The Island of the Colorblind
by Oliver Sacks
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good/Fair
- ISBN 10
- 0679451145
- ISBN 13
- 9780679451143
- Seller
-
Missoula, Montana, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Oliver Sacks has always been fascinated by islands--their remoteness, their mystery, above all the unique forms of life they harbor. For him, islands conjure up equally the romance of Melville and Stevenson, the adventure of Magellan and Cook, and the scientific wonder of Darwin and Wallace.
Drawn to the tiny Pacific atoll of Pingelap by intriguing reports of an isolated community of islanders born totally color-blind, Sacks finds himself setting up a clinic in a one-room island dispensary, where he listens to these achromatopic islanders describe their colorless world in rich terms of pattern and tone, luminance and shadow. And on Guam, where he goes to investigate the puzzling neurodegenerative paralysis endemic there for a century, he becomes, for a brief time, an island neurologist, making house calls with his colleague John Steele, amid crowing cockerels, cycad jungles, and the remains of a colonial culture.
The islands reawaken Sacks' lifelong passion for botany--in particular, for the primitive cycad trees, whose existence dates back to the Paleozoic--and the cycads are the starting point for an intensely personal reflection on the meaning of islands, the dissemination of species, the genesis of disease, and the nature of deep geologic time. Out of an unexpected journey, Sacks has woven an unforgettable narrative which immerses us in the romance of island life, and shares his own compelling vision of the complexities of being human.
Drawn to the tiny Pacific atoll of Pingelap by intriguing reports of an isolated community of islanders born totally color-blind, Sacks finds himself setting up a clinic in a one-room island dispensary, where he listens to these achromatopic islanders describe their colorless world in rich terms of pattern and tone, luminance and shadow. And on Guam, where he goes to investigate the puzzling neurodegenerative paralysis endemic there for a century, he becomes, for a brief time, an island neurologist, making house calls with his colleague John Steele, amid crowing cockerels, cycad jungles, and the remains of a colonial culture.
The islands reawaken Sacks' lifelong passion for botany--in particular, for the primitive cycad trees, whose existence dates back to the Paleozoic--and the cycads are the starting point for an intensely personal reflection on the meaning of islands, the dissemination of species, the genesis of disease, and the nature of deep geologic time. Out of an unexpected journey, Sacks has woven an unforgettable narrative which immerses us in the romance of island life, and shares his own compelling vision of the complexities of being human.
Synopsis
John Irving published his first novel at the age of twenty-six. He has received awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation; he has won an O. Henry Award, a National Book Award, and an Academy Award. Mr. Irving lives with his family in Toronto and Vermont.
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SQ7808549
- Title
- The Island of the Colorblind
- Author
- Oliver Sacks
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Fair
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0679451145
- ISBN 13
- 9780679451143
- Publisher
- Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1997
- Keywords
- islands, pacific islands, colorblidnness, colonialism, botany, cycads
- Bookseller catalogs
- Science/Nature Writing;
Terms of Sale
The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery
Biblio member since 2020
Missoula, Montana
About The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery
The Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery has been operating since 2008 providing a wide range of book repair, conservation, and binding services. Her used book selection is eclectic, but discerning. If you have books you'd like to trade, The Vespiary offers credit for merchandise and services in exchange for books.