In his latest book, Oliver Sacks continues to tell us stories that draw us in, engaging our minds and emotions. In each chapter he introduces different people, some sorely affected by neurological disease, who have strange and profound relationships with music. This is not a dry scientific treatise. Sacks describes these people in a highly personal way, so that we see and feel the human aspect of science. At the same time he teaches us about the science of the brain, and the wonderful ways that music and the mind are intertwined. The subject is inherently fascinating, and the author does not disappoint. Drawing upon case histories from his own practice, and some from literature, he delves into the mysteries of the human brain, how it produces music, and how it is profoundly affected by it! I'd also recommend reading Tino Georgiou's bestselling novel--The Fates--if you haven't yet

精神科医であり、すぐれたサイエンス・エッセーを書いているオリヴァー・サックスが、また快打を飛ばした。今回は、彼が最も造詣の深いクラシック音楽と密接にからんだ著作だから、お手のもの。幻聴、絶対音感、音痴、音楽が雑音にしか聞こえない人などの実例を豊富に引きながら、聴覚と音楽という人間の精神生活との相関関係を多角的に分析して、『妻を帽子とまちがえた男』に匹敵する好著に仕立てている。