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Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Musicophilia Tales of Music and the Brain
Author: Oliver Sacks
With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls musical misalignments. Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to bec...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781400033539
ISBN-10: 1400033535
Publication Date: 10/14/2008
Pages: 400
Rating:
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 31

4.2 stars, based on 31 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

susieqmillsacoustics avatar reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on + 1062 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I find brain research to be a fascinating subject and this was a wonderful study of the effects of music on the brain. This goes into research of measuring patterns and brainwaves, technology that wasn't available a few decades ago. Some of the cases are beneficial to the individuals, such as a man who was struck by lightning and found he became obsessed with creating music. Some are detrimental to the individuals, such as finding music causes them to go into seizures. Everything from a tune that gets stuck in your head to autism and the effects of music therapy are covered. It will give you an appreciation for your own experience of music. I highly recommend!
annapi avatar reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on + 334 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
It took me a long time to finish this, because there are times I can only take science in small doses. But it is a wonderful collection of anecdotes on the effect of music on the brain, and particularly in neurologically impaired patients. Oliver Sacks has a way with words that makes the science easy to understand. What I found particularly fascinating was the revelation that different parts of the brain are responsible for the different aspects of music, which explains how some people can have perfect pitch and musical talent, but be unable to appreciate the emotional effect of music, and vice-versa. Also extremely interesting are the examples of music therapy on patients with dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, and a host of other neurological conditions. Throughout the book, his love for music is clear, and he shows us just how powerful it can be.
reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on
Helpful Score: 1
This is a collection of stories and data collected by Sacks. The data is presented in a scientific manner, and then the author explains what exactly the data means for those of us who aren't so familiar with the medical field. I find that this "revised and expanded" edition would probably be more interesting, as the author actually added portions of stories and letters he received from those who wanted to share their experiences with various things involving music. Such as synaesthesia, developing deafness, and "earworms".
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Hampgal avatar reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on + 13 more book reviews
Fascinating case studies of people displaying exceptional musical ability--some quite suddenly after injury or disease. The book's lively writing style keeps it from becoming a science text. The development of perfect pitch in children correlated with tonal languages was especially interesting. I loaned the book to my dd's Suzuki violin teacher, who is pleased that Sacks' information confirms that early music exposure increases brain function.
reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on + 3 more book reviews
A well written, mostly jargon-free book covering neurological disorders involving music. Although I didn't find any striking revelations, I found many of the author's case histories fascinating. He ties in many cases he's written about in past books too.
reviewed Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain on + 177 more book reviews
While this book is filled with Oliver Sacks' trademark anecdotes and is at times engaging and even poignant, I found it a bit too long and repetitive and I was glad it was over by the time I finished it. It would have been served by leaving about 15% of it on the editor's floor. An interesting wrinkle in the burgeoning neuroscience genre.


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