is worth reading, though it would have benefitted from greater cohesion, a more focused approach and some general theorizing along with the case studies.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think whether one enjoys this book or not probably depends on the things one is interested in - other reviewers have complained about everything from the book being too introspective to being too much a list of Sacks' patients.
In part, it is both these things - as a book of case studies it cannot help being the latter, as a book written by someone who is himself an amateur musician as well as being knowledgeable about and intrigued by the neuroscience behind our musical brain, it is necessarily the former. However, neither of these things, for me, detracts in any way from the book.
If you have an interest in both science and music and enjoy books that are absorbing, sometimes densely written, very informative, and written by someone with both a wide knowledge of the subject and a keen curiosity about the whys and wherefores then you will probably enjoy this book just as much as I have, which is a great deal.
Not all of the cases have explanations, which sometimes makes them more intriguing - other, apparently stranger, cases, turn out to have fairly logical reasons. Sacks explores everything from the healing power of music to its capability of irritating or even tormenting those whose brains cannot control it, and the whole thing is intensely interesting for a musician with any interest in the science behind music.
In part, it is both these things - as a book of case studies it cannot help being the latter, as a book written by someone who is himself an amateur musician as well as being knowledgeable about and intrigued by the neuroscience behind our musical brain, it is necessarily the former. However, neither of these things, for me, detracts in any way from the book.
If you have an interest in both science and music and enjoy books that are absorbing, sometimes densely written, very informative, and written by someone with both a wide knowledge of the subject and a keen curiosity about the whys and wherefores then you will probably enjoy this book just as much as I have, which is a great deal.
Not all of the cases have explanations, which sometimes makes them more intriguing - other, apparently stranger, cases, turn out to have fairly logical reasons. Sacks explores everything from the healing power of music to its capability of irritating or even tormenting those whose brains cannot control it, and the whole thing is intensely interesting for a musician with any interest in the science behind music.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Oliver Sacks writes with obvious passion for his subject and tender empathy for his patients. Despite having no more than a listener's appreciation for music and little grasp of matters neurological, I found Musicophilia fascinating and accessible. The case histories described in this book illustrate the extraordinary way that music effects the brain and how it can both soothe and stimulate people with brain damage. I finished the book feeling frustrated that I wasn't taught more about music at an early age, but reassured that music may prove comforting to me in my dotage.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Musicophilia
`Musicophilia' is a readable book from Oliver sacks that explores the brain in relation to music.
A lot of the book looks at neurological issues where the brain stops... Read more
A lot of the book looks at neurological issues where the brain stops... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Spider Monkey
A real brain pleaser!
This book had sat on my shelf, waiting to be read for a couple of years before I decided to pick it up. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ed J
Taste the music
Oliver Sacks successfully tackles a range of challenging music-related neurological topics in a case-by-case fashion. Read more
Published 19 months ago by maple syrup
Great author
This was a gift, my sister was very happy with it and is in the process of reading everything Oliver Sacks has written.
Published on 8 Feb 2010 by S. Webb
Fast delivery, excellent book.
Haven't finished the book but already very interesting stories about how people have had accidents which have then modified their character ... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2010 by Michael Bright
Fascinating with many open questions
The book is a long gallery of special and detailed studies of special cases. As such it is interesting but if you keep at that level you will get a completely scattered vision of... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Jacques COULARDEAU
Underwhelmed
I've heard of Oliver Sacks although this is the first book of his I have read. I agree with the reviewer who feels there just isn't enough to sustain 400-odd pages of interest... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2009 by urban fox
Musicophilia (2008) by Oliver Sacks
It has taken me nearly six weeks to wade through only the first third of this marathon of almost 400 pages. And the reason? Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2009 by Whigwood
Interesting, yet disappointing in many ways
Oliver Sacks tells wonderful stories about how patients with severe brain dysfunctions manage to recover their faculties through new treatments of various kinds, and his previous... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2009 by Lazy Lee
better than most medical writing
Having both a strong interest in music and a medical training, this book greatly appealed to me. Sacks is also a good speaker, and although I would have bought this book anyway,... Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2008 by Talc Demon
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