Overview

"To the world, he was Dr. Sacks, the brilliant neurologist behind bestselling books like Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. To professor Susan Barry, he became Dear Oliver--her mentor, friend, and confidant over the course of their unlikely, engrossing ten-year correspondence. It begins with a letter that Sue almost doesn't send. Dear Dr. Sacks . . . You asked me if I could imagine what the world would look like when viewed with two eyes. Sue's unheard-of case history--as a ""stereoblind"" patient who acquired 3D vision in adulthood--so fascinates Dr. Sacks that he immediately asks to visit her. As ""Stereo Sue,"" she becomes the subject of one of his indelible New Yorker pieces--and, as a fellow neuroscientist, his sounding board for every kind of intellectual inquiry. Their shared passions--from classical music to cuttlefish, brain plasticity to bioluminescent plankton--spark a friendship that buoys both of them through life's crests and falls: as Sue becomes an author in her own right, as she supports her father in his decline, and as Oliver becomes a patient himself--battling cancer that, in a painful twist, robs him of his own vision. Dr. Sacks's letters to Sue offer his devoted readers an unprecedented glimpse of the man himself--from his legendary compassion and insight to his love of the periodic table (which he kept in his wallet). Throughout Dear Oliver, we are reminded that true friends help each other see the world a little differently."

Full Product Details

9781891011306

Table of Contents

Reviews

"Riveting . . . The real draw of this remarkable tale of a deep friendship between scientists is their loving letters. Barry accurately calls it an 'ode to friendship, letter-writing and Oliver Sacks.'-- ""Booklist"" These letters, rich with scholarship and mischief, reveal more intimately than ever before how carefully Oliver Sacks worked on his case studies and how crucial his subjects, including Susan Barry, were to him. To browse through these exchanges, Oliver using his leaky fountain pen, crossing out words, doodling on the margins, rephrasing, rethinking and Susan answering back with stories, photographs, and drawings of her own, gives us a rare look at two minds jousting, sharing ideas. What started out as an inquiry became a partnership, then, as the years rolled by, a deepening, life-changing friendship.--Robert Krulwich, former host of Radiolab [An] exemplary and informative testimony to the probably lifelong plasticity of the brain.-- ""Booklist"" [Barry's] buoyant journey into stereovision is an eye-popping ride.-- ""Discover"" Neurobiologist Barry explores sight, hearing, and perception in this triumphant survey of people who gained a sense they were born without. Barry skillfully balances scientific explanations with empathetic stories of how senses shape the human experience . . . . This powerful tale is as thoughtful as it is informative.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" One axis of [Barry's] book is a graceful and grateful appreciation of a newly acquired ability to see the volume of space between objects and to see each object as occupying its own space--revelations that allowed her to live among and in the things of this world and gave her first movements of snow falling, trees branching, and a faucet arcing out of the sink . . . . The book's main contribution, however, is exposing the wrong-headed dogma that acuity and binocular vision can be restored only during a critical developmental period.-- ""New England Journal of Medicine"" Through stories of two amazing individuals, a neurobiologist explains how we see and hear . . . . Even science-savvy readers will find surprises in this insightful exploration of how two humans learned a new sense.-- ""Kirkus"" A Main Selection of the Library of Science Book Club ""Dear Oliver is a must-read for all the people who loved Oliver Sacks's books. The ending made me cry.--Temple Grandin, bestselling author of Visual Thinking and Thinking in Pictures Coming to Our Senses, by neurobiologist Susan Barry, explains how our actions shape and reshape our senses throughout our lives, delving into this deeply personal developmental process.-- ""New Scientist"" Select praise for Fixing My Gaze ""Essential reading for people interested in the brain.--Temple Grandin A testament to the genius of Oliver Sacks and the special friendship he shared with Susan Barry, Dear Oliver is a deep dive into an emotionally rich world. Oliver Sacks was extraordinary in his curiosity and sensitivity, but, as his letters show, his brilliance was his ability to marry science, humanity, humor, and humility.--Orrin Devinsky, MD, professor of neurology and neuroscience, NYU Grossman School of Medicine Select praise for Coming to Our Senses ""Barry gives us insight into what it means to be human.-- ""The New York Times"""

