Hallucinations
"Illuminate[s] the complexities of the human brain and the mysteries of the human mind." --The New York Times
To many people, hallucinations imply madness, but in fact they are a common part of the human experience. These sensory distortions range from the shimmering zigzags of a visual migraine to powerful visions brought on by fever, injuries, drugs, sensory deprivation, exhaustion, or even grief. Hallucinations doubtless lie behind many mythological traditions, literary inventions, and religious epiphanies. Drawing on his own experiences, a wealth of clinical cases from among his patients, and famous historical examples ranging from Dostoevsky to Lewis Carroll, the legendary neurologist Oliver Sacks investigates the mystery of these sensory deceptions: what they say about the working of our brains, how they have influenced our folklore and culture, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.Show more
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Community Reviews
I was entirely disappointed with this book, which is unfortunate because I've read Oliver Sacks before when I was in high school and I found him incredibly engaging. In Hallucinations, though, I didn't felt drawn into any of the clinical cases he discussed at all, and the neuroscience wasn't well explained, or rather, it wasn't well explained in a way where I felt like I wanted to know more or where I was intrigued. Mostly, I was just bored.
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Sacks details all the reasons why someone might have visual, olfactory, or disassociative hallucinations. Most of the conditions he covers are not related to psychosis, meaning the person is often aware that the hallucinations are not real (at first or eventually- though some of these conditions do cause confusion as to what is real and what is not). The book structure and focus seems to be because Sacks is determined to protect patients against ...read more
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