Book Report: The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks -- Psychology Case Histories

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Other Clinical Tales
(c)1970 by Oliver Sacks

This is the must-read classic for all students of psychology, neurology and anyone who is curious to learn about neurological problems. But it;s also very much a book about hope and the human spirit, and this is what has made it a bestseller for so long. 

Oliver Sacks' special genius is in being able to find an narrate the humanity in each person. To him they are not simply case histories, but each is a unique human with passion and history facing great challenges. Some stories are tragic, but many of the are heroic, too. In this book you'll meet Sailor Jimmie who's memories stopped at 1945, Witty Ticky Ray who funneled his Tourette's into jazz drumming, Mrs. O'C, who one day awoke to the sound of music from her childhood that persisted for months, Rebecca, who despite being severely mentally and physically challenged excelled in theater and poetry, and many others.

At the same time, the author has a technical interest as well. He describes how neurology (at least at the time of his writing the book) chose to look almost exclusively at deficits of ability, and also how the focus was almost exclusively on left-brain functions, which are the more mechanical, computer-like functions, rather than the right-brain functions which are the abstract and creative ones, which were also those that piqued his interest.

The book is divided into several sections. The first are deficiencies, losses of ability, awareness or memory due to tumors or other neurological problems. There patients might have lost memories or perceptions or the abilities most of us take for granted. The second part of the book studies excesses where neurological disease has brought on sudden changes in behavior or awarenesses. The third section offers us the transporters, those people who found themselves transported to altered states of consciousness. Finally he explores the world of the simple, those people who were traditionally considered to have compromised intellects with an inability to process abstract thinking, but, to the author, their concreteness of thought gave them strengths to excel in their own particular areas of interest, and there are examples in mathematics, arts and history.

Sacks also ponders how these neurological aspects impact on the patients' soul and what that might be, even whether this science helps define it. 

If you're interested in mind sciences, this a must read. Some stories are heart-breaking, and others are inspiring, but all the tales are told with a deep respect for the humanity of the patients.