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Oaxaca Journal
Oliver Sacks, the bestselling author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat , is most famous for his studies of the human insightful and beautifully characterized portraits of those experiencing complex neurological conditions. However, he has another scientific the fern . . .
Since childhood Oliver has been fascinated by the ability of these primitive plants to survive and adapt in many climates. Oaxaca Journal is the enthralling account of his trip, alongside a group of fellow fern enthusiasts, to the beautiful province of Oaxaca, Mexico. Bringing together Oliver’s endless curiosity about natural history and the richness of human culture with his sharp eye for detail, this book is a captivating evocation of a place, its plants, its people, and its myriad wonders.
‘Light and fast-moving, unburdened by library research but filled with erudition’ – New Yorker
Since childhood Oliver has been fascinated by the ability of these primitive plants to survive and adapt in many climates. Oaxaca Journal is the enthralling account of his trip, alongside a group of fellow fern enthusiasts, to the beautiful province of Oaxaca, Mexico. Bringing together Oliver’s endless curiosity about natural history and the richness of human culture with his sharp eye for detail, this book is a captivating evocation of a place, its plants, its people, and its myriad wonders.
‘Light and fast-moving, unburdened by library research but filled with erudition’ – New Yorker
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
172 people are currently reading
3459 people want to read
About the author
Oliver Sacks
102 books9,736 followersOliver Wolf Sacks, CBE, was a British neurologist residing in the United States, who has written popular books about his patients, the most famous of which is Awakenings, which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.
Sacks was the youngest of four children born to a prosperous North London Jewish couple: Sam, a physician, and Elsie, a surgeon. When he was six years old, he and his brother were evacuated from London to escape The Blitz, retreating to a boarding school in the Midlands, where he remained until 1943. During his youth, he was a keen amateur chemist, as recalled in his memoir Uncle Tungsten. He also learned to share his parents' enthusiasm for medicine and entered The Queen's College, Oxford University in 1951, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in physiology and biology in 1954. At the same institution, he went on to earn in 1958, a Master of Arts (MA) and an MB ChB in chemistry, thereby qualifying to practice medicine.
After converting his British qualifications to American recognition (i.e., an MD as opposed to MB ChB), Sacks moved to New York, where he has lived since 1965, and taken twice weekly therapy sessions since 1966.
Sacks began consulting at chronic care facility Beth Abraham Hospital (now Beth Abraham Health Service) in 1966. At Beth Abraham, Sacks worked with a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica, who had been unable to move on their own for decades. These patients and his treatment of them were the basis of Sacks' book Awakenings.
His work at Beth Abraham helped provide the foundation on which the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), where Sacks is currently an honorary medical advisor, is built. In 2000, IMNF honored Sacks, its founder, with its first Music Has Power Award. The IMNF again bestowed a Music Has Power Award on Sacks in 2006 to commemorate "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honor his outstanding contributions in support of music therapy and the effect of music on the human brain and mind".
Sacks was formerly employed as a clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and at the New York University School of Medicine, serving the latter school for 42 years. On 1 July 2007, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons appointed Sacks to a position as professor of clinical neurology and clinical psychiatry, at the same time opening to him a new position as "artist", which the university hoped will help interconnect disciplines such as medicine, law, and economics. Sacks was a consultant neurologist to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and maintained a practice in New York City.
Since 1996, Sacks was a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature). In 1999, Sacks became a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences. Also in 1999, he became an Honorary Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford. In 2002, he became Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Arts, Section 4—Literature).[38] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Thomas Prize by Rockefeller University. Sacks was awarded honorary doctorates from the College of Staten Island (1991), Tufts University (1991), New York Medical College (1991), Georgetown University (1992), Medical College of Pennsylvania (1992), Bard College (1992), Queen's University (Ontario) (2001), Gallaudet University (2005), University of Oxford (2005), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. Asteroid 84928 Oliversacks, discovered in 2003 and 2 miles (3.2 km) in diameter, has been named in his honor.
Sacks was the youngest of four children born to a prosperous North London Jewish couple: Sam, a physician, and Elsie, a surgeon. When he was six years old, he and his brother were evacuated from London to escape The Blitz, retreating to a boarding school in the Midlands, where he remained until 1943. During his youth, he was a keen amateur chemist, as recalled in his memoir Uncle Tungsten. He also learned to share his parents' enthusiasm for medicine and entered The Queen's College, Oxford University in 1951, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in physiology and biology in 1954. At the same institution, he went on to earn in 1958, a Master of Arts (MA) and an MB ChB in chemistry, thereby qualifying to practice medicine.
