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Sheffy's Reviews > The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
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Despite so many people recommending this book, my high expectations were disappointed. Yes, it's perversely interesting to hear about neurological conundrums that afflict people in peculiar ways, but Sacks isn't a particularly good writer, nor does he have a good grasp on his audience. At times he obliquely refers to medical syndromes or footnotes other neurologists, as if he is writing for a technical physician audience, but on the whole his stories are too simplistic to engage such an audience. He talks about phenomenology, but doesn't satisfactorily discuss mechanistically what is going on in the brain, so what's the point? To quote a friend in college, it's his own "mental masterbation"--he likes to show off how well-read he his, how many bizarre patients have been referred to him (or he's God's gift to them) and erudite his vocabulary is, but fails to clearly get his points across. On top of his confusing musings, his reconstructed dialogue is incredible unrealistic, it's clear why doctors need to learn to communicate better.
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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales.
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Reading Progress
July 5, 2007
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Started Reading
September 15, 2008
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Finished Reading
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Mandy
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Sep 17, 2008 08:47AM
Love the review. I'm going to find a reason this week to use the term "mental masturbation."
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I was just about to write a review or this, when I read yours, and now I don't have to, I feel pretty much the same.
this review is perfect.
Completely agree with your review. I missed him explaining what actually happened in the brain to cause these neurological deficits in a satisfactory way as well. It was just one case after the other and felt very emotionless to me. Maybe that was the way it was intended to be. Well, I didn't like it either way.
Sums up my thoughts on this book perfectly!
perversely interesting is a perfect comment for this book, I think that is esactly why I liked it.
OMG ... I was going to buy this book and read when you did my friend ... Thanks for saving me ... :D
Totally disagree. Just because you are simple doesn't mean he needs to be. I remember showing my friend "Man's Search for Meaning" and she looked at it quickly and said "Who's he trying to impress with all these big words?" Yeah.
OMG Dr. Sacks is a poet! What a fantastic writer!
I entirely agree with you Sheffy (and I studied neuroscience so don't dare be offensive and call me 'simple' Adam). Sacks' stories are a halfway house between student text and popular science book, with none of the appeal which a good book in either category would offer. It may be slightly harsh to categorise him as a 'bad writer' - I have read some of his other texts and they are well structured and meaningul. For some reason, he just doesn't achieve it with this book and I understand perfectly how such an opinion could be formed on that basis..
Oh wow, Andrew! Some undergrad classes in neuroscience?!?! EwWwWwww! Sacks's book SHOULD unnerve you because it goes for an idiographic bent, trying to bring out the complexity of the mind as opposed to your reductionistic nomothetic approach. The book is intentionally complex and rich - the initial reviewer essentially says the book uses too big of words for them and is upset about Sacks's level of knowledge ("he likes to show off how well-read he his"). Heaven forbid people writing case studies on neuroscience use clinical descriptions (with the sort of difficult terms that plague introductory psychology classes) and make references to literature! Being educated and intelligent isn't for everyone, as many of these reviews argue firmly.
You're just trolling. Get a life. Cheerio.
That's how I perceive it, too. On top of that he not only seems to have oriented towards 19th century neurology but also has this odd pseudo-victorian writing style. I'm still giving it 3 stars just because it's such an interesting freak show.
"Mental Masturbation" ..I like that. I will endeavour to introduce it into everyday conversation.
Whether Dr Sacks uses too complicated terms or not should be dependant on who he's writing for - if his target audience are other neurologists or other professionals his use of these terms are completly in order, otherwise he might start thinking of using footnotes explaining these.
I agree with your review almost totally. granted, he wasn't a really good writer, some cases are too simplistic, and he did seem to be be showing off how well read he is. However this was the third book I read by him (this being the worst) and it's probably because this was one of his first books. I would definitely recommend an anthropologist in mars (which is similar but
I agree with the review and found the book quite unsatisfying. Like many people, I had high expectations, it did poorly even if I had had no expectations. Most chapters could have been said in two pages, and while the writing around the main point was pretty at times, mostly it sounded shallow, repetitive, and a "mental masturbation". And at times the arrogance displayed was very off putting. The author came across as too full of himself, with his 4 favourite idols, while everyone else was as good as sheep. Worst of all, the actual neurological insight offered in the book was in complete contrast to the apparent passion the author displayed while writing about the cases, leaving the material shallow and overly dramatized, somewhat like a bad discovery channel documentary.
