The Island of the Colorblind (ISBN 0679451145)

Amazon.com Review:
In his books An Anthropologist on Mars and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks details the lives of patients isolated by neurological disorders, shedding light on our common humanity and the ways in which we perceive the world around us. Now he looks at the effects of physical isolation in The Island of the Colorblind. On this journey, he carried with him the intellectual curiousity, kind understanding, and unique vision he has so consistently demonstrated. Drawn to the Micronesian island of Pingelap by reports of a community of people born totally colorblind, Dr. Sacks set up a clinic in a one-room dispensary. There he listened to patients describe their colorless world in terms rich with pattern and tone, luminance and shadow. Then, in Guam, he investigated a puzzling neurodegenerative paralysis, making housecalls amid crowing cockerels, cycad jungles, and the remains of a colonial culture. The experience affords Sacks an opportunity to elaborate on such personal passions as botany and history and to explore the meaning of islands, the dissemination of species, the birth of disease, and the nature of deep geologic time.

A mini-vacation for the scientifically curious:
I had not read Sacks before and was laid up in the Peninsula hospital in Burlingame. This book was lingering on the shelf at home and I had my wife bring it to me. Soon the beige walls and IV tubes dissapeared and I was fighting the humidity of the tropical south pacific. This book reads like a travelogue, a report on achromatopsia (congenital colorblindness), the lytico-bodig (an alzheimers/parkinsons like condition), and the fern-like batonical oddity of cycad trees, among other things. The description of the ruins of Nan Madol was awesome. Where one reviewer found this literary style to be 'rambling,' I found it to be deliciously lazy and ambling. Sacks employs the device of digression with a pace that sort of stones you. Maybe this motif was influenced by the kava Sacks took on Pohnpei. In any event, the book opens by delving into the congenital malady of acute colorblindness known as achromatopsia. Sacks learns of a little micronesian island with a large population of sufferers and follows his nose there with a couple of buddies, one of who is himself achromatopic. Soon we are on a small plane island hoping our way to the tiny atoll called Pingelap. You can virtually feel the tropical breeze reaching up your shorts. The description of achromatopsia is excellent. One almost imagines oneself as colorblind, seeing the world in a new perspective. Indeed, the light sensitive achromatopics here are often employed as night fishermen due to the advantage of their sensitive night vision, to catch flying fish in the phosphorescent waters of the warm Pacific. Sacks' attitude toward pathology is most admirable. He truly sees the afflicted as no more or less than whole people with differences, not partial or disfunctional people that are not normal. All of the afflicted in this book are examined respectfully and equitably as functional, whole, living organisms instead of sick and inferior. Geniune pathos appears where warranted but never condescendingly. Next we're off to the volcanic island of Pohnpei and the megalithic ruins that remind us these islands "were once the seat of monumental civilizations." More achromatopics are encountered here, along with the acculturational clash between these Pacific island cultures, a collection of population bottlenecks colonized by Southeastern Asians, and Europeans. We visit the rainforest and encounter delicate, endemic, flourescent ferns, and forests of sakau, the local psychopharmacological substance of choice. Then it's off to Guam to study the neurological disorder called the lytico-bodig of mysterious etiology. The island practice of consuming the toxic seeds of local cycad trees is supected as a cause of this condition, but it is unclear if it's caused by the eating of paste made from cycad tree seeds or is genetic in origin, as it seems to run in families. Sacks reaches into his experience with encephalitis induced coma patients and L-DOPA treatment in exploring the lytico-bodig. We also meet up with the ecological tsunami of the brown, tree-climbing snake which has consumed all the birds on Guam. The last island is Guam's small neighbor Rota, where islanders take Sacks into the jungle in search of cycads, where we also find the leafless Psilotum nudum, whose ancestor was "the first plants to develope a vascular system, to free themselves from the need to live in water." Also visited are giant land crabs with claws powerful enough to open coconuts. Maybe it's because I was trapped in a hospital, but I thoroughly enjoyed this travelogue, investigative science, and wistful reminiscence of the biological and cultural underpinnings that have brought us to this place in the present.

Not Sacks' best, but inspiring & enjoyable:
In between visiting terminally ill patients, Dr. Sacks goes snorkeling and hiking through tropical rainforests in the Micronesian islands, sharing his thoughts and experiences with his readers. About one quarter of the book is footnotes. I enjoyed "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" a lot more. (If English isn't your mother tongue or if you're not a college graduate I suggest you have a good dictionary nearby as you read. It also helps to look up some of the diseases he talks about at Yahoo! Health. Also look for images of the flora he discusses at Google Image Search.)

A Gray New World:
Oliver Sacks has created a lump of delight in his book, The Island of the Colorblind. After having a sincere interest in the topic of colorblind people, Sacks travels to Micronesia to visit with and better understand the victims of achromatopsia (a form of colorblindness) on the island. He takes with him a man by the name of Knut, who also has achromatopsia. They journey all over Micronesia, encountering numerous people living with the disease and thriving. They perform tests to assess the magnitude of the disease on the islands. Sunglasses and visors are passed out to the inhabitants to help them live their lives to the fullest. In the end, Sacks states that though the achromatopes of Micronesia are on a physical island, they also belong to the emotional island of achromatopes everywhere. I found this book increasingly interesting with each passing page. The detail of his observations and the total immersion into the culture made it a joy. I agree with most other reviews in saying that the 50 page, illustrated notes at the end of the book make it much easier to understand the culture of the area and all that is happening around Sacks. His extensive citations tell me that he has truly researched all of his facts. I, like the above review, do not understand how people could not find this book humorous and delightful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a challenging read. The words are large and there is much scientific talk. If you are interested enough in the topic to figure out the words, the book will be truly amazing. Colorblindness is such an underrated illness and it was wonderful to get an inside look. -Micah

It is a Worthy Read:
Another brilliant book By Dr. Oliver Sacks, this time about a community of color-blinds on a tiny island in the Pacific called Pingelap. He revels in this book that he has a fascination for Islands and when opportunity comes he packs off for this tiny island with two of his friends. One of his friends is from Norway (a psychologist) and himself achromatopic (completely color blind). To reach the island they have to do a lot of island hopping and this account itself is worth reflection. There are army bases and nuclear test sites on the tiny island they stop by and the author has reflected well on these issues, their implications and their experiences with army when they get stranded once. There is a strange quality about Dr. Sacks writing. He can make you wonder and almost enter the lives of the people he talks about. He has done so in his book `The man who mistook his wife for a hat...' and he has done it again in this book. We can probably never even imagine what it is to be color- blind, won't even reflect on something like this, after all we are so caught up in our normal lives. Consider a simple problem of recognising a ripe fruit with out being able to know the colour! But people do adapt and probably as Dr Sacks says they get over compensated in some other way. The author and his friends get to meet many such people and try to provide the medical opinion but much more than that they get involved with the people, their daily life, their hopes and frustrations. And by the gift of his writing he can take you there too. Just pick up the book. It is not only about color-blinds in a medical sense but about their lives as a whole. And while reading don't ignore the notes to all the pages given at the end of the book. They are many a times much more interesting than the main text. I agree it makes reading a bit cumbersome but it is well worth it.

Science, Medicine, and Art, skillfully blended:
The Island of the Colorblind provides what Sacks readers expect: serious neurological cases, a humane appreciation for the patient, and an artistic sensitivity. We learn about several societies where the gene for colorblindness has become established and how that has affected the cultures of the people. The Cycads presents a scientific mystery story that demonstrates again Sacks' observational care. I recommend this book for anyone with scientific or medical interests.