After converting his British qualifications to American recognition (i.e., an MD as opposed to MB ChB), Sacks moved to New York, where he has lived since 1965, and taken twice weekly therapy sessions since 1966.
Sacks began consulting at chronic care facility Beth Abraham Hospital (now Beth Abraham Health Service) in 1966. At Beth Abraham, Sacks worked with a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica, who had been unable to move on their own for decades. These patients and his treatment of them were the basis of Sacks' book Awakenings.
His work at Beth Abraham helped provide the foundation on which the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), where Sacks is currently an honorary medical advisor, is built. In 2000, IMNF honored Sacks, its founder, with its first Music Has Power Award. The IMNF again bestowed a Music Has Power Award on Sacks in 2006 to commemorate "his 40 years at Beth Abraham and honor his outstanding contributions in support of music therapy and the effect of music on the human brain and mind".
Sacks was formerly employed as a clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and at the New York University School of Medicine, serving the latter school for 42 years. On 1 July 2007, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons appointed Sacks to a position as professor of clinical neurology and clinical psychiatry, at the same time opening to him a new position as "artist", which the university hoped will help interconnect disciplines such as medicine, law, and economics. Sacks was a consultant neurologist to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and maintained a practice in New York City.
Since 1996, Sacks was a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature). In 1999, Sacks became a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences. Also in 1999, he became an Honorary Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford. In 2002, he became Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Arts, Section 4—Literature).[38] and he was awarded the 2001 Lewis Thomas Prize by Rockefeller University. Sacks was awarded honorary doctorates from the College of Staten Island (1991), Tufts University (1991), New York Medical College (1991), Georgetown University (1992), Medical College of Pennsylvania (1992), Bard College (1992), Queen's University (Ontario) (2001), Gallaudet University (2005), University of Oxford (2005), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. Asteroid 84928 Oliversacks, discovered in 2003 and 2 miles (3.2 km) in diameter, has been named in his honor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 327 reviews
September 9, 2016
Dr. Oliver Sacks flew south some years ago for a brief tour of Oaxaca, Mexico, its Zapotec antiquities, a look at the consequences of the so-called Spanish Conquest, a look at some of its millennia-old industries, but mostly to experience first-hand the region's astonishingly diverse botany. A primer. Very light, very brief, in no way comprehensive, with Sacks' usual deft touch. Highly recommended.
June 20, 2016
Oh, Oliver... How sad I am that he only has nine books to his credit, because he makes everything so interesting. I fell in love with his writing in "Hat" earlier this year because of his obvious concern for the well-being of those in his care as well as his prose, which I think is beautiful. After reading his travel journal about Mexico, I started to feel sad. This is the best one yet in my opinion, but it's the fourth book I have read out of the nine, which means there are only five left.
Some people found it tedious, I see. Yes, he does talk about ferns a lot. But his stream-of-consciousness writing seems like it's a letter he's written to me while on his travels. The little details he includes, the things he notices because he is an educated scientist, the way he weaves facts into his prose... perhaps because I'm a journal-writer and a letter-writer I found the book fascinating on so many levels. From the people he interacted with during this nine day trip, his musings, even facts about the ferns themselves, which is saying something because I have an irrational fear of ferns. As it turns out, it's only a certain kind of fern I have an irrational fear about, and I've learned about many others, which are quite interesting. I had no idea the resurrection plant was a fern -- I've owned several and never found them the least bit frightening.
I read this book slowly, mostly because I wanted to savor it. This was my favorite so far.
Some people found it tedious, I see. Yes, he does talk about ferns a lot. But his stream-of-consciousness writing seems like it's a letter he's written to me while on his travels. The little details he includes, the things he notices because he is an educated scientist, the way he weaves facts into his prose... perhaps because I'm a journal-writer and a letter-writer I found the book fascinating on so many levels. From the people he interacted with during this nine day trip, his musings, even facts about the ferns themselves, which is saying something because I have an irrational fear of ferns. As it turns out, it's only a certain kind of fern I have an irrational fear about, and I've learned about many others, which are quite interesting. I had no idea the resurrection plant was a fern -- I've owned several and never found them the least bit frightening.
I read this book slowly, mostly because I wanted to savor it. This was my favorite so far.
