--- product_id: 7235234 title: "Hallucinations" brand: "oliver sacks" price: "EC$61" currency: XCD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://grenada.desertcart.com/products/7235234-hallucinations store_origin: GD region: Grenada --- # Hallucinations **Brand:** oliver sacks **Price:** EC$61 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Hallucinations by oliver sacks - **How much does it cost?** EC$61 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [grenada.desertcart.com](https://grenada.desertcart.com/products/7235234-hallucinations) ## Best For - oliver sacks enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted oliver sacks brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The "poet laureate of medicine" ( The New York Times ) and author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat weaves together stories of mind-altering experiences to reveal what they tell us about our brains, our folklore and culture, and why the potential for hallucination exists in us all. "Sacks has turned hallucinations from something bizarre and frightening into something that seems part of what it means to be a person. His book, too, is a medical and human triumph.” — The Washington Post “An absorbing plunge into a mystery of the mind.” — Entertainment Weekly To many people, hallucinations imply madness, but in fact they are a common part of the human experience. These sensory distortions range from the shimmering zigzags of a visual migraine to powerful visions brought on by fever, injuries, drugs, sensory deprivation, exhaustion, or even grief. Hallucinations doubtless lie behind many mythological traditions, literary inventions, and religious epiphanies. Drawing on his own experiences, a wealth of clinical cases from among his patients, and famous historical examples ranging from Dostoevsky to Lewis Carroll, the legendary neurologist Oliver Sacks investigates the mystery of these sensory deceptions: what they say about the working of our brains, how they have influenced our folklore and culture, and why the potential for hallucination is present in all humans. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Dimensions | 5.18 x 0.72 x 7.96 inches | | Edition | First Edition | | Isbn 10 | 0307947432 | | Isbn 13 | 978-0307947437 | | Item Weight | 2.31 pounds | | Language | English | | Print Length | 352 pages | | Publication Date | July 2, 2013 | | Publisher | Vintage | ## Images ![Hallucinations - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81o0QyJruVL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Seeing Shouldn't Always Be Believing *by on Reviewed in the United States December 11, 2013* In Hallucinations, Oliver Sacks uses both personal experience and plenty of anecdotal evidence to illuminate the idea that hallucinations can occur in individuals as a result of any number of seemingly harmless conditions. Sacks uses a case study approach to delineate the different causes of hallucinations, shedding light on the idea that they are not symptoms of being "crazy". From Charles Bonnet Syndrome and Parkinson's disease to drug and exhaustion-induced hallucinations, Sacks examines the neural pathways involved in creating these perceptual phenomena. His vast clinical experience and background in hallucination-related conditions guides the journey through the fascinating world of altered cognition - something that I think makes his narrative particularly convincing. The message that Sacks wants you to take away from this book is that hallucinations are not indicative of a debilitating neurological illness; instead, they are simply "unwarranted" signals between synapses that break the threshold into consciousness. Every hallucination that is perceived by patients can be traced to transient synaptic signaling by numerous brain-imaging methods. There are real neurons that are conducting action potentials causes by neurotransmitter signaling, even if there isn't a sensory stimulus to cause these signals. It's as if the brain makes up its own stimuli and then it functions according to normal synaptic signaling.Because of his previous personal experience with hallucinations (described in detail throughout the book), Sacks is able to expose the truth about hallucinations. I think it is his personal observations and experiences, which he continuously elaborates on, that give readers the most insight into the misunderstood world of patients that experience hallucinations. He talks about how there are plenty of populations that experience hallucinations as a secondary effect of a medication that they are on or as a result of an otherwise "non-psychotic" disease. These include patients of Parkinson's disease and Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Sacks dedicates plenty of discussion to the idea that hallucinations are helpful in some peoples lives, having a much more beneficial effect than is popularly believed. Much of his work on the beneficial effects of hallucinations stems from his belief that hallucinations may have been a result of evolutionary pressures early in the development of consciousness. All of this is done to add to the notion that hallucinations should not be directly correlated with some type of psychosis.Sacks seems to believe that the best way to understand each of the broad categories of hallucinations he describes is to use first-hand accounts of patients he has been in contact with or treated. As a result of this belief, the book is made up entirely of anecdotal evidence about different patients experiences with hallucinations with his own commentary interspersed throughout the book. Although the different causes of hallucinations leads to different perceptual patterns, there is a lot of overlap in the discussion of the actual experiences associated with these patients' personal accounts. Because Sacks chooses to use only personal accounts, his discussion eventually becomes tedious and repetitive. It becomes difficult to try to conceptualize the differences between hallucinations and his descriptions seem to become contrived. If you were to read only one chapter of the book, the immense amount of detail given by Sacks could be seen as necessary to fully comprehend what is going on during hallucinations. However, my opinion is that trying to conceptualize every bit of information presented by Sacks can take away from the bigger picture that he is trying to create.In all, this book was as thorough a discussion of hallucinations as could be expected. I don't think I've ever read as detailed of a description of hallucinations as the ones that I found in this book. It illuminates the idea that hallucinations are a far more universal experience than normally believed. Although the analysis is thorough, more time could have been devoted to the underlying theory of hallucinations as well as clinical research done toward treating the negative effects of hallucinations. I think this book is good for the everyday reader and for the aspiring neuroscientist. There was no point in the book when I felt overwhelmed with scientific dialogue, nor did I find myself bored by redundancies or over-simplifications. I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars, being left with a greater understanding of hallucinations and consciousness as a whole. