Fire in the Brain: Clinical Tales of Hallucination (Plume) [Paperback]

Ronald K. Siegel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Plume | Publication Date: March 1, 1993

A look at hallucination reveals the cartography of the hallucinatory world through case histories that feature a pool shark, a nurse who sees swastikas on her patients' bedsheets as the result of sleep deprivation, and others. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Siegel evokes bizarre visions with a novelist's skill, explaining the nature of hallucination through 17 spine-tingling stories.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Siegel, a neuropsychiatrist who studies brain changes that occur under the influence of drugs, sensory deprivation, dreams, torture, and the like presents 17 fascinating case studies he's encountered. From the horrifying tale of two young women who were drugged with ketamine and repeatedly raped, to the clinical description of a man's being flayed alive while suffering no pain, each tale reads like a Poe horror story. The author himself has participated in many experiences, from going into the isolation tank to being locked in a cage for four days with no food or water. His clear, matter-of-fact style makes these cases both vivid and memorable. They're enough to turn anyone off simple aspirin!-- Diana C. Hirsch, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, MD
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Plume (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452269539
• ISBN-13: 978-0452269538
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars He's a cynic, August 9, 2006

By 

John S. Allen (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire in the Brain: Clinical Tales of Hallucination (Plume) (Paperback)

The glowing praise from Dr. Oliver Sacks, and dissimilarity between Sacks and Siegel, have been mentioned in Travis Miller's customer review. I second Miller's comments, but with a slightly different slant. Sacks tries to lead readers into the world of the people he describes, and empathizes with them, whatever their odd mental or perceptual ailments may be. Siegel, on the other hand, comes across as a hard-boiled cynic and somewhat of an egotist. The literary style owes a lot to that of noir novels, withholding information to build suspense for a sensationalist twist now and again. I get the distinct impression that Siegel, himself a Californian, wrote this book with the hope that one or more of his stories would be taken up as a film script.

I stand with Siegel in skepticism about claims of the paranormal, but my skepticism only increases my sense of wonder. Siegel, rather, is content to chronicle the sordid side of human nature, and leave it at that. I do think that Miller misconstrues Siegel's owning books about astrology, etc. -- Siegel does not endorse these books, but rather, reads them for research purposes.

Siegel is inconsistent in embracing as well as disparaging drug culture, and his judgment appears to have suffered from the encounter. I was particularly astonished at his chronicle of having himself locked in a cage, in a pitch-dark basement, to determine what effect the experience would have on him. Granted, *that* story wouldn't be a good candidate for a movie script, but it is distressing in what it reveals about the author. Siegel put himself in the charge of only one person who knew where he was, a mentally imbalanced former Vietnam prisoner of war who had been locked in a similar cage by his captors. This episode reveals Siegel either as writing fiction, or as seriously lacking in judgment.

Still, all in all, I found the book entertaining, and somewhat informative, but be warned: some parts are about hallucination as escape from mental and physical torture, and are not for the squeamish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars antidote to mystical and paranormal "experiences", September 29, 2009

By 

Book Sleuth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire in the Brain: Clinical Tales of Hallucination (Plume) (Paperback)

I have recommended (and even loaned) this book to friends who are interested in how the mind works, particularly how our own brains can fool us. It is a lot easier and more entertaining to read than neuroanatomy and neurochemistry. The common theme is the minds ability to trick itself into believing in things that just aren't "real" in the exterior world.

For those of us who do not believe in the miraculous, this little collection of anecdotes comes as a relief. Near death experience? Was that tunnel and into-the-light rapture something miraculous, or just the standard way the visual centers and endorphin system react to oxygen starvation in the brain.

This book is an antidote for unbelievers to share with the overtly mystically inclined.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening cases, plus good writing., May 26, 2009

By 

Average Guy "Average Guy" (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire in the Brain: Clinical Tales of Hallucination (Plume) (Paperback)

This is rough stuff and not for the faint of heart. This book challenged my viewpoint. The author is also very brave and committed to helping his patients and shows such compassion by often putting himself in danger to try to see things as they might. Can you acknowledge the entire spectrum of human experience and still have that positive desire to help people and not be crushed by it? I recommend it but not for just before bed.