Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (2007, Hardcover)

I'm a musician. I also have a mistrust of doctors. This one is different and gets my thumbs up.
I've told everyone I meet that music is the most obvious form of magic in the world today. Dr. Sacks case studies would seem to confirm this.
If you've allowed music to become an intimate part of your life, then you must read this.

Having heard several of Dr. Sacks' interviews, this was the first volume I'd read of his popular works. After reading this, I read two he'd written earlier, in order to compare them. This is another pleasant collection of anecdotes derived from his experience in neurology. Entertaining and often thought-provoking, the book is well worth reading for the general public. Because recent studies in neurochemistry and behavior have been fascinating, provocative and enlightening, I'd hoped to find this book more inclusive of new data, but as I read along, I realized that would be outside the purpose of this book. For more technical analysis, the science-savvy reader will need to pursue his interests elsewhere; for the casual reader, there's much to enjoy here. Music is an acoustic river which flows within us all - a common need, deeply fulfilling, yet completely individual. It's a pleasure to learn more about its universal importance, as well as its significance to individuals.