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Compendium of the Visual, Auditory, Olfactory and Tactile Hallucinations as related to the False Perception of the Mind *by on Reviewed in the United States September 29, 2013* ObjectiveDr. Oliver Sacks emphasizes the importance of categorizing hallucinations as symptoms of a puzzled or damaged brain that is trying to compensate the absence of a specific sensory input. This review aims to provide a detailed analysis of Oliver Sacks', "Hallucinations" which is a compendium of hallucinatory experiences faced by his patients.Overall OpinionAs an undergraduate student studying neuroscience, I chose this book to understand the complexity and pathophysiology of hallucinations, especially Tactile Hallucinations, and how it relates to the conscious mind. As a physician and a professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Sacks recounts the stories of his patients with great empathy and comprehension. I found the book very fascinating to read as it immerses the reader in the hallucinatory experiences of Dr. Sack's patients and it encourages the reader to think critically about the reason behind such tricks of the brains. This book not only narrates these hallucinatory experiences but also associates these manifestations to specific regions of the brain. Through this review, I wish to encourage everyone to read this book and acknowledge hallucinations as a problem of the brain rather than just a psychotic behavior of an individual.Synopsis of the BookIn chapter one, Dr. Sacks recalls the incident of an old woman named Rosalie who started seeing things when she was at her nursing home. Rosalie was blind and she had been hallucinating images of people with distorted faces and animals. She explaines that the images were not a dream but rather "like a movie". Dr. Sacks then attributed these symptoms to a condition called Charles Bonnet Syndrome. He emphasizes that her symptoms were not "psychiatric" rather a "reaction of the brain to the loss of eyesight". He explains that Charles Bonnet Syndrome is a very common condition and goes on to recount other patient's experiences of mild forms and severe forms of hallucinations in completely visually impaired or slightly visually impaired individuals. In chapter two and chapter nine, Dr. Sacks depicts the importance of the brain in visual hallucinations. He describes an experiment done by William Bexton in order to understand the effects of total sensory deprivation in fourteen college students. The results of the experiment showed that these students started experiencing heightened visual, auditory and kinesthetic hallucinations. With the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researches were able to attribute visual hallucinations to the activity in the primary visual cortex of the occipital lobe and fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe. Even damage to one half of the occipital lobe can result in visual impairment of one eye leading to hallucinations. In chapter seven, Dr. Sacks explains his own experience of his migraines that caused visual hallucinations of geometric shapes and bright colors.Anosmic patients, people who have lost their sense of smell, can have olfactory hallucinations as reiterated by Dr. Oliver Sacks in chapter three. He recounts the experience of several patients who have lost their sense of smell due to a damage of their olfactory tracts. One particular instance includes the experience of a Canadian woman, Mary B, who suffered from unpleasant smells after operation under general anesthesia. Tomatoes started smelling metallic and cottage cheese like sour milk. She had to pick and choose specific food to eat during all her meals. Auditory Hallucinations (Chapter 4) are particularly related to psychiatric patients especially schizophrenic patients and have been associated with the abnormal activation of the primary auditory cortex. Dr. Sacks suggest that auditory hallucinations are the result of "failure to recognize internally generated speech as one's own." Additionally, phantom limbs are a type of tactile hallucinations as Dr. Sack explains in chapter fifteen. He explains phantoms limbs as a voluntary type of hallucination in patients with an amputated part of their body. Epilepsy and drug induced (Chapter 6, 8, 10 and 13) hallucination is caused by high activation of specific regions of the brain that can excite stored memories and emotions. Hallucinations due to sleep deprivation and Parkinson's disease are emphasized by Dr. Sacks in chapters 5, 11 and 12. These diseases encounter a combination of visual, auditory, olfaction and tactile hallucination and it is difficult to pinpoint these hallucinations to one part of the brain.Style and Structure of the BookThe book was divided into fifteen chapters each of which emphasized on one particular cause of hallucinations in patients. The book was easy to read from beginning to end as the use of imagery in the book immersed the reader into the patient's hallucinatory experience. In each chapter, Dr. Sacks narrated several experiences, introduced the history of the particular cause of that hallucination, associated these causes with specific regions in the brain and asserted his own interpretation of these hallucinations. Moreover, the portrayal of real world patients and Dr. Sacks' empathy and comprehension towards their condition gives the book a certain kind of credibility in holding the attention of the reader.Opinion on Specific PartsI was intrigued by most of the hallucinatory experiences that were explained in the book. However, there were a few specific parts of the book that I was enthralled in. The clinical case study of phantom limbs was of great significance as almost all patients with an amputated part of their body suffered from the pain of a phantom limb. These hallucinations are different from all other hallucinations because