The man who mistook his wife for a hat. And other clinical tales

‘Insightful, compassionate, moving … he recounts these histories with the lucidity and power of a gifted short story writer … a masterpiece of clinical writing.’ ‘How often do popular Science books move you? Perhaps to tears? Sacks’s now classic work . . . is one that might: although it will, just as often, make you laugh, or shake your head in wonder … a clear eyed, beautiful book.’ ‘ [Sacks] captured both the medical and the human drama of illness . . . He would see patients not as collections of déficits but as unique individuáis, often bravely living with and adapting to neurological conditions which were unimaginable for the rest of us. He captured their experiences, their hopes and fears, their humour and perseverance. It is heroic stuff, and he was well aware ofits mythic resonances.’