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Migraine

Migraine

by Oliver Sacks

3.50 out of 5 (1 ratings)

Format:
Paperback 
Pages:
368 
Publisher:
Pan Macmillan 
Publication Date:
10 May 2012 
Category:
Neurology & Clinical Neurophysiology 
ISBN:
9780330526142 

Description

'A mine of treasures, a source of visions, a microcosm of human experience and suffering, the philosopher's stone: Migraine is a remarkable achievement' Sunday Telegraph Migraine is an age-old -- the first recorded instances date back over two thousand years -- and often debilitating condition, affecting a 'substantial minority' of the population across the globe. In this book, Oliver Sacks offers at once a medical account of its occurrence and management; an exploration of its physical, physiological, and psychological underpinnings and consequences; and a meditation on the nature and experience of health and illness. 'It delves into the workings of the brain with brilliant complexity, and should be required reading for migraine sufferers or those with an intellectual bent' Cosmopolitan 'Migraine is full of those wondrous insights that have made Oliver Sacks the most accessible and at the same time the most magisterial of doctors' Anita Brookner, Spectator 'Written with Sacks's customary insight and grace, no book has helped me understand more about the mind-body connection' Hilary Mantel, Mail on Sunday

Showing 1-2 out of 2 reviews.

  • If you are looking for a book that defines migraine in an almost textbook like manner, citing case studies, historical data, and the like, this very comprehensive tome does that and more. This is an extremely thorough covering of migraine in all of its forms, severity and duration. Published in 1970 with revisions in 1985 and 1992, due to the updates in medications and other techniques in recent years (I'm thinking particularly of a heart surgery that has been utilized and also botox), it is definitely time for another update to be more complete. Despite this, I found it to be extremely helpful personally as someone who has suffered from migraines for over 25 years to see not only the type of migraines I was experiencing, but also why I had such difficulty pinpointing the cause.

    3.50 out of 5

    KinnicChick

  • I haven't gotten past the first part yet, but I'm not sure how long it'll take me to finish this book, if at all. For one thing, every time I pick it up and start reading about migraine symptoms it makes my permanent baseline migraine flare up. Not sure if it's because the topic of migraine does that or if it's the fact that I'm having trouble getting past the jargon which seems to be directed more to practitioners than the average layperson such as myself. I've read other Oliver Sacks books quite a long time ago now (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, An Anthropologist on Mars), found them immensely informative as well as entertaining, and devoured them in no time at all. Now I'm left wondering if I was smarter back then and maybe willing to work more on my reading material, or whether this book does in fact use more clinical jargon than his other books did. In any case maybe my current neurologist and I will have to find the proper medication and dosage for my own symptoms before I can continue reading about what it is that has been ailing me all my life.

    out of 5

    Smiler69

Reviews provided by Librarything.

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