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

Oliver Sacks | 4.18 | 168,692 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan, Tanya Byron, Bradley Voytek, and 3 others. See all reviews

Ranked #1 in Neurology, Ranked #2 in Neuroscience — see more rankings.

If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognize everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities; who have been dismissed as autistic or retarded, yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales... more

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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales from the world's leading experts.

Suzanne O'Sullivan I didn’t choose neurology because of it but the way Oliver Sacks writes about neurology is very compelling. (Source)

Tanya Byron This is a seminal book that anyone who wants to work in mental health should read. It is a charming and gentle and also an honest exposé of what can happen to us when our mental health is compromised for whatever reason. (Source)

Bradley Voytek I can’t imagine one day waking up and not knowing who my wife is, or seeing my wife and thinking that she was replaced by some sort of clone or robot. But that could happen to any of us. (Source)

Rankings by Category

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales is ranked in the following categories:

#24 in Academia
#28 in Autism
#37 in Behavior
#18 in Biology
#3 in Brain
#58 in Bucket List
#15 in Cognitive Psychology
#16 in Consciousness
#21 in Counseling
#51 in Decision Making
#13 in Developmental Psychology
#38 in Documentaries
#41 in Essays
#13 in Factual
#30 in Folio Society
#27 in Health
#3 in Human Brain
#43 in Interesting
#54 in Knowledge
#10 in Life Sciences
#4 in Medical
#5 in Medicine
#17 in Memory Improvement
#31 in Mental Health
#6 in Mind
#10 in Nerdy
#6 in Neurosurgery
#36 in Nonfiction
#18 in Nursing
#4 in Physical Therapy
#7 in Physiology
#7 in Popular Science
#15 in Poster
#4 in Psychiatry
#5 in Psycho
#11 in Psychology
#8 in Psychotherapy
#31 in Public Health
#19 in STEM
#13 in Science
#15 in Science and Math
#13 in Scientific
#32 in Smart
#24 in Social Sciences
#13 in Social Work
#6 in Speech
#21 in Therapy
#33 in True Stories
#49 in True Story

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