Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Book

'A humane discourse on the fragility of our minds of the bodies that give rise to them and of the world they create for us.' Daily Telegraph Oliver Sacks' compassionate tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we understand our own minds. In Musicophilia he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients musicians and everyday people those struck by affliction unusual talent and even in one case by lightning to show not only that music occupies more areas of the brain than language does but also that it can calm and organize torment and heal. Always wise and compellingly readable these stories alter our conception of who we are and how we function and show us an essential part of what it is to be human. 'Fascinating. Music as Sacks explains "can pierce the heart directly". And this is the truth that he so brilliantly focuses upon that music saves consoles and nourishes us' Daily Mail 'Irresistible astonishing and moving' Spectator 'Deeply warm and sympathetic' Guardian