September 23, 2011
I try to avoid the word, but really, this book is delightful. Only a certain kind of person wants to go on a fern-hunting expedition to Oaxaca, and a certain type of person wants to write about that kind of expedition, and a certain kind of person enjoys reading that book. Still, it's packed with more non-fern material than fern material. You get a vivid and immediate picture of Oaxaca -- its landscape, culture, food, etc. -- from an author who is a national treasure. And it's all over in about 150 pages, with drawings and generous blank pages between the chapters. Just skip over the Latin names of ferns and trust me.
January 25, 2014
Do you love...
Oaxaca?
Oliver Sacks?
Ferns?
If you answer yes to any one of these, then it is worth the read. By the end you will come close to loving all three.
Oaxaca?
Oliver Sacks?
Ferns?
If you answer yes to any one of these, then it is worth the read. By the end you will come close to loving all three.
May 8, 2019
I generally love Oliver Sacks’s writing, but this was just OK. He is better known for his entertaining and insightful writing about strange cases in neurology – what the brain does when it’s off the beaten track, so to speak – but here he’s taken a trip to Mexico with the American Fern Society, a group of ... yes, fern enthusiasts (pteridologists – there’s a word I didn’t know), and he kept a diary for the 10 day journey.
Sacks was much more than a neurologist, and apparently very interested in ferns, horsetails and other primitive flora as well; but to be honest, the fern doesn’t have quite the diversity and interest-holding ability as the human brain.
However, Oaxaca Journal is quite enjoyable simply as a travelogue about a lesser-known region of Mexico, and it’s a quick read as it is very short.
Sacks was much more than a neurologist, and apparently very interested in ferns, horsetails and other primitive flora as well; but to be honest, the fern doesn’t have quite the diversity and interest-holding ability as the human brain.
However, Oaxaca Journal is quite enjoyable simply as a travelogue about a lesser-known region of Mexico, and it’s a quick read as it is very short.
July 7, 2015
Ten journal entries about a trip to look at ferns in Oaxaca-I think it's pretty safe to say that I will read anything by this man!
February 5, 2024
Partindo com um grupo de botânicos e cientistas amadores curiosos acerca dos mistérios e variedades que há no reino habitado pelas samambaias, o neurocirurgião Oliver Sacks segue para o estado de Oaxaca, no México, para vivenciar durante dez dias uma experiência que vai muito além daquelas inicialmente previstas.
Contando em seu diário todo o encontro com as dezenas de variedades da espécie de seu interesse e de seus colegas, Sacks expõe desde a curiosidade de pesquisadores amadores e seus impactos à pesquisa científica, ao comportamento de cada qual frente o que vão encontrando no caminho. Se há aqui um apaixonado por aves e delas observar, Sacks é por outro lado, sobretudo, apaixonado pela experiência humana e é através dela que o leitor é levado a séculos passados de encontro aos Zapotecas, Astecas, Maias e os aspectos ligados à sua aniquilação.
Mais que isso, o contato com uma cultura distinta, com a fabricação de uma manta, com a fermentação de um tipo líquido e outras mais situações compõem um retrato de um novo mundo e uma nova experiência que está sempre muito próxima e muito distante daquele que não tem a curiosidade para desvenda-la. Sacks o tem e é por meio de sua curiosidade e experiência, que o leitor pode conhecer um pouco mais de um mundo fascinante que nos cerca. Eu tive uma ótima leitura.
Contando em seu diário todo o encontro com as dezenas de variedades da espécie de seu interesse e de seus colegas, Sacks expõe desde a curiosidade de pesquisadores amadores e seus impactos à pesquisa científica, ao comportamento de cada qual frente o que vão encontrando no caminho. Se há aqui um apaixonado por aves e delas observar, Sacks é por outro lado, sobretudo, apaixonado pela experiência humana e é através dela que o leitor é levado a séculos passados de encontro aos Zapotecas, Astecas, Maias e os aspectos ligados à sua aniquilação.
Mais que isso, o contato com uma cultura distinta, com a fabricação de uma manta, com a fermentação de um tipo líquido e outras mais situações compõem um retrato de um novo mundo e uma nova experiência que está sempre muito próxima e muito distante daquele que não tem a curiosidade para desvenda-la. Sacks o tem e é por meio de sua curiosidade e experiência, que o leitor pode conhecer um pouco mais de um mundo fascinante que nos cerca. Eu tive uma ótima leitura.
