A Leg to Stand on (Picador Books)

by Oliver Sacks

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Book cover for A Leg to Stand on

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'Oliver Sacks is a perfect antidote to the anaesthetic of familiarity. His writing turns brains and minds transparent' - Observer

When Oliver Sacks, a physician by profession, injured his leg while climbing a mountain, he found himself in an unusual position - that of patient. The injury itself was severe, but straightforward to fix; the psychological effects, however, were far less easy to predict, explain, or resolve: Sacks experienced paralysis and an inability to perceive his leg as his own, instead seeing it as some kind of alien and inanimate object, over which he had no control.

A Leg to Stand On is both an account of Sacks' ordeal and subsequent recovery, and an exploration of the ways in which mind and body are inextricably linked.

  • ISBN10 0715610279
  • ISBN13 9780715610275
  • Publish Date 27 November 1998 (first published 17 January 1986)
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 28 February 2012
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Duckworth Overlook
  • Imprint Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 168
  • Language English