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Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition

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Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book

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Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 92 reviews
Sales Rank: 210

Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised & enlarged
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.6 x 0.9

ISBN: 1400033535
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.11
EAN: 9781400033539
ASIN: 1400033535

Publication Date: September 23, 2008
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Customer Reviews:
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5 out of 5 stars An Insightful Book   November 23, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

"Music hath qualities to charm the savage breast."

Congreve's familiar line reiterates the legend of Orpheus who used music to control nature and living creatures.

Whether true or not is a matter of conjecture. But there is a rising body of evidence music stimulates intellect and eases the learning process. And Oliver Sacks, the famed neurologist, enforces that argument in his new book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. He also stresses the healing power of music. Sacks calls the ability to appreciate music a defining quality of our humanity.

Sacks' love of music and his empathy and compassion for people whose lives have been transformed in some manner of other by music shine through his words, offering insight into a myriad of worlds most of us wouldn't have imagined. He reveals that music is so integral to our being we search it out even in the midst of the most disturbing trauma.

In the waning days of her existence my mother suffered musical hallucinations. I wish I had read Dr. Sacks then so I might better have understood what she was going through.

Sacks explains how we tend to take music for granted, to trivialize it in our daily lives, and yet it can be the most restorative factor in our health and life. It reminds me some religions teach that it is music which keeps the world in flux.




5 out of 5 stars understanding brain musicality   November 23, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Mr. Stack has made an important contribution to the fascinating world of brain working , it helps to understand the enormous possibilities inside us


5 out of 5 stars Considering the part music plays in the recovery of extremely mentality disabled patients   November 18, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Considering the part music plays in the recovery of extremely mentality disabled patients, which is not a new phenomenon, it has recently been explored once again by Oliver Sacks, physician and author, in his new book Musicophilia Tales of Music and the Brain.

There are remarkable examples of patients who were considered feeble, unable to care for themselves, unable to walk or do anything other than sit, and yet these same people when exposed to music were able to astonish those who cared for them either by family or professionals. Sacks explored many different methods of treatment, but in his unique style of writing has been able annotate the case histories of many types of patients who had been virtually given a hopeless life sentence of being institutionalized.

Parkinson sufferers have been given L-Dopa as a medication to relieve the stutter problems they encounter when making movements. The introduction of music as therapy for these diseased people has given back to them smooth movement which the drug could not accomplish.

Oliver Sacks tells of a music therapist who played piano at a hospital who created musical treatment for a patient singing Old Man River using only three words. This man had not spoken for long time and was considered a lost cause. She heard him sing and realized playing songs he knew, she could communicate with him. Dr. Sacks was greatly encouraged by patients progress and then expanded the use of music to other patients.

Also, there are cases described showing the relationship between color and music. Many who have lost their sight after years of seeing describe they can see different colors when they hear specific notes. Even though they are blind, the colors become vivid in their minds. For example Middle C is green.

The general audience will find this textbook style of writing to be somewhat awkward to understand. However, if you are searching for solutions to conditions which afflict members of your family or close friends you will find them described in Musicophilia!

Clark Isaacs
Reviewer



5 out of 5 stars Symphonic!   November 14, 2008
 0 out of 6 found this review helpful

Is this guy saying there are people who want to bone innocent music? That'd be pretty hard; e.g., no friction.


5 out of 5 stars Very informative   October 27, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

As a musician and a teacher, I found this book to be a fascinating read. It's accessible without a lot of twenty-five dollar words found in some medical texts.

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