July 24, 2012
I admit it. I'm a geek. I picked this book up for a few reasons: I have enjoyed Oliver Sacks's books on neurology, I have fond memories of a trip to Oaxaca, and I am a plant-nerd. There are plenty of things I appreciated about this journal. Mainly I get inspired by all the interdisciplinary connections that are made. It's not about ferns. It's more about belonging. Sacks finds his place within a subculture of fern enthusiasts. I'm happy that he found people who share his passion. But DIAL IT BACK, people! Some of these fern-hunters are like those little kids you meet who have singular interests. They corner you and want to tell you all about airplanes or vacuum cleaners. They don't seem to notice that nobody else is THAT interested in their obsession. It can be cute and impressive when they are little. But if an adult is behaving the same way and is still unable to pick up on social cues, then it's not as endearing. At the same time, I wonder if this sort of extreme specialization that often comes along with Autism spectrum disorders isn't the direction we are evolving.
May 26, 2008
This book is the slightly expanded journal that Oliver Sacks kept of a ten-day trip to Oaxaca by some members of the American Fern Society. If one were to stick to the barest narrative of the trip, this would probably be a pretty boring book ("Day 1: Saw ferns. See illustrations."). But a journal is a thing of tangents, and Sacks goes on fascinating tangents, describing everything from the many toxins produced by brackens to the processing of cochineal insects to make brilliant red dye to how the Mayans made rubber. Good fun.
February 22, 2008
After reading about half of this book, i decided to stop... Its just too much about and i find it hard to share sacks' enthusiasm for ferns; so i found myself skipping big parts and picking out the pieces about mexico, which are more interesting. But i'd rather start on a new book instead.
December 22, 2019
4⭐
"I had imagined, ignorantly, that civilization started in the Middle East. But I have learned that the New World, equally, was a cradle of civilization."
On the surface this is a travelogue about the adventures of a bunch of amateur fern fanciers on a field trip to Mexico. It's also a series of digressions into Mesoamerican culture, cusine and beliefs and on humanity's eternal relationships with plant and animal life.
Neurologist Oliver Sacks (fictiously portrayed by Robin Williams in the film "Awakenings") had been an obsessive journal keeper all his life and so wrote this one about his about his trip with the American Fern Society to Oxaca, in early 2000. As Sacks put it, his journal wasn't intended as scholarly or comprehensive but as "light, fragmentary, impressionistic and above all, personal." It's all of the above, as well as a keenly observant, stylish and honest account of his encounter with a new culture (and new ferns).
The book reinforces my opinion that travel is enhanced when its coupled with a purpose. This is not the snobbish belief, which I've encountered, that ordinary tourism is somehow an inferior activity.
But in my experience having a theme or objective for a trip helps sharpen the exercise. I'd say that's true here, though I'm not quite ready to join the Fern Society. Although that wouldn't be the worst that could happen. The book is very much a tribute to amateur naturalists, their tremendous contributions to science and their overall attitude to life.
A thoroughly enjoyable, fast read. And you'll learn a lot about ferns. And chocolate. And rubber. And corn. And mescal. Among other things. Highly recommended.
"I had imagined, ignorantly, that civilization started in the Middle East. But I have learned that the New World, equally, was a cradle of civilization."
On the surface this is a travelogue about the adventures of a bunch of amateur fern fanciers on a field trip to Mexico. It's also a series of digressions into Mesoamerican culture, cusine and beliefs and on humanity's eternal relationships with plant and animal life.
Neurologist Oliver Sacks (fictiously portrayed by Robin Williams in the film "Awakenings") had been an obsessive journal keeper all his life and so wrote this one about his about his trip with the American Fern Society to Oxaca, in early 2000. As Sacks put it, his journal wasn't intended as scholarly or comprehensive but as "light, fragmentary, impressionistic and above all, personal." It's all of the above, as well as a keenly observant, stylish and honest account of his encounter with a new culture (and new ferns).
The book reinforces my opinion that travel is enhanced when its coupled with a purpose. This is not the snobbish belief, which I've encountered, that ordinary tourism is somehow an inferior activity.
But in my experience having a theme or objective for a trip helps sharpen the exercise. I'd say that's true here, though I'm not quite ready to join the Fern Society. Although that wouldn't be the worst that could happen. The book is very much a tribute to amateur naturalists, their tremendous contributions to science and their overall attitude to life.
A thoroughly enjoyable, fast read. And you'll learn a lot about ferns. And chocolate. And rubber. And corn. And mescal. Among other things. Highly recommended.
February 23, 2025
I was so happy to have stumbled on this book as it was such a nice intersection of a science them, gifted writing, history and my love for travelogues.
One time when Oliver Sacks was visiting the New York Botanical Gardens he stumbled upon a meeting of pteridologists or people who love and study ferns, as he had some interest in ferns he sat down and stayed for the meeting and became a member of the Fern Society. He attended for many years, until he decided to go on one of their trips to Oaxaca.
