''Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf'' is a 1989 book by

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...

. The book covers a variety of topics in

Deaf studies Deaf studies are academic disciplines concerned with the study of the deaf social life of human groups and individuals. These constitute an interdisciplinary field that integrates contents, critiques, and methodologies from anthropology, cultural ...

, including

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

, the neurology of deafness, the history of the treatment of Deaf Americans, and linguistic and social challenges facing the

Deaf community Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

. It also contains an eyewitness account of the March 1988

Deaf President Now Deaf President Now (DPN) was a student protest in March 1988 at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. The protest began on March 6, 1988, when the Board of Trustees announced its decision to appoint a hearing candidate, Elisabeth Zinser, over the ...

student protest at

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

, the only liberal arts college for deaf and hard of hearing in the world. ''Seeing Voices'' was Sacks' fifth book.Books by Oliver Sacks (official website)
Retrieved 7 June 2009.

Reception

Critics of ''Seeing Voices'' agreed that the book is highly informative. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' described it as "extraordinarily moving and thought-provoking". While Debra Berlanstein of ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' characterized the book as insightful, she wrote that it seems more suited to a scholarly audience than some of Sacks' more popular books.

Editions

This list only provides details for the most significant editions *First U.S. Edition:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1989,

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

, 180 pages, . *First Canadian Edition:

Stoddart Publishing Stoddart Publishing was a Canadian book publisher and distributor, owned by Jack Stoddart, which ceased operations in 2002. History In 1967, General Publishing purchased the Musson imprint, based in Canada, from British publisher Hodder & Stough ...

, 1989, hardcover, 180 pages, . *1990-91: Six more editions. *U.S. Reprint:

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

( Knopf Publishing), 2000,

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

, 240 pages, . * U.S. updated paperback edition (HarperPerennial), 1990, 186pp,

References

External links

Seeing Voices (Oliver Sacks' official website)Oliver Sacks discusses ''Seeing Voices'' with John Forrester
- a British Library sound recording {{Oliver Sacks Books by Oliver Sacks 1989 non-fiction books Deaf culture in the United States Picador (imprint) books University of California Press books Literature about deaf people