EXACTLY. Well said.
This is exactly what I felt after reading this book, well said!
In reference to reconstructed dialogue being unrealistic, this is exactly what I came here looking to see if anyone else felt this way! I keep thinking "this is not how people interact in real life!"
Very close to my sentiments about the author and the book.
Mostly agree with your summary, I felt disappointed with this book.
My thoughts exactly.
My issues get aggravated when almost none of the patients he wrote about were treated. I'm Really disappointed and skipping pages at this point.
Indeed, this book does not explain the exotic mental diseases, if that's what you come for. But in the preface, Sacks made it clear that the book is about the people, the patients and their stories. And in that he has done a great job.
賲卮 毓丕乇賮丞 賰賷賮 兀氐賮 丕賱亘丿丕毓丞 丕賱賴丕卅賱丞 賮賷 賰賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱丨丕賱丕鬲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞貙 兀賳 鬲卮毓乇 賮賷 賱丨馗丕鬲 兀賳賰 賯丕丿乇 毓賱賶 丕爻鬲賷毓丕亘 賰賱 兀胤乇丕賮賰 丿賮毓丞 賵丕丨丿丞貙 孬賲 鬲兀鬲賷賰 鬲賱賰 丕賱賱丨馗丞 丕賱賲爻賲賾丕賴 亘丕賱賴賵賾丞貙 賵丕賱賮乇丕睾貙 賱鬲爻丨亘 卮毓賵乇賰 賵鬲賯賮匕賴 亘毓賷丿賸丕. 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賰丕賳 乇丕卅毓 賮賷 卮乇丨 賲鬲賱丕夭賲丞 賰賵乇爻丕賰賵賮, 賵賲丕 賷鬲亘毓賴丕. 賵賱賰賳 廿匕丕 賰賳鬲 賯丕丿乇 毓賱賶 廿丨鬲賲丕賱 賰賲賷丞 丕賱鬲毓賯丿丕鬲貙 賵丕賱鬲乇丕亘胤丕鬲 亘賷賳 賰賱 丨丕賱丞 賵兀禺鬲賴丕. 鬲賳賮賾爻 丕賱氐亘乇 :d
I agree, theme is really interesting, but took me so much time to understand author麓s overcomplicated thinking and writting... i love this kind of specific themes, but that was for me personally really too much..
Yeah he is kind of pretentious asshole. Comparing a person to machine because he cannot understand the world around him exactly like all other humans? Really?...
I wrote a very similar review before reading this one... spot on
I feel the exact same way, the author is unable to co trol his ego and keep interrupting the narrative to give his opinion about god, life, art or whatever, his need of show off is annoying and his book is not even a good example of anything, is not a good narrative, is not good non fiction, is not medical, is just a small man telling the world how special he is through the story of other people's disabilities.
Yes, this review sums up my feelings exactly.
Yes!!! This is exactly my issue with the book.
I麓m sorry to point this out, but neurology is one of the hardest subjects in medicine, not for nothibng, if the had to explain all the disorders he would have had to fit in a neuroanatomy book + neurology book into all this story book and it would no longer be a story book at all and no one except doctors would read it. I麓m reading this for my neurology semester and on its own it would be very entertaining without looking at the origins, although I am also looking at the origins because it麓s what I麓m studying, this book is just stories of people who have these diseases and it麓s meant to be entertaining and show some insight into how their lives are, not a medical book. If you want a book about neurology just get a specific one about it.
Thank you for this review. I've only just started it and I can't stand the writing! Such a shame because it's a fascinating topic.
Thank you, my thoughts precisely.
my sentiments exactly. ugh!!! i just finished the book an hour ago and i鈥檓 so mad and worked up about it.
Thank you, i thought i was the only one feeling same for this book. Currently on page 139 though
It is the most humane medical book I鈥檝e read,and Dr Sacks literally does not paint himself as a God鈥檚 gift to anything, he is just an observer who is learning from patients. My guess is you are just angry you struggled to understand the writing, and projecting because your own ego is hurt.
