HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain,…
Loading...

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition (original 2007; edition 2008)

by Oliver Sacks (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5,4181141,907 (3.66)169
Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does--humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and Oliver Sacks tells us why.--From publisher description.… (more)
Member:revmattmonroe
Title:Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition
Authors:Oliver Sacks (Author)
Info:Vintage (2008), Edition: Revised & enlarged, 425 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (2007)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 169 mentions

English (103)  French (3)  Portuguese (Portugal) (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (2)  Dutch (2)  Spanish (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (114)
Showing 1-5 of 103 (next | show all)
A marvellous testament to the amazing complexity of the brain and its ability to reorganize and rewire itself. It is equally a reminder of why a term like neurodiversity is so important; that reading a difference as a "disability" often masks the different pathways of experience and even creativity that neural differences make possible. It is, equally, a reminder of the terror and loneliness that can accompany some types of brain dysfunctions. I found the book, however, a bit of a slog, and that was simply because it was overstuffed with examples. Every time a specific condition is introduced, Sacks then discusses umpteen examples of it. Moreover, similar points about brain functioning are often made across chapters, making the book as a whole somewhat repetitive. However, the curioisty and generosity of the author shines through. ( )
  BornAnalog | May 16, 2023 |
“Racconto sulla musica e il cervello” dice il sottotitolo, particolarmente azzeccato. Sacks, fra capitoli lunghi e brevi, costruisce un affascinante caleidoscopio che getta luce su una conoscenza tanto approssimativa quanto affascinante, quella delle relazioni fra il nostro cervello e la musica, pratica di nessuna utilità pratica e al tempo stesso di innegabile indispensabilità per la nostra esistenza. ( )
  d.v. | May 16, 2023 |
Fascinating and very engaging anecdotes of how musical abilities and appreciation have been influenced by brain changes such as concussion, alzheimers and even being struck by lightning. The author's storytelling expresses wonder in humanity and our relationship to music.

(I listened to the audio version in the car and, despite the reader's excellent reviews, had a hard time hearing the ends of many of his sentences.) ( )
  deemaromer | Feb 23, 2023 |
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops
away above the chimney tops
that's where you'll find" music
Somewhere over the rainbow ( )
  oceaninmypocket | Nov 29, 2022 |
I always enjoy Sack's stories, they make me dive into the reality of neural malfunctions with an intrigued eye rather than a terrified one. This one's about music and its impact on the human brain. It is liberating in a way to find out that musical memory is the same yet very much different than the other types of memory we hold. It is a very informative book, I suggest you to read it when you start wondering about music scientifically. ( )
  Ihaveapassion | Oct 25, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 103 (next | show all)
The gentle doctor turns his pen to another set of mental anomalies that can be viewed as either affliction or gift.

If we could prescribe what our physicians would be like, a good number of us would probably choose somebody like Sacks (Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, 2001, etc.). Learned, endlessly inquisitive and seemingly possessed of a bottomless store of human compassion, the neurologist’s authorial personality both reassures and arouses curiosity. Here, Sacks tackles the whole spectrum of the human body’s experience of music by studying it from the aesthetic as well as medical viewpoint. Fantastical case studies include a young boy assaulted by musical hallucinations who would shout “Take it out of my head! Take it away!” when music only he could hear became unbearably loud. Less frightening are stories about people like Martin, a severely disabled man who committed some 2,000 operas to memory, or ruminations on the linkage between perfect pitch and language: Young children learning music are vastly more likely to have perfect pitch if they speak Mandarin than almost any other language. ..
added by MsMixte | editKirkus Reviews (Aug 15, 2007)
 

» Add other authors (15 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Oliver Sacksprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kidd, ChipCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parés Sellarès, NúriaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
For Orrin Devinsky, Ralph Siegel, and Connie Tomaino
First words
Preface
What an odd thing it is to see an entire species—billions of people—playing with, listening to, meaningless tonal patterns, occupied and preoccupied for much of their time by what they call "music."
Tony Cicoria was forty-two, very fit and robust, a former college football player who had become a well-regarded orthopedic surgeon in a small city in upstate New York.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does--humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and Oliver Sacks tells us why.--From publisher description.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.66)
0.5
1 11
1.5 4
2 61
2.5 16
3 222
3.5 63
4 286
4.5 30
5 143

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,229,059 books! | Top bar: Always visible