Who knew that Oaxaca was known for their ferns? Oaxaca has much else to boast of food artisans, rain forests, mescal, and amazing Zapotec ruins. Oliver Sacks is a great writer and wrote a journal of his daily adventures. I felt privileged to take the trip with him.
One time when Oliver Sacks was visiting the New York Botanical Gardens he stumbled upon a meeting of pteridologists or people who love and study ferns, as he had some interest in ferns he sat down and stayed for the meeting and became a member of the Fern Society. He attended for many years, until he decided to go on one of their trips to Oaxaca.
Who knew that Oaxaca was known for their ferns? Oaxaca has much else to boast of food artisans, rain forests, mescal, and amazing Zapotec ruins. Oliver Sacks is a great writer and wrote a journal of his daily adventures. I felt privileged to take the trip with him.
September 25, 2021
This book was a gift from a friend, and it's not one that I probably would have picked up myself, even though I have read others of Sacks' medically oriented books over the years. I think it's one of the best aspects of receiving a book gift--your taste is broadened and a subject that seems unlikely to interest turns out to be fascinating (see that Owl book I read a few months back, the same friend gave it to me! NEVER would have picked it up on my own)
A charming book in diary form, covering a weeklong trip to Oaxaca with the American Fern Society
(I probably have that name wrong). I liked that I could read one day's entry on the corresponding day, sitting down after work to be transported to another country and a set of people I wouldn't be likely to encounter in real life. I've always wanted to visit Mexico, especially Oaxaca and the area around Veracruz, but I'm intimidated by it as well. Wish I could go with the fern people, because they get out into places one might not otherwise go, but also enjoy the ruins of various cultures, food, markets and plant and animal life.
Sacks, being Sacks, observes everything closely and writes about it. He enjoys eating grasshoppers while there and proposes that we all consider ants as a good food source, because "a quarter of the earth's animal mass consists of ants. This is a menace (since they produce a great deal of methane, which enlarges the ozone hole)..." Wow! maybe cows aren't really the problem?!?
He also astutely points out that while the conquistadors were in search of gold and silver, the real gifts to the conquerors and all of us today were "potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, gourds, chilies, peppers, maize" and more (some things I don't think were gifts, like tobacco).
I think I'm going to seek out some other diaries, which I generally enjoy reading, to use as a sort of daybook of reading--start wherever the date it is when I begin reading, and read that day's entry only (or none, if none exists). Hmmmm trip to library in order.
A charming book in diary form, covering a weeklong trip to Oaxaca with the American Fern Society
(I probably have that name wrong). I liked that I could read one day's entry on the corresponding day, sitting down after work to be transported to another country and a set of people I wouldn't be likely to encounter in real life. I've always wanted to visit Mexico, especially Oaxaca and the area around Veracruz, but I'm intimidated by it as well. Wish I could go with the fern people, because they get out into places one might not otherwise go, but also enjoy the ruins of various cultures, food, markets and plant and animal life.
Sacks, being Sacks, observes everything closely and writes about it. He enjoys eating grasshoppers while there and proposes that we all consider ants as a good food source, because "a quarter of the earth's animal mass consists of ants. This is a menace (since they produce a great deal of methane, which enlarges the ozone hole)..." Wow! maybe cows aren't really the problem?!?
He also astutely points out that while the conquistadors were in search of gold and silver, the real gifts to the conquerors and all of us today were "potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, gourds, chilies, peppers, maize" and more (some things I don't think were gifts, like tobacco).
I think I'm going to seek out some other diaries, which I generally enjoy reading, to use as a sort of daybook of reading--start wherever the date it is when I begin reading, and read that day's entry only (or none, if none exists). Hmmmm trip to library in order.
July 2, 2023
Oliver Sacks fascinates me. His curiosity and mind are supercharged. And he can write. Who would have thought I would love a book about ferns? But throw in Oaxaca and Sacks, and it is a winner.
January 14, 2016
Mostly i would just to love to hear Oliver Sachs talk, and his voice (or some simulacrum thereof) rang through my head as he wandered through Mexico, thinking about ferns, fern allies, the people who love them (and other bits of the natural world) and the land and culture they were wandering. No profundities really, just a curious mind and heart open to whatever comes along. Can't ask much more of a journal than that.
