Oliver Sacks

Born in 1933 oliversacks.com

Science

Oliver Wolf Sacks was a British neurologist and author who lived most of his life in the United States.
Born in 1933 to a medical family, Sacks studied at Oxford before moving to New York in 1965.
He became renowned for his work with encephalitis lethargica patients, which inspired his book "Awakenings." Sacks wrote numerous popular books about neurological case studies, combining scientific insight with empathetic storytelling.
He held positions at various medical institutions and received numerous awards and honorary degrees.
Sacks was also known for his work in music therapy and his exploration of the relationship between the brain and human experience.
He passed away in 2015, leaving a legacy of bridging the gap between medical science and the humanities.

Books by Oliver Sacks

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

by Oliver Sacks • 1985

When brains break, the self bends but doesn't vanish: clinical tales of what persists.

4.05

200k+

🩺 Narrative Medicine 🧠 Popular Neuroscience 🤝 Clinical Empathy

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

When brains break, the self bends but doesn't vanish: clinical tales of what persists.

by Oliver Sacks 1985 243 pages

4.05

200k+ ratings

🩺 Narrative Medicine 🧠 Popular Neuroscience 🤝 Clinical Empathy

Musicophilia

by Oliver Sacks • 2007

When language and memory fail, music still gets through. A neurologist explains why.

3.95

75k+

🧠 Music And The Brain 🩻 Clinical Case Studies 🧬 Neuroplasticity

Musicophilia

When language and memory fail, music still gets through. A neurologist explains why.

by Oliver Sacks 2007 425 pages

3.95

75k+ ratings

🧠 Music And The Brain 🩻 Clinical Case Studies 🧬 Neuroplasticity

Hallucinations

by Oliver Sacks • 2012

Hallucinations are not the brain breaking. They are the brain showing how it builds reality.

3.93

25k+

🧠 Clinical Neurology 👁️ Hallucinations 🌌 Altered States

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are not the brain breaking. They are the brain showing how it builds reality.

by Oliver Sacks 2012 352 pages

3.93

25k+ ratings

🧠 Clinical Neurology 👁️ Hallucinations 🌌 Altered States

On the Move

by Oliver Sacks • 2015

Patients frozen for decades took one drug and woke. Their neurologist was not ready.

4.03

21k+

🧠 Clinical Neurology 🩺 Medical Memoir 🧬 Neurological Disorders

On the Move

Patients frozen for decades took one drug and woke. Their neurologist was not ready.

by Oliver Sacks 2015 397 pages

4.03

21k+ ratings

🧠 Clinical Neurology 🩺 Medical Memoir 🧬 Neurological Disorders

Awakenings

by Oliver Sacks • 1973

Patients frozen for decades woke on a single drug. The real trial was staying awake.

4.09

14k+

🔬 Clinical Neurology 🫀 Humanistic Medicine 🧠 Neuroplasticity

Awakenings

Patients frozen for decades woke on a single drug. The real trial was staying awake.

by Oliver Sacks 1973 567 pages

4.09

14k+ ratings

🔬 Clinical Neurology 🫀 Humanistic Medicine 🧠 Neuroplasticity

The Mind's Eye

by Oliver Sacks • 2010

Blindness doesn't silence the visual brain. It retrains it, exposing how perception is built.

3.92

13k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🩺 Clinical Neurology 🔄 Brain Plasticity

The Mind's Eye

Blindness doesn't silence the visual brain. It retrains it, exposing how perception is built.

by Oliver Sacks 2010 263 pages

3.92

13k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🩺 Clinical Neurology 🔄 Brain Plasticity

Uncle Tungsten

by Oliver Sacks • 2001

A boy, a bar of tungsten, a brutal wartime school: how chemistry became Oliver Sacks's sanctuary.

3.98

7k+

🧪 Chemical Memoir 📜 History Of Chemistry 🇬🇧 Wartime England

Uncle Tungsten

A boy, a bar of tungsten, a brutal wartime school: how chemistry became Oliver Sacks's sanctuary.

by Oliver Sacks 2001 337 pages

3.98

7k+ ratings

🧪 Chemical Memoir 📜 History Of Chemistry 🇬🇧 Wartime England

Everything in Its Place

by Oliver Sacks • 2019

Oliver Sacks's final essays: what broken brains reveal about music, identity, and being human.

4.14

3k+

🧠 Neurology 🩺 Medical Humanities 📖 Narrative Medicine

Everything in Its Place

Oliver Sacks's final essays: what broken brains reveal about music, identity, and being human.

by Oliver Sacks 2019 288 pages

4.14

3k+ ratings

🧠 Neurology 🩺 Medical Humanities 📖 Narrative Medicine

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