On Books

In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks tells 24 short-stories (all true) of some of his patients. The first chapter chronicles the story of one of Sacks' patients with visual agnosia (face-blindness) who literally mistakes his wife for a hat. The book is split into four sections: each section dealing with a particular aspect of brain function such as deficits, excesses, and altered perceptions. In this episode of On books we cover three Oliver Sacks books: Awakenings, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" (the story), Musicophilia. As well as an interview with Princeton University Neuroscience Professor Nathaniel Daw. Read the book notes @ www.on-books.com