October 3, 2020
*Rezensionsexemplar/Büchergilde
"Diese Reise erweist sich nicht nur als Reise in ein anderes Land, in eine andere Kultur, sondern in einem tieferen Sinn auch als eine Reise in eine andere Zeit."
Sicherlich kein Buch für jeden, aber wenn ihr Reiseinetressiert, Menscheninteressiert und/oder Farninteressiert seid könnte das etwas für euch sein. Der Schreibstil mit dem Oliver Sacks seine Reise nach Oaxaca/Mesiko zusammen mit der New Yorker Farngesellschaft (Ja, die gibt es wirklich!) beschreibt hat mir gut gefallen. Auch wenn all die botanischen Feinheiten nicht in meinem Kopf geblieben sind - hierfür fehlt mir vielleicht die Begeisterung für Pflanzen im Allgemeinen und Farne im Speziellen - hat mich die Begeisterung der Mitreisenden für ihr spezielles Hobby doch angesteckt. Niedlich-schrullige Charaktere, die einfach "Ihr Ding" gefunden haben. Und wünscht man das nicht jedem?
Ich habe ein paar Orte von denen Oliver Sacks berichtet gegoogled und konnte mir die Szenerien so gut vorstellen. Es geht also um Pflanzen (Zeichnungen von Oliver Sacks sind enthalten), die Kultur & uralte Geschichte Mexikos, aber ganz besonders auch um die Menschen und ihre "kindliche Zuneigung zu Farnen", wie Julia Finkernagel es in ihrem Vorwort der Büchergilde Ausgabe beschreibt.
"Diese Reise erweist sich nicht nur als Reise in ein anderes Land, in eine andere Kultur, sondern in einem tieferen Sinn auch als eine Reise in eine andere Zeit."
Sicherlich kein Buch für jeden, aber wenn ihr Reiseinetressiert, Menscheninteressiert und/oder Farninteressiert seid könnte das etwas für euch sein. Der Schreibstil mit dem Oliver Sacks seine Reise nach Oaxaca/Mesiko zusammen mit der New Yorker Farngesellschaft (Ja, die gibt es wirklich!) beschreibt hat mir gut gefallen. Auch wenn all die botanischen Feinheiten nicht in meinem Kopf geblieben sind - hierfür fehlt mir vielleicht die Begeisterung für Pflanzen im Allgemeinen und Farne im Speziellen - hat mich die Begeisterung der Mitreisenden für ihr spezielles Hobby doch angesteckt. Niedlich-schrullige Charaktere, die einfach "Ihr Ding" gefunden haben. Und wünscht man das nicht jedem?
Ich habe ein paar Orte von denen Oliver Sacks berichtet gegoogled und konnte mir die Szenerien so gut vorstellen. Es geht also um Pflanzen (Zeichnungen von Oliver Sacks sind enthalten), die Kultur & uralte Geschichte Mexikos, aber ganz besonders auch um die Menschen und ihre "kindliche Zuneigung zu Farnen", wie Julia Finkernagel es in ihrem Vorwort der Büchergilde Ausgabe beschreibt.
February 15, 2025
I loved this book. A plant (fern) adventure, a travelogue, commentary on so many things scientific and cultural. What a great writer he was.
May 2, 2025
Work book club. One of our participants (Tola) joined today because she’d been to Oaxaca recently for a festival to raise money to preserve the pipe organs of the Catholic churches of the region. I am delighted to learn of the esoteric interests and passions people have. A curious person is my favorite kind of person.
March 30, 2025
Oaxaca Journal is Oliver Sacks' description of the trip he took to Oaxaca, Mexico with fellow members of the American Fern Society. What jumped out to me was his passion for ferns and other natural phenomena - fossils, insects, minerals, etc. They all delighted him! Alas, I don't have a scientific mind like his. A lot of his scientific discussion was not that interesting to me.
Sacks considered himself to be introverted and a loner. On the trip, he found himself among friends who thought like he did. Sacks felt a sense of belonging that was new and gratifying for him. While describing this, Sacks' gentle humor came through in his descriptions of his fellow fern enthusiasts and himself.
Although glad to have read the book, I would recommend Sacks' later memoir, On the Move: A Life for a fuller understanding of this extraordinary man, his upbringing and what mattered to him.
Sacks considered himself to be introverted and a loner. On the trip, he found himself among friends who thought like he did. Sacks felt a sense of belonging that was new and gratifying for him. While describing this, Sacks' gentle humor came through in his descriptions of his fellow fern enthusiasts and himself.
Although glad to have read the book, I would recommend Sacks' later memoir, On the Move: A Life for a fuller understanding of this extraordinary man, his upbringing and what mattered to him.
