The Island of the ColorblindPart travelogue, part autobiography, part medical mystery, this moving book by the "poet laureate of medicine" (The New York Times) and bestselling author of Awakenings takes us to a tiny Pacific atoll and the island of Guam to explore the genesis of disease, the wonders of botany, and the complexities of being human. "Sacks's total immersion in island life makes this luminous, beautifully written report a wonderous voyage of discovery. As a travel writer, Sacks ranks with Paul Theroux and Bruce Chatwin. As an investigator of the mind's mysteries, he is in a class by himself." —Publishers Weekly For Oliver Sacks, islands conjure up equally the romance of Melville and Stevenson, the adventure of Magellan and Cook, and the scientific wonder of Darwin and Wallace. Drawn to the tiny Pacific atoll of Pingelap by intriguing reports of an isolated community of islanders born totally color-blind, Sacks finds himself setting up a clinic in a one-room island dispensary, where he listens to these achromatopic islanders describe their colorless world in rich terms of pattern and tone, luminance and shadow. And on Guam, where he goes to investigate the puzzling neurodegenerative paralysis endemic there for a century, he becomes, for a brief time, an island neurologist, making house calls with his colleague John Steele, amid crowing cockerels, cycad jungles, and the remains of a colonial culture. Out of this unexpected journey, Sacks has woven an unforgettable narrative which immerses us in the romance of island life, and shares his own compelling vision of the mysteries of being human. |
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achromatopes achromatopsia Agana Alzheimer’s amyotrophic lateral sclerosis animals atoll banana blind BMAA bodig botanical botanist called century Chamorros clinical coconut color colorblind cones coral crabs culture cycad Cycas circinalis cycasin Darwin deaf dementia disease dozen eating Encephalartos Euphrasia eyes fadang fascinated feeling ferns fish forest Gajdusek garden gene genetic giant Guam horsetails huge human hundred island isolated Japanese John John’s jungle Kii Peninsula Knut Kolonia Kurland Kwajalein land light living looked lytico lytico-bodig Majuro Marianas maskun Micronesia myth nahnmwarki Nan Madol native neurodegenerative neurofibrillary tangles neurological neurologist never night O’Connell ocean Oliver Sacks Pacific palms parkinsonism patients perhaps Pingelap Pingelapese plants Pohnpei Pohnpeian poison population post-encephalitic reef Rota Rumphius Sacks sakau seemed seen sense sort species Spencer spermatozooids syndrome thought told Tomasa toxic toxin trees typhoon Umatac village vision visual wondered Zamia