"These letters, rich with scholarship and mischief, reveal more intimately than ever before how carefully Oliver Sacks worked on his case studies and how crucial his subjects, including Susan Barry, were to him. To browse through these exchanges, Oliver using his leaky fountain pen, crossing out words, doodling on the margins, rephrasing, rethinking and Susan answering back with stories, photographs, and drawings of her own, gives us a rare look at two minds jousting, sharing ideas. What started out as an inquiry became a partnership, then, as the years rolled by, a deepening, life-changing friendship.--Robert Krulwich, former host of Radiolab [An] exemplary and informative testimony to the probably lifelong plasticity of the brain.-- ""Booklist"" [Barry's] buoyant journey into stereovision is an eye-popping ride.-- ""Discover"" Neurobiologist Barry explores sight, hearing, and perception in this triumphant survey of people who gained a sense they were born without. Barry skillfully balances scientific explanations with empathetic stories of how senses shape the human experience . . . . This powerful tale is as thoughtful as it is informative.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" One axis of [Barry's] book is a graceful and grateful appreciation of a newly acquired ability to see the volume of space between objects and to see each object as occupying its own space--revelations that allowed her to live among and in the things of this world and gave her first movements of snow falling, trees branching, and a faucet arcing out of the sink . . . . The book's main contribution, however, is exposing the wrong-headed dogma that acuity and binocular vision can be restored only during a critical developmental period.-- ""New England Journal of Medicine"" Through stories of two amazing individuals, a neurobiologist explains how we see and hear . . . . Even science-savvy readers will find surprises in this insightful exploration of how two humans learned a new sense.-- ""Kirkus"" A Main Selection of the Library of Science Book Club ""Dear Oliver is a must-read for all the people who loved Oliver Sacks's books. The ending made me cry.--Temple Grandin, bestselling author of Visual Thinking and Thinking in Pictures Coming to Our Senses, by neurobiologist Susan Barry, explains how our actions shape and reshape our senses throughout our lives, delving into this deeply personal developmental process.-- ""New Scientist"" Select praise for Fixing My Gaze ""Essential reading for people interested in the brain.--Temple Grandin A testament to the genius of Oliver Sacks and the special friendship he shared with Susan Barry, Dear Oliver is a deep dive into an emotionally rich world. Oliver Sacks was extraordinary in his curiosity and sensitivity, but, as his letters show, his brilliance was his ability to marry science, humanity, humor, and humility.--Orrin Devinsky, MD, professor of neurology and neuroscience, NYU Grossman School of Medicine Select praise for Coming to Our Senses ""Barry gives us insight into what it means to be human.-- ""The New York Times"""

"Select praise for Fixing My Gaze ""Essential reading for people interested in the brain.""--Temple Grandin ""[Barry's] buoyant journey into stereovision is an eye-popping ride.""--Discover ""One axis of [Barry's] book is a graceful and grateful appreciation of a newly acquired ability to see the volume of space between objects and to see each object as occupying its own space--revelations that allowed her to live among and in the things of this world and gave her first movements of snow falling, trees branching, and a faucet arcing out of the sink . . . . The book's main contribution, however, is exposing the wrong-headed dogma that acuity and binocular vision can be restored only during a critical developmental period.""--New England Journal of Medicine ""[An] exemplary and informative testimony to the probably lifelong plasticity of the brain.""--Booklist Select praise for Coming to Our Senses ""Barry gives us insight into what it means to be human.""--The New York Times ""Neurobiologist Barry explores sight, hearing, and perception in this triumphant survey of people who gained a sense they were born without. Barry skillfully balances scientific explanations with empathetic stories of how senses shape the human experience . . . . This powerful tale is as thoughtful as it is informative.""--Publishers Weekly ""Through stories of two amazing individuals, a neurobiologist explains how we see and hear . . . . Even science-savvy readers will find surprises in this insightful exploration of how two humans learned a new sense.""--Kirkus ""Coming to Our Senses, by neurobiologist Susan Barry, explains how our actions shape and reshape our senses throughout our lives, delving into this deeply personal developmental process.""--New Scientist"

Author Information

"Susan R. Barry is a professor emerita of neuroscience and behavior at Mount Holyoke College. She is the author of Fixing My Gaze, named a best book of the year by Amazon and Library Journal, and Coming to Our Senses. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Big Think, and on Science Friday, Fresh Air, and Morning Edition. She lives in Massachusetts. Oliver Sacks was a physician, a bestselling author, and a professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. The New York Times referred to him as ""the poet laureate of medicine."" As an author, he is best known for his collections of neurological case histories, including The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, and An Anthropologist on Mars. Dr. Sacks was a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books."

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available