Oliver Sacks, a practicing physician and professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University’s medical school, recently released his newest book. Musicophilia is a study into why people love music, or why they can’t seem to understand it.
Sacks follows his standard style of writing, putting case studies in a way that is easier to understand, and is ultimately more entertaining to people outside of the neurology and psychiatry fields. He presents each little anecdote that he brings up in a personal way that a lot of people can relate to. He also takes the time to put technical terms and conditions in layman’s terms so that a reader who doesn’t know anything about the field can understand.
He does refer to a lot of case studies that he, himself, had worked on, as well as material that he used in his nine previous books and manages to throw some fun little factoids into the mix. An example is in the chapter “Amusia and Dysharmonia.” He brings up a notable revolutionary in the rush of stories about tone and rhythm deafness. In the mix of stories, he brings up Ernesto “Che” Guevara being rhythm deaf and citing the example that Guevara was seen dancing a mambo while the orchestra played a tango.
Sacks covers quite a bit in this book, mixing in a lot of topics. He talks about different types of deafness. He adds in the onset of random pulls towards playing music, whether or not the person plays well. Whether it’s musical hallucinations or just memory being enhanced by memory, it remains an intriguing topic that will grip any curious mind willing to venture into this book.
Sacks has a lot of humor, and loves the topic of music and its pull on our minds and hearts. It shows in the depth he is willing to go into the topic. The general tone of the writing borders on musical as well as in terms of the pacing and rhythm of the voice he gives through the page.
For lovers of music and the mind, this book is perfect. Even if you’re only interested in music or the mind alone, this is a great book with a wealth of information that you’ll love. There’s no harm in adding this book to your collection.