Deemed a "poet laureate of contemporary medicine" and "one of the great clinical writers of the 20th century" by the New York Times, neurologist and science historian Oliver Sacks was (and remains) one of our favorite authors. He brought true literary style to his explorations of the human brain, finding insight in the anomalies and so-called disabilities he encountered in his patients—including himself.

This New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2010 introduces us to people who have re-learned to navigate the world and communicate with others despite losing what might seem indispensable senses and abilities. Oliver Sacks explores surprising sensorial paradoxes—people who can see perfectly well but cannot recognize their own children, for example, or blind people who navigate by "tongue vision"—while considering essential questions like how do we see? How do we think? And how important is internal imagery, or even vision, for that matter?