Migraine (Paperback)

by Oliver Sacks (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In recent years the bestselling Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat have received great critical acclaim, but Oliver Sacks's readers may remember that he began his medical career working with migraine patients. In this new edition of Migraine, he returns to his first book and enriches it with additional case histories, new findings, and practical information.
For centuries physicians and migraineurs have been fascinated by the visual hallucinations, or auras, which often precede a migraine and which are similar to those induced by hallucinogenic drugs or deliria. In a remarkable new chapter, illustrated with startling full-color paintings by migraine sufferers, Dr. Sacks draws on recent advances in chaos theory and neural simulation to describe these "hallucinatory constants" and what they reveal about the working of the brain.
Another important addition to the 1992 edition discusses newly developed drug therapies for migraine, as well as alternative, nondrug approaches. Only Oliver Sacks's boundless curiosity and rich imagination could yield such a fresh, comprehensive view of one of humankind's oldest afflictions.

From the Inside Flap
"Balanced, authoritative . . . brilliant."  --The London Times

"Written by one of the great clinical writers of the twentieth century, Migraine . . . should be read as much for its brilliant insights into the nature of our mental functioning as for its discussion of the migraine."  --The New York Times Book Review


The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life.

"I am sure . . . that any layman who is interested in the relation between the body and mind . . . will find the book as fascinating as I have."  --W. H. Auden, The New York Review of Books --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; Rev Exp edition (February 16, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520082230
• ISBN-13: 978-0520082236
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #656,718 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Run don't Walk!, December 3, 1999

By	Little Dorrit "ldorrit" (WA state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Migraine (Paperback)

Run, don't walk, to get this book, if you or anyone you know suffers from migraine. By a terrific doctor who is a migraine sufferer himself, you will be amazed at how many symptoms a migraineur can have that are not even a headache.

This is a widely misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated malady and sufferers need to be INFORMED about what is happening to them and why it is happening. Save yourself lots of grief and pain, read this book and you will be well armed in your fight for relief from this horrible malady.

I'm updating this review due to some of the unbelievably idiotic negative reviews some have given this book, one who admits they haven't even read it! After reading this book several years ago and most anything else published on migraine since, I can still say this is the book that is an absolute "Must Read" for any migraineur. You can't properly seek treatment until you understand what migraine actually is, not a 'headache' but a neurological disease, and this book will arm you with the most important weapon there is - correct information!

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Sensitive Investigation by a great and probing mind., October 7, 2005

By	Anne Rice "Anne Rice, Author" (Little Paradise, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Migraine (Paperback)

Are migraines curable? Mine are gone. And during the time when they were at their worst, this book by Oliver Sacks was my salvation, my companion, and my way of coping. Information about the symptoms of migraine was invaluable to me; aspects of my health that had baffled, frightened and defeated me were explained here in ways that I could comprehend. Migraines left me, apparently forever, several years ago, and I'm convinced that this book was instrumental in that. The more I read, the more I understood, the easier it was for me to deal with the problem. Oliver Sacks is a healer, and this book was a healing experience for me. Highly recommended. I recommend for all migraine sufferers that they explore this. And of course, the book is beautifully written as are all Oliver Sacks' books. His contribution to health care and health study in our time is immense -- beyond calculation. --- In response to other reviews posted here, let me suggest that there are many things migraine sufferers can do which might help them. To say simply that migraine is incurable, that it's genetic -- that perhaps invites a pessimism about the problem which does not serve the people experiencing this pain. This is a great book.

135 of 162 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written but misses the mark., November 17, 2002

By	Michael J. Keyes (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Migraine (Paperback)

I like most of Oliver Sacks's books. I think "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" and "An Anthropologist on Mars" are major contributions to the understanding of the human mind. I do have a problem with "Migraine" however. My experience as a migraine sufferer and as a clinical psychologist has left me in no doubt that the fundamental causes of migraine headaches are physical, not psychological. I have no doubt that stress can make the attacks worse, but I believe most migraines are triggered by such physiological factors as allergies (particularly MSG, chocolates, red wines, and well-cured cheeses), or by overexposure to bright sunlight, too much sugar, or by overexertion or overstimulation with an accompanying lack of rest. Sacks takes a Freudian view of migraine, which I believe is inaccurate. I now get migraine attacks perhaps a tenth as often as a few years ago, and the improvement has not been due to psychotherapy or any earthshaking insights, but to my avoiding MSG and chocolate and to my doctor perscribing Imitrex. Imitrex is a miracle medication for patients who can tolerate it. (It can cause a dangerous increase in blood pressure in some people, hence the need for a doctor's prescription.) Sacks has written some fine books, but I don't think this one belongs near the top of the list.