RIP. Now would be a good time to re-listen to Mark’s great interview with the man a few years back:
Sack’s assistant posted a report on his blog:
Oliver Sacks died early this morning at his home in Greenwich Village, surrounded by his close friends and family. He was 82. He spent his final days doing what he loved—playing the piano, writing to friends, swimming, enjoying smoked salmon, and completing several articles. His final thoughts were of gratitude for a life well lived and the privilege of working with his patients at various hospitals and residences including the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Bronx and in Queens, New York.
Dr. Sacks was writing to the last. On August 14, he published an essay, “Sabbath,” in the New York Times. Two more articles are to be published this week, one in the New York Review of Books and one in the New Yorker.
So long, and thanks for all the books. Uncle Tungsten happens to be one of those rare books that happened to speak to me on a deep and personal level. I’m going to re-read it now.
Uh . . .
So, an hour or so ago, feeling vaguely bummed about Sacks, I watched and listened to a video on YouTube of a flashmob orchestra playing the Ode to Joy.
Summabitch, guess what Oliver Sack’s last Tweet linked to?
Sad news. I recently finished Hallucinations, which is a great book, as they all were. One of my favourite writers.
Reading The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat as a computer programmer was fascinating.
All through it I was imagining errors, corruptions in database tables. Keys pointing to the wrong values.
I just read On the Move, a recent autobiographical book about his life en total. A great read, with fabulous insights into a man with an obviously amazing understanding of the human condition as well as the human brain and soul. Great stuff. We have lost a true pioneer.
So Long Mr. Sacks, Thanks for all you shared with us. Wish you could tell us about this too but some things I guess we gotta learn for ourselves. You’re a fine tribute to an interesting and weird species. You’re the kind of guy I refer to when I tell people about hero’s in life
Oh, the humanity. Thank you for posting that.
What an astonishing man. I’m glad I was able to spend time on this earth at the same time as him.
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