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The Island of the Colorblind |  | Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: goodwillnyonline
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 44211
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0375700730
Dewey Decimal Number: 617.75909966
EAN: 9780375700736
ASIN: 0375700730
Publication Date: January 12, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
In his books An Anthropologist on Mars and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks details the lives of patients isolated by neurological disorders, shedding light on our common humanity and the ways in which we perceive the world around us. Now he looks at the effects of physical isolation in The Island of the Colorblind. On this journey, he carried with him the intellectual curiousity, kind understanding, and unique vision he has so consistently demonstrated. Drawn to the Micronesian island of Pingelap by reports of a community of people born totally colorblind, Dr. Sacks set up a clinic in a one-room dispensary. There he listened to patients describe their colorless world in terms rich with pattern and tone, luminance and shadow. Then, in Guam, he investigated a puzzling neurodegenerative paralysis, making housecalls amid crowing cockerels, cycad jungles, and the remains of a colonial culture. The experience affords Sacks an opportunity to elaborate on such personal passions as botany and history and to explore the meaning of islands, the dissemination of species, the birth of disease, and the nature of deep geologic time.
Product Description
"Magical . . . Sacks's fans are in for a treat."
--Kirkus
"An explorer of that most wonderous of islands, the human brain," writes D.M. Thomas in The New York Times Book Review, "Oliver Sacks also loves the oceanic kind of islands." Both kinds figure movingly in this book--part travelogue, part autobiography, part medical mystery story--in which Sacks's journeys to a tiny Pacific atoll and the island of Guam become explorations of the time, and the complexities of being human.
"Sacks's total immersion in islands 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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
 An In-depth Review of The Island of the Colorblind September 27, 2009
Cody A. Stone
This review should help people who favor non-fiction storytelling with a pinch of science. I sincerely enjoyed reading this book; Sacks is an excellent storyteller whose ability to recount fascinating adventures is truly astounding. As a general read I found it interesting from cover to cover; Sacks manages to keep the reader's attention throughout the whole book. Rarely a difficult read, the majority of the book gives readers a desire to continue forth and join Sacks on this amazing journey in the South Pacific island-hopping and observing phenomenon.
The book has two main sections:
Part I: The Island of the Colorblind
This is the title story, and the most interesting story that Sacks tells in my opinion. Sacks learns of an island whose inhabitants all possess the condition achromatopsia: inherited colorblindness. These people are born without any notion of color and are very sensitive to light. While this condition is rare amongst general populations, on isolated areas like islands the potential for rare genetic conditions to become more common increases dramatically. This phenomenon gives rise to populations that have common expression of recessive traits, and often discovery of these populations spurs scientists to come and study these people. Sacks and his two friends are just three of these scientists, and their adventures take them far beyond a simple scientific field trip.
Part II: Guam
This is the longer story of the two, and has a totally different focus except for similar geographic location. The Guam story focuses on two strange and isolated diseases that appear only in the South Pacific: lytico and bodig. Each of these diseases shares a large resemblance of symptoms to Western neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's and ALS, but when tissue samples are taken the patients do not seem to have all the characteristics of these diseases. What is particularly curious is that the diseases are isolated in the South Pacific, and only to islanders from Guam and nearby islands. Another interesting fact about the diseases is that the younger population does not contract the disease, Sacks even sites the year that is the lower limit to lytico and bodig patients. This is another fascinating tale and Sacks weaves an incredible story about his travels in Guam and nearby Rota.
Book Review
Overall, the book is wonderful. Sacks is a brilliant writer who possess the ability to relay not only basic fact but also an adventure that is generally a great read. His two trips focus on two totally different phenomena, and while both share ties with neuroscience there is ultimately very little neuroscience in the book. These stories are adventures in science: neurology, the mind, disease, genetics; but also about perseverance, culture, belief, humanity, and sociology. Sacks does not limit himself by his profession, rather he uses it a foundation to recount a truly inspiring story of cultural strength and resilience in the face of genetic obstacles and terminal disease. The focus is not limited to any single aspect of the adventure; readers will find scientific discoveries two pages away from a sailing adventure or a snorkeling adventure next to a botany review. The variety of topics that Sacks covers, and the way the topics flow together, make the read enjoyable even for the novice science reader. Overall Sacks' tales make for a very pleasant read and rarely leave you feeling stalled or bored.
That being said, the book is not without flaw. There is nothing major that is problematic, but Sacks banks on the fact that the reader has a high level of education. Though not a bad thing to have, I can really understand that some readers might find Sacks' word choices and overall style a bit confusing and perhaps cryptic. This might limit some of the potential audience, but I think the stories are still very enjoyable even if your scientific knowledge is limited. That is not to say that there is not any science in the story; sometimes the amount can be a little overwhelming with combinations of neurology, psychology, physiology, botany, marine biology, and anthropology appearing at various times throughout the story. But Sacks manages to keep the science to a minimum and certainly lack of understanding the science does not remove understanding of the stories.
