Manic and depressive states were once thought to accompany genius, but we now know these are the signs of manic-depressive illnesses. In Touched with Fire, Jamison turns speculation into reality by exposing the links between manic-depression and creativity. Kay Redfield Jamison is the Co-Director of the Mood Disorders Center and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins Medicine. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison This book can interest psychologists (me) and musical enthusiasts (also me, but who isn't) and just regular people who are interested in learning about some of the fascinating parts of the human experience and mind” (Grace Crowell, Amazon Customer).ģ. “Oliver Sacks is truly one of the greats.A book that not only contributes to our understanding of the elusive magic of music but also illuminates the strange workings, and misfirings, of the human mind” (The New York Times). He does this by showing fascinating case studies, or what he calls “musical misalignments.” These include stories of people who are musically gifted and those who lack the ability to appreciate music in its entirety. In Musicophilia, Sacks looks at where music collides with the brain and how it affects the human condition. He is known as the “poet laureate of medicine,” according to The New York Times. Oliver Sacks was a physician, best-selling author, and a Professor of Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks A must if you want to understand how it all works” (Ishora, Amazon Customer).Ģ. No, I will rephrase that because we are all music lovers. Very easy to read, not highbrow but well researched.

“Every musician, at whatever level of skill, should read this book.”-Howie Klein, former president, Sire, and Reprise/Warner Brothers Records.Ultimately, Levitin looks at how nature and nurture affect the human obsession that is music. Is musical pleasure different from other kinds of pleasure?.What do PET scans and MRIs reveal about the brain’s response to music?.Is there a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music?.Are our musical preferences shaped in utero?.His best selling book, This is Your Brain on Music, addresses questions such as: Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician, and author.

How music works book review