Editorial Review:

The remarkable journey of an award-winning writer struck with a rare and devastating affliction that prevented him from reading even his own writing
One hot midsummer morning, novelist Howard Engel picked up his newspaper from his front step and discovered he could no longer read it. The letters had mysteriously jumbled themselves into something that looked like Cyrillic one moment and Korean the next. While he slept, Engel had experienced a stroke and now suffered from a rare condition called alexia sine agraphia, meaning that while he could still write, he could no longer read.
            Over the next several weeks in hospital and in rehabilitation, Engel discovered that much more was affected than his ability to read. His memory failed him, and even the names of old friends escaped his tongue. At first geography eluded him: he would know that two streets met somewhere in the city, but he couldn't imagine where. Apples and grapefruit now looked the same. When he returned home, he had trouble remembering where things went and would routinely ?nd cans of tuna in the dishwasher and jars of pencils in the freezer.
           Despite his disabilities, Engel prepared to face his dilemma. He contacted renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks for advice and visited him in New York City, forging a lasting friendship. He bravely learned to read again. And in the face of tremendous obstacles, he triumphed in writing a new novel.
            An absorbing and uplifting story, filled with sly wit and candid insights, The Man Who Forgot How to Read will appeal to anyone fascinated by the mysteries of the mind, on and off the page.

(20080714)

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

A terrifying prospect for readers:

A short, easy to read book by Howard Engel, a Canadian mystery author who woke up one day to find that he couldn't read. Having suffered a stroke, Engel now suffered from a condition called alexia sine agraphia, which left him without the ability to read and make sense of letters and words, although he could still write. This odd seeming condition resulted because the stroke had damaged part of his brain which deals with vision, not language, meaning that while his facility with words and their meanings... more info

The Man Who Forgot How to Read:

In January, my husband had a stroke which left him with Alexia. The author's experience gives us hope that he, too, will recover his ability to read. The biggest problem is finding therapists who are trained to help.

would be better as a long article..:

Ugh. What a tedious book.
I received the book today, and finished reading it in just a few hours. I skipped over many pages. The book is too short for a proper book, really, and I think it would have been better had Mr Engel written a long-ish article instead of a very short book.
I did not find it fascinating or inspirational or wonderful, to me it was just..dull, and a bit repetitious.
When I finished the book, it immediately went into the pile of books I have saved up to take a local... more info

Coping with Catastrophy:

Howard Engel woke up one morning, opened his daily paper and discovered he could no longer read. "The letters, I could tell, were the familiar twenty-six I had grown up with. Only now, when I brought them into focus, they looked like Cyrillic one moment and Korean the next."
He had had a stroke. As the morning proceeded he forgot names - including his own. Familiar landmarks appeared in unfamiliar places. He was unable to say what relation he was to his son.
While all this would be devastating to... more info

Similar Products:

My Stroke of Insight by Ph.D., Jill Bolte Taylor (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

Better by Atul Gawande (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Ripley (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

The Night of the Gun: A reporter investigates the darkest story of his life. His... by David Carr (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

The Way of the World by Ronald Suskind (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours

[no image] Without a Map: A Memoir by Meredith Hall (Kindle Edition) - Usually ships in 24 hours