February 21, 2025
Un cuaderno de viaje botánico en México? I’m in
July 3, 2016
Piacevolissimo. Non c'è nulla di neurologia in questo diario, ma c'è tutto il suo autore con tutta la sua curiosità per ogni particolare del mondo che lo circonda. Così un diario di viaggio di osservazione delle felci diventa occasione per ritrarre con efficacia e spirito la civiltà con cui viene in contatto, per riflettere sulla storia della conquista del Sud America da parte degli spagnoli, l'eccidio che ne è risultato della popolazione indigena. L'amore di Sacks per la bellezza della natura non è estetico ma dettato dalla sete di conoscere quello che vede, tutto dall'aspetto macroscopico a quello microscopico lo affascina e lo condivide con i compagni di viaggio. Insomma, una bella lettura per chi ama questo scrittore che è mancato poco fa, e che rimpiangerò sempre.
March 18, 2017
Reading Oliver Sacks is like reading letters from an old friend. Even if you have no interest in ferns (or any other of his multitude of interests) his joy is infectious. Not for everyone, but if you enjoy reading about other people's loves, give it a shot.
November 28, 2024
Eğreltiotu hakkında o kadar şey öğrendim ki bu bilgilerle ne yapacağım bilmiyorum. Belki bir gün işime yarar.
February 3, 2020
A lovely little book and the perfect backpack companion for a week-long trip in Oaxaca. Sacks’ curiosity about everything inspired me to be more observant and curious myself. While the rest of us would merely enjoy the taste of chocolates from different types of cacao, Sacks asks himself:
I read the slim book in just a few days and learned much about Oaxaca’s contributions to civilization. I didn’t see anyone smoking cigarettes in Oaxaca, certainly not compared to Europeans, but I learned that “cigar” comes from the Mayan “sik’ar.”
Sacks visited Oaxaca for ten days in 2000, the same year that Vicente Fox was elected president, bringing more than 70 years of single-party rule to an end. But there is no mention of politics in the book. In fact, the book still reads as if it were written today rather than 20 years ago. In the last passage, he reflects on what he learned during the 10-day trip:
To my knowledge, Sacks never did return. He passed away in 2015, the same year he first identified publicly as gay, though there are strange hints scattered throughout the book. It seems Sacks often lived a lonely, celibate life, and so it’s nice to read passages idiosyncratically describing the sudden onset of joy.
And later:
I first visited Oaxaca in 2004 and this year marked my third visit exact 16 years later. It is likely that next year we’ll return. On all three visits, I’ve shared Sacks impression. I can’t explain why, but everything feels so right.
But why, I wonder, should chocolate be so intensely and so universally desired? Why did it spread so rapidly over Europe, once the secret was out? Why is chocolate sold now on every street corner, included in army rations, taken to Antarctica and outer space? Why are there chocoholics in every culture? Is it the unique, special texture, the “mouth-feel” of chocolate, which melts at body temperature? Is it because of the mild stimulants, caffeine and theobromine, it contains? The cola nut and the guarana have more. Is it the phenylethylamine, mildly analeptic, euphoriant, supposedly aphrodisiac, which chocolate contains? Cheese and salami contain more of this. Is it because chocolate, with its anandamide, stimulates the brain’s cannabinoid receptors? Or is it perhaps something quite other, something as yet unknown, which could provide vital clues to new aspects of brain chemistry, to say nothing of the esthetics of taste?
I read the slim book in just a few days and learned much about Oaxaca’s contributions to civilization. I didn’t see anyone smoking cigarettes in Oaxaca, certainly not compared to Europeans, but I learned that “cigar” comes from the Mayan “sik’ar.”
Sacks visited Oaxaca for ten days in 2000, the same year that Vicente Fox was elected president, bringing more than 70 years of single-party rule to an end. But there is no mention of politics in the book. In fact, the book still reads as if it were written today rather than 20 years ago. In the last passage, he reflects on what he learned during the 10-day trip:
I had imagined, ignorantly, that civilization started in the Middle East. But I have learned that the New World, equally, was a cradle of civilization. The power and grandeur of what I have seen has shocked me, and altered my view of what it means to be human. Monte Albán, above all, has overturned a lifetime of presuppositions, shown me possibilities I never dreamed of. I will read Bernal Díaz and Prescott’s 1843 Conquest of Mexico again, but with a different perspective, now that I have seen some of it myself. I will brood on the experience, I will read more, and I will surely come again.