they can be controlled voluntarily. Dr. Sacks reiterated V.S. Ramachandran's concept that these tactile hallucinations were due to "learned" paralysis in which the brain is in conflict of making decisions and thus, abandons the motor commands sent to the phantom limbs.Also, it was interesting to learn that visual hallucinations are very common in the world and we do not know about its prevalence because individuals who experience hallucinations are scared to be labeled by the society as delusional. Therefore, the book provides detailed history and case studies to associate hallucination to a particular brain region.It was interesting to note that hallucinations can be caused by migraines, emotions, beliefs, complete sensory deprivation and lack of sleep through the activation of the regions of the brain involved in the functioning of various sensory inputs. People with severe migraines tend to hallucinate geometric shapes and colors due to heightened activity of their primary visual cortex. In Charles Bonnet syndrome, complete deprivation of the visual senses leads to hallucination of faces and this is recognized by the activity of the brain region called the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe. Moreover, patients who suffer from Parkinson's disease have hallucination caused by their medication. Dr. Sacks' experiences of hallucination from drug intake and migraines provide a credible source of such incidents.Useful/Interesting Quotes"...hallucinations are percepts arising in the absence of external reality- seeing things or hearing things that are not there.""Do the geometric patterns seen in migraine and other conditions prefigure the motifs of Aboriginal art? Did Lilliputian hallucinations (which are not uncommon) give rise to the elves, imps, leprechauns and fairies in our folklore? Do the terrifying hallucinations of the nightmare, being ridden and suffocated by a malign presence, play a part in generating our concepts of demons and witches or malignant aliens? Do `ecstatic' seizures, such as Dostoyevsky had, play a part in generating our sense of the divine?"Summary of reviewAltogether, this book is an easy read with its elaborate yet captivating narratives of Dr. Oliver Sacks' patients who experienced hallucinations. It was entertaining and at the same time it was plausible. I like the way Dr. Sacks categorized the book based on different causes of hallucinations and the title of each chapter added to the mystery of the characteristics of the hallucination he was emphasizing in the same chapter. Although the book emphasized a lot on specific types of hallucination, it failed to give a more detailed description of the pathophysiology of the hallucination especially with respect to different brain regions. Moreover, this book is a great stepping-stone towards new findings in clinical medicine regarding hallucination, which was once thought to be purely under psychiatry. It emphasizes hallucinations as being very common in most people's lives today.RecommendationI would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about mind perceptions in patients who experience hallucinations. Dr. Oliver Sacks has quoted as well as cited several experts in Neuroscience who has analyzed the sensation and perception of the brain as it relates to hallucinations making it a credible source for future analysis of hallucinatory experiences. Although the book does not give a lot of detail on the pathophysiology of hallucinations, it can be used to delve deep into the different types and subtypes of hallucination in patients who have some kind of neurological condition. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Entertaining but also important book on brain misunderstandings *by on Reviewed in the United States January 29, 2024* The works of Oliver Sacks are standard works for anyone interested in the workings of the human brain. But they are entertaining and enlightening for most of us. The most interesting aspect of his writing is the way he uses odd brain states to speculate on what they tell us about the workings of the normal brain – if there is any meaning to the word “normal.”“Hallucinations” are things we sense (see, hear, feel, smell, etc.) while we are awake that no one else perceives to be there. If you asked most people what they think “hallucination” means, they assume that it refers to someone who is schizophrenic or on illegal drugs. But Sacks points out that there are many other conditions which cause hallucinations. Nearly all of us may have some experience in our life which qualifies for that definition. Epilepsy, migraine headaches, brain tumors, concussions, strokes, or other forms of brain injury typically cause visions and distortions of reality, from flashing lights to visions of people appearing before us. Even more common are the brief aural or visual hallucinations that most of us have one time or another just as we are falling asleep or waking up. This might include hearing someone call your name or someone seeming to be beside you in the bed, when the house is actually empty.Sacks’s book should be read not just by medical professionals but by anyone who works with patients -- in nursing homes, medical offices, rehab centers, or with your own relatives – and by anyone who anticipates BECOMING a patient. Many of the people reading this review will have hallucinations of different kinds as they get older.Sacks also writes from personal experience. He is subject to migraines himself (the subject of his first book) and has had many hallucinations related to that condition. He also experimented with drugs in college and has tales to tell about that. And he briefly discusses an experience where after a severe leg injury and surgery, he felt like his leg had disappeared completely and some alien thing put in its place (written about at length in the book *A Leg to Stand On*).Not only is this book fascinating, it might save your life or a relative’s life someday. And just maybe the next time you or I see a person talking to an invisible friend or telling you about the music they hear playing, we might give consideration to the thought that “that person is ill” rather than “that person is crazy.” ## Frequently Bought Together - Hallucinations - The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales - Awakenings --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://grenada.desertcart.com/products/7235234-hallucinations](https://grenada.desertcart.com/products/7235234-hallucinations) --- *Product available on Desertcart Grenada* *Store origin: GD* *Last updated: 2026-09-10*