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Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Tales of Life and Death on the Neurology Ward Paperback – September 8, 2015

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
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"Tell the doctor where it hurts." It sounds simple enough, unless the problem affects the very organ that produces awareness and generates speech. What is it like to try to heal the body when the mind is under attack? In this book, Reaching Down the Rabitt Hole, Dr. Allan h. Ropper and Brian David Burrell take the reader behind the scenes at Harvard Medical School's neurology unit to show how a seasoned diagnostician faces down bizarre, life-altering afflictions. Like Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Ropper inhabits a world where absurdities abound:

• A figure skater whose body has become a ticking time-bomb
• A salesman who drives around and around a traffic rotary, unable to get off
• A college quarterback who can't stop calling the same play
• A child molester who, after falling on the ice, is left with a brain that is very much dead inside a body that is very much alive
• A mother of two young girls, diagnosed with ALS, who has to decide whether a life locked inside her own head is worth living

How does one begin to treat such cases, to counsel people whose lives may be changed forever? How does one train the next generation of clinicians to deal with the moral and medical aspects of brain disease? Dr. Ropper and his colleague answer these questions by taking the reader into a rarified world where lives and minds hang in the balance.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Griffin
  4. Publication date
    September 8, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1250070406
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250070401
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“An entertaining and eminently readable book, Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole. Demystifying the art and practice of healing neurological disorders, he turns a keen eye on his patients, interviewing them and recounting stories straight from the hospital front.” ―Huffington Post

“Dr. Ropper comes through as the very model of a modern neurologist, an elegant combination of Fast Medicine and Slow Medicine, expert in the panoply of diagnostic techniques developed since Hippocrates: from clinical neurologic exam to MRI to neuropathology lab. What he models for us is the essence of good doctoring attention, carefulness, and Oslerian dedication; he throws in, for good measure, his own irony and humor. Listening to the Brain is well written and intriguing, deep but light; it reveals the complexity, the demands, the satisfactions and the regrets of what it means to be a true physician.” ―Elizabeth Loftus, author of The Myth of Repressed Memory

About the Author

Dr. Allan H. Ropper is a Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Raymond D. Adams Master Clinician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is credited with founding the field of neurological intensive care and counts Michael J. Fox among his patients.

Brian David Burrell is the author of Postcards from the Brain Museum. He has appeared on the Today Show, Booknotes, and NPR's Morning Edition. He divides his time between writing and statistical research with neuroscientific applications.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (September 8, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250070406
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250070401
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Atticus
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
Incredible book that friend with Parkinson's Disease recommended. Helps me understand what she is experiencing, as well as options available (or not) for treatment; and the sad reality that there is no cure, no escape.
Other brain diseases addressed as well, with their possible treatments.
Beautifully written for layperson.
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Barbara L.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
Fantastic book, very good to read. Dr. Ropper shows humor, compassion, doubts and profound knowledge not only of Neurology. I love it.
If somebody is interested in Neurology without being a neurologist that's the book to read in my opinion.
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TP
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
Boring book for me but in great condition
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Sheepbees
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Written for the lay person as well as the person working in the field. I couldn't put the book down and have given it to others to enjoy. I will read it again, which is rare for me.
One person found this helpful
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plant lady
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Okay read. I wasn't particular interested the farther I read. It is not what I expected.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book! reconsidering going into neuro after reading it
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
wonderful book! reconsidering going into neuro after reading it. Great way for medical students to learn while enjoying a book!
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Farah EL Said
5.0 out of 5 stars ... this book as a gift for someone and she loved it. Says its very interesting to read
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2016
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I got this book as a gift for someone and she loved it. Says its very interesting to read.
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Cf
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed.
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Not as much about neurology as about the author himself. Disappointed.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Mrs G
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
Exactly what I needed and arrived in time.
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