Uncle Tungsten

Oliver Sacks
Picador, 2001, £17.99
ISBN 0 330 39027 9
Rating: *****

Having been fascinated by his other books, I approached Oliver Sacks's new autobiography with enthusiasm. Once again Sacks blends scientific ideas with a human story in the formula that has made his other books on the wonders of neurology, such as Awakenings, so successful. Uncle Tungsten weaves together the story of Sacks's early life with a history of science—first chemistry, then physics, and later, biology enthuse him. Each is explored vividly with child-like curiosity, capturing its excitement. Each chronological discovery (both in the history of science and in Sacks's early life) is personalised with a sketch of one of the endless lists of his aunts and uncles, or a snapshot of his childhood in 1940s London.

Science acts as a medium through which he refracts the experiences of his childhood. This device allows for a pleasingly honest account of the events and people that dominated his childhood. He repeatedly recounts the horrors of separation from his parents during the early years of the war, and tells proudly of his large and character full family. It is the tender recollections of his family, particularly the aunts and uncles who fuelled his scientific passion, that really make this book so enjoyable. He even manages a sympathetic account of his parents (both doctors) who first send him to a terrifying boarding school and then force him to dissect the body of a young girl his own age, but who are portrayed overwhelmingly as caring for, even indulging, their youngest son.

Uncle Tungsten is a fun and rather touching autobiography. Written with the familiar searching style that made his earlier accounts of the brain, and what people experience when it goes wrong, so fascinating, this is the first of his books to offer a glimpse into Sacks's own life. Uncle Tungsten reveals the sheer enthusiasm and humanity that underlies all his writing—a book both to learn from and enjoy.