Tribute: Oliver Sacks
Oliver Wolf Sacks was born on July 9, 1933, the youngest of 4 sons, and whose parents were both doctors. He received his medical degree from Queen’s College, Oxford, and moved to the United States shortly afterwards. After internships and residency in California, he moved to New York in 1965 for a fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. The following year, he began working at Beth Abraham, and his interactions with his patients there led to his book “Awakenings.”
Oliver Sacks was a prolific writer, whose books about the hidden lives of patients sold millions of copies. His work has been memorialized in film, plays, even opera. In February, he announced that he had terminal cancer. He died yesterday at the age of 82.
On October 21, 2001, broadcasting live from the museum of Television and Radio, Leonard Lopate talked to Oliver Sacks about his memoir, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood.
On May 31, 2004, Oliver Sacks came on the show to discuss his latest collection Vintage Sacks.
On August 29, 2004, Oliver Sacks joined up to talk for our series 'Survival Kit,' where we found out the eight items he could not live without.
On December 30, 2005, Oliver Sacks and Michael Beckerman joined us for our 'Please Explain' series help us explore the science of music.
On October 15, 2007, Oliver Sacks joined us to discuss his new book, Musicophilia.
In The Mind’s Eye Oliver Sacks considers the fundamental questions: How do we see? How do we think? He joined us on October 27, 2010 to discuss the book.
On November 6, 2012, Oliver Sacks talked to us about hallucinations, which can be linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. His book, Hallucinations, weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences.