I only had a single qualm with the book, and that is Sacks' use of imagery tends to leave the reader with either an incredibly vivid image or one that leaves you in the dark. That is to say that Sacks' version of imagery is generally very scientific, for example: "The roots were all macerated now, their lactones emulsified; the pulp was placed on the sinewy, glistening hibiscus bark," and in the following sentence "the sakau exuded, viscous, reluctant, at its margins." Certainly there are some parts of this book that can be difficult for all but the most experienced reader of science-based non-fiction. But this problem is minor at best and the book ferries the reader through a lot of the difficult material without much of the meaning being lost. Sacks rewards readers who can comprehend his imagery with vivid detail and lucidity, but by no means does he punish those cannot. However, I can imagine the some of his imagery would be lost on someone who does not understand facets of biology, chemistry, and neuroscience.
Pros/Cons:
Pros: Excellent storytelling, exciting adventures, great detail and good use of the multi-disciplinary approach to scientific non-fiction.
Cons: Requires knowledge of many scientific disciplines to understand portions and imagery, while focused seemingly on neuroscience much of the book focuses on other sciences, largely botany.
I would recommend reading this book if you find neuroscience interesting at all, as one of Sacks companions says "This has been the most exciting and interesting journey I will every make in my life." While I can't guarantee that this will be the most exciting and interesting book you'll ever read, I think that his declaration might tempt you into checking out/buying this book because it is well worth the read.
A Gray New World March 21, 2006
Micah Ling (Grand Rapids)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Oliver Sacks has created a lump of delight in his book, The Island of the Colorblind. After having a sincere interest in the topic of colorblind people, Sacks travels to Micronesia to visit with and better understand the victims of achromatopsia (a form of colorblindness) on the island. He takes with him a man by the name of Knut, who also has achromatopsia. They journey all over Micronesia, encountering numerous people living with the disease and thriving. They perform tests to assess the magnitude of the disease on the islands. Sunglasses and visors are passed out to the inhabitants to help them live their lives to the fullest. In the end, Sacks states that though the achromatopes of Micronesia are on a physical island, they also belong to the emotional island of achromatopes everywhere.
I found this book increasingly interesting with each passing page. The detail of his observations and the total immersion into the culture made it a joy. I agree with most other reviews in saying that the 50 page, illustrated notes at the end of the book make it much easier to understand the culture of the area and all that is happening around Sacks. His extensive citations tell me that he has truly researched all of his facts. I, like the above review, do not understand how people could not find this book humorous and delightful.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a challenging read. The words are large and there is much scientific talk. If you are interested enough in the topic to figure out the words, the book will be truly amazing. Colorblindness is such an underrated illness and it was wonderful to get an inside look.
-Micah
Science, Medicine, and Art, skillfully blended August 31, 2005
R. A. Beldin (Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Island of the Colorblind provides what Sacks readers expect: serious neurological cases, a humane appreciation for the patient, and an artistic sensitivity. We learn about several societies where the gene for colorblindness has become established and how that has affected the cultures of the people.
The Cycads presents a scientific mystery story that demonstrates again Sacks' observational care.
I recommend this book for anyone with scientific or medical interests.
It is a Worthy Read May 9, 2005
Mridula Dwivedi (New Delhi, India)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Another brilliant book By Dr. Oliver Sacks, this time about a community of color-blinds on a tiny island in the Pacific called Pingelap. He revels in this book that he has a fascination for Islands and when opportunity comes he packs off for this tiny island with two of his friends. One of his friends is from Norway (a psychologist) and himself achromatopic (completely color blind).
To reach the island they have to do a lot of island hopping and this account itself is worth reflection. There are army bases and nuclear test sites on the tiny island they stop by and the author has reflected well on these issues, their implications and their experiences with army when they get stranded once.
There is a strange quality about Dr. Sacks writing. He can make you wonder and almost enter the lives of the people he talks about. He has done so in his book `The man who mistook his wife for a hat...' and he has done it again in this book. We can probably never even imagine what it is to be color- blind, won't even reflect on something like this, after all we are so caught up in our normal lives. Consider a simple problem of recognising a ripe fruit with out being able to know the colour! But people do adapt and probably as Dr Sacks says they get over compensated in some other way.
The author and his friends get to meet many such people and try to provide the medical opinion but much more than that they get involved with the people, their daily life, their hopes and frustrations. And by the gift of his writing he can take you there too. Just pick up the book. It is not only about color-blinds in a medical sense but about their lives as a whole. And while reading don't ignore the notes to all the pages given at the end of the book. They are many a times much more interesting than the main text. I agree it makes reading a bit cumbersome but it is well worth it.
 Not Sacks' best, but inspiring & enjoyable August 24, 2002
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
In between visiting terminally ill patients, Dr. Sacks goes snorkeling and hiking through tropical rainforests in the Micronesian islands, sharing his thoughts and experiences with his readers.
About one quarter of the book is footnotes.
I enjoyed "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" a lot more.
(If English isn't your mother tongue or if you're not a college graduate I suggest you have a good dictionary nearby as you read. It also helps to look up some of the diseases he talks about at Yahoo! Health. Also look for images of the flora he discusses at Google Image Search.)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
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