The bestselling author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat turns his attention to our experience of music
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
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Review
'An elegantly outlined series of case studies...which reveal the depth to which music grips so many people' -- Observer
'Fascinating' -- Guardian
'He uses a device in which he has almost cornered the market - the elegantly-written case study.'
-- The Independent
'He's incapable of writing a dull book, and consistently evokes a sense of real wonder.' -- Glasgow Herald
'It's easily digestible chapter-by-chapter, and demonstrates Sacks' principal strength: his understanding of the 'richness of the human context'.' -- The Music Teacher
'Through anecdote, argument and science, Musicophilia makes a passionate case for music as a way to discover ourselves' -- Daily Telegraph
'a special art that springs from deeper wells than any other' -- Sunday Times
'Fascinating' -- Guardian
'He uses a device in which he has almost cornered the market - the elegantly-written case study.'
-- The Independent
'He's incapable of writing a dull book, and consistently evokes a sense of real wonder.' -- Glasgow Herald
'It's easily digestible chapter-by-chapter, and demonstrates Sacks' principal strength: his understanding of the 'richness of the human context'.' -- The Music Teacher
'Through anecdote, argument and science, Musicophilia makes a passionate case for music as a way to discover ourselves' -- Daily Telegraph
'a special art that springs from deeper wells than any other' -- Sunday Times
Review
'Through anecdote, argument and science, Musicophilia makes a passionate case for music as a way to discover ourselves'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 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.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By N. Legg
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.
56 of 60 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.
43 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By doublegone
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I got quite excited when I read articles about this book. It has not really lived up to my expectations.
It tells you about people who hear music in their heads, people with perfect pitch who lose it and vice versa, people with tinnitus and so on. The trouble for me was that in the end it becomes just a big long list of notes on the patients Sachs has treated. I could have used a bit more context, or even philosophical speculation and wonder. But the author is a medical man so he confines himself pretty much to the facts. And he reams them out - the patient experienced this, the patient reacted like that....
Its fascinating material but in all honesty the book is not well written. It is more academic than I had expected. Of course some people will prefer that. I didn't.
Some of the snippets I read in reviews and magazine articles were quite intriguing, but when I got to the full book I found that many of them remained snippets - a footnote about a piece of shrapnel in Shostakovich's head is a good example. Its just a couple of sentences and you want to know more about it but you are left unfulfilled.
Maybe I had too high expectations of this book. I don't want to be too negative as its a perfectly OK book. Its just not anything like as interesting as it appears.
It tells you about people who hear music in their heads, people with perfect pitch who lose it and vice versa, people with tinnitus and so on. The trouble for me was that in the end it becomes just a big long list of notes on the patients Sachs has treated. I could have used a bit more context, or even philosophical speculation and wonder. But the author is a medical man so he confines himself pretty much to the facts. And he reams them out - the patient experienced this, the patient reacted like that....
Its fascinating material but in all honesty the book is not well written. It is more academic than I had expected. Of course some people will prefer that. I didn't.
Some of the snippets I read in reviews and magazine articles were quite intriguing, but when I got to the full book I found that many of them remained snippets - a footnote about a piece of shrapnel in Shostakovich's head is a good example. Its just a couple of sentences and you want to know more about it but you are left unfulfilled.
Maybe I had too high expectations of this book. I don't want to be too negative as its a perfectly OK book. Its just not anything like as interesting as it appears.
70 of 81 people found the following review helpful
By Piaf Carl
Format:Hardcover
While I have been a fan of Oliver Sacks, I am beginning to realise that a lot of his books seem to be constructed so that they can be easily divided into magazine articles (or they at least appear that way). I have read the first few chapters of Musicophilia only so far and to be totally honest, as a musician with training in the neurosciences, I found it interesting as a subject. However, the book is not well written. It has long segments of rather egocentric introspection and navel gazing. I wish it would focus more on the case studies and have a much more consistent approach to the subject. It is convoluted in parts and much of it seems to lose it's thread and drift into talking about other things, especially at the end of chapters. While Oliver Sacks is undoubtedly an intelligent man, I think that maybe he has neglected the advice of editors and been allowed to do so because he has sold so many books in the past. I bought the book in hardback and actually regret spending so much on it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
This book gives us an insight into how music is perceived by the brain. Essential reading for any musician.
Sacks engages the reader so that each case becomes a story.
Sacks engages the reader so that each case becomes a story.
Published 1 month ago by Strolls
5.0 out of 5 stars
Making new sense of notes
Brilliant and most fascinating book as, indeed, are all of Oliver Sachs's works.
Each day research from a variety of scientific disciplines increases our sense of wonderment... Read more
Each day research from a variety of scientific disciplines increases our sense of wonderment... Read more
Published 2 months ago by T. Siggers
3.0 out of 5 stars
Oliver Sacks' best book is Man who mistook his wife for a hat.
Oliver Sacks' best book is Man who mistook his wife for a hat.
The documentary to this book is a lot better than the book, I feel as though Prof. Read more
The documentary to this book is a lot better than the book, I feel as though Prof. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Monte Carlo
4.0 out of 5 stars
The power of the written word tells how the power of musical sounds...
Factual information taken from case studies presented by an expert for non experts. Well written, quite emotive and interesting .
Published 3 months ago by james allan
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 6 Mar 2011 by Spider Monkey
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 2 Dec 2010 by Ed J
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taste the music
Oliver Sacks successfully tackles a range of challenging music-related neurological topics in a case-by-case fashion. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2010 by maple syrup
5.0 out of 5 stars
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
5.0 out of 5 stars
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
4.0 out of 5 stars
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
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