A Leg to Stand On

By: Oliver Sacks

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Oliver Sacks - introduction

Dr. Oliver Sacks' books Awakenings, An Anthropologist on Mars, and the best-selling The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat have been acclaimed for their extraordinary compassion in the treatment of patients affected with profound disorders. In A Leg to Stand On, it is Sacks himself who is the patient: an encounter with a bull on a desolate mountain in Norway has left him with a severely damaged leg. But what should be a routine recuperation is actually the beginning of a strange medical journey when he finds that his leg uncannily no longer feels like part of his body.

Sacks's brilliant description of his crisis and eventual recovery is not only an illuminating examination of the experience of patienthood and the inner nature of illness and health but also a fascinating exploration of the physical basis of identity.

PLEASE NOTE: Some changes have been made to the original manuscript with the permission of Oliver Sacks.

©1984, 1993 Oliver Sacks (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A neurologist in [the] great tradition... [this is] a narrative comparable to Conrad's The Secret Sharer." (The New York Review of Books)

"In calling for a neurology of the soul and a deeper and more humane medicine, Sacks's remarkable book raises issues of profound importance for everyone interested in humane health care and the human application of science." (The Washington Post Book World)

Was disappointed

I thought the performance was great and engaging. And for being in the medical field, a physical therapist, I think it does a great job of showing how this our medical. However for being a story about the doctor he seemed really aloof and everything seemed really dramatic. It was difficult to stay focused a lot, for me.

A lesser book by an excellent author.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Changing the book would mean changing Oliver Sacks, and that would be a very bad idea.

Would you be willing to try another book from Oliver Sacks? Why or why not?

Yes

What about Jonathan Davis and Oliver Sacks (Introduction) ’s performance did you like?

It was very well read.

Could you see A Leg to Stand On being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

One of Oliver Sacks best books

Having read several of Oliver Sacks books I wasn’t expecting this one to surprise me as much. The way he narrates his own experiences and the later analysis he does of them in relation to his own humanity are breathtaking.
He truly was a brilliant mind. This book is on my top 3 of this books.

Extraordinary telling of a poorly understood phenomena by one whose experience and training lends him great credibility.

I knew this man to be a passionate and authentic mentor. Although we did not meet personally prior to his passing not a day goes by when I do not feel the difference he made for the direction of my training and future work.

A very rewarding read but Not for everybody.

While this is a fine book with an amazing true story, I feel the need to put out a word of caution. The degree to which sachs goes off on his poetic existential meanderings in this book is excessive . It requires patience and a fair amount of concentration to get through these unfortunately verbose tirades. An editor really should have tightened it up. This book does have a great story and immense insight that should be heard by everyone. It will be of particular value to doctors, nurses and caregivers. I really love sacks work but his verbosity gets to be too much at times.