To my knowledge, Sacks never did return. He passed away in 2015, the same year he first identified publicly as gay, though there are strange hints scattered throughout the book. It seems Sacks often lived a lonely, celibate life, and so it’s nice to read passages idiosyncratically describing the sudden onset of joy.
I myself may be the only single person here, but I have been single, a singleton, all my life. Yet here this does not matter in the least, either. I have a strong feeling of being one of the group, of belonging, of communal affection—a feeling that is extremely rare in my life, and may be in part a cause of a strange “symptom” I have had, an odd feeling in the last day or so, which I was hard put to diagnose, and first ascribed to the altitude. It was, I suddenly realized, a feeling of joy, a feeling so unusual I was slow to recognize it. There are many causes for this joyousness, I suspect—the plants, the ruins, the people of Oaxaca—but the sense of this sweet community, belonging, is surely a part of it.
And later:
This has been a lovely trip. I have not enjoyed one so much for many years, nor can I analyze, at the moment, quite what is so … so right.
I first visited Oaxaca in 2004 and this year marked my third visit exact 16 years later. It is likely that next year we’ll return. On all three visits, I’ve shared Sacks impression. I can’t explain why, but everything feels so right.
January 23, 2022
Terminar de leer en casa un libro que se comenzó a leer en un viaje siempre es una extensión natural del viaje.
Acabo de terminar de leer “Oaxaca Journal” de Oliver Sacks. Lo comencé a leer el primer viernes del viaje que acabamos de hacer a Zapotitlán Salinas y a Oaxaca.
El libro lo compré poco después de que fue publicado en 2002 por National Geographic Directions (The Literary Travel Series) en esta bella edición.
En ese entonces viajaba muy seguido a Oaxaca y pensaba en irme a vivir a esa ciudad. Los planes cambiaron en 2003, me fui 10 meses a India y emprendí otros viajes.
Siempre había tenido al alcance, presente y pendiente este libro. Lo leo apenas. Veinte años después de comprarlo. El viaje de #OliverSacks que hizo a Oaxaca en una excursión para observar helechos, incitada por la Sociedad Americana de los Helechos (American Fern Society), fue por estas fechas, hace 22 años, a inicios del año 2000.
En Oaxaca hay casi setecientas variedades de helechos. Con su ojo clínico, el neurólogo y escritor dispersa su exploración más allá del alcance de las esporas de estas primitivas plantas.
Oliver Sacks escribe al final del capítulo nueve: “¿Cómo se puede evaluar una sociedad, una cultura? Sólo podemos preguntarnos si existieron las relaciones y actividades, las prácticas y habilidades, las creencias y metas, las ideas y los sueños, que hacen posible una vida humana plena …
“Reflexionaré sobre la experiencia, leeré más y seguramente volveré”.
El viaje de Sacks comenzó un viernes y terminó diez días después en un domingo. Dado que comencé esta lectura un viernes y la acabé hoy domingo, extendí la lectura y el viaje una semana más. Hace una semana, el domingo, hicimos la última excursión en Oaxaca.
También espero volver muy pronto y más tiempo a ese gran destino que es Oaxaca.
El libro “Diario de Oaxaca” lo editó en español Anagrama en 2017. Dos años después de la muerte de Oliver Sacks.
Acabo de terminar de leer “Oaxaca Journal” de Oliver Sacks. Lo comencé a leer el primer viernes del viaje que acabamos de hacer a Zapotitlán Salinas y a Oaxaca.
El libro lo compré poco después de que fue publicado en 2002 por National Geographic Directions (The Literary Travel Series) en esta bella edición.
En ese entonces viajaba muy seguido a Oaxaca y pensaba en irme a vivir a esa ciudad. Los planes cambiaron en 2003, me fui 10 meses a India y emprendí otros viajes.
Siempre había tenido al alcance, presente y pendiente este libro. Lo leo apenas. Veinte años después de comprarlo. El viaje de #OliverSacks que hizo a Oaxaca en una excursión para observar helechos, incitada por la Sociedad Americana de los Helechos (American Fern Society), fue por estas fechas, hace 22 años, a inicios del año 2000.
En Oaxaca hay casi setecientas variedades de helechos. Con su ojo clínico, el neurólogo y escritor dispersa su exploración más allá del alcance de las esporas de estas primitivas plantas.
Oliver Sacks escribe al final del capítulo nueve: “¿Cómo se puede evaluar una sociedad, una cultura? Sólo podemos preguntarnos si existieron las relaciones y actividades, las prácticas y habilidades, las creencias y metