'Here is the unedited Oliver Sacks - struggling, passionate, a furiously intelligent misfit. And also endless interesting. He was a man like no other' - Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal Oliver Sacks, one of the great humanists of our age - who describes himself in these pages as a 'philosophical physician' and an 'astronomer of the inward' - wrote to an eclectic array of family and friends. Most were scientists, artists, and writers, even statesmen: Francis Crick, Antonio Damasio, Jane Goodall, W. H. Auden, Susan Sontag ...
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'Here is the unedited Oliver Sacks - struggling, passionate, a furiously intelligent misfit. And also endless interesting. He was a man like no other' - Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal Oliver Sacks, one of the great humanists of our age - who describes himself in these pages as a 'philosophical physician' and an 'astronomer of the inward' - wrote to an eclectic array of family and friends. Most were scientists, artists, and writers, even statesmen: Francis Crick, Antonio Damasio, Jane Goodall, W. H. Auden, Susan Sontag, Stephen Jay Gould, Bj???rk, and his first cousin, Abba Eban. But many of the most eloquent letters in this collection are addressed to the ordinary people who wrote to him with their odd symptoms and questions, to whom he responds with a sense of generosity and wonder. With some correspondents, Sacks shares his struggle for recognition and acceptance both as a physician and as a gay man, providing intimate accounts as well of his passions for competitive weightlifting, motorcycles, botany, and music. With others, he chronicles his penchant for testing the boundaries of authority, the discovery of his writer's voice, and his explosive seasons of discovery with the patients who populate his book Awakenings. His descriptions of travels as a young man and the extraordinary people he encounters can be lyrical, ferocious, penetrating and hilarious. Many of his musings include the first detailed sketches of an essay forming in his mind, or miniature case histories rivalling those in his beloved essay collections. Sensitively selected and introduced by Kate Edgar, Sacks's longtime editor, the letters trace the arc of a remarkable life and reveal an often surprising portrait of Sacks as he wrestles with the workings of his own brain and mind. 'Sacks is an endearing and entertaining prose stylist - inquisitive, often funny, never obtuse . . . Letters is crammed with off-the-cuff profundities, moments of elevated perception that briefly unriddle the more inscrutable aspects of human nature.' - Ralf Webb, Guardian
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Add this copy of Letters to cart. $27.49, like new condition, Sold by A Good Deal Of Book rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRENTWOOD, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Knopf Publishing Group.
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Fine in fine dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 752 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. The letters of one of the greatest observers of the human species, revealing his intimate thoughts on life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family and scientists over the decades A prolific correspondent, Dr. Oliver Sacks--who describes himself variously in these pages as "a philosophical physician, " "an astronomer of the inward, " a "neuropathological Talmudist, " and "a consummate observer" with "a pure love for phenomena"--wrote letters throughout his life to his parents, his beloved Aunt Lennie, to friends and colleagues from London, Oxford, California, and around the world. The pages begin with his arrival in America as a young man, eager to establish himself away from the confines of postwar England, and carry us through his bumpy early career in medicine and the discovery of his writer's voice and m�etier; his weightlifting, motorcycle-riding years and his explosive seasons of discovery with the patients who populate his book Awakenings; his growing interest in matters of sight and the musical brain; his many friendships and exchanges with fellow writers, artists and scientists (to say nothing of astronauts, botanists, and mathematicians), and his deep gratitude for all these relationships at the end of his life. From Francis Crick and Jane Goodall to W. H. Auden and Susan Sontag, from lovers to patients, and ordinary folk who wrote to him with their odd symptoms and questions, all are treated equally to Sacks's lyrical, ferocious, penetrating and at times hilarious observations. His musings often contain the first detailed sketches of an essay forming in his mind. Sensitively introduced and edited by Kate Edgar, Sacks's longtime assistant (and one of his correspondents), the letters deliver a complete portrait of Sacks as he wrestles with the workings of the brain and mind. We see, through his eyes, the beginnings of modern neuroscience as it unlocks many secrets of how the human brain defines us. We experience the arc of a remarkable personal evolution, closely following the thought processes of one of the twentieth century's great intellectuals, whose life was long and productive and whose words, as evidenced in these pages, were unfailingly shaped with generosity and wonder toward other people
Add this copy of Letters to cart. $28.30, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2024 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Letters to cart. $31.01, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Knopf Publishing Group.
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New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 752 p. Contains: Illustrations. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Letters to cart. $31.02, new condition, Sold by booksXpress, ships from Bayonne, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Letters: Edited By Kate Edgar to cart. $32.70, new condition, Sold by Halcyon Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2024 by Picador.
Add this copy of Letters to cart. $37.97, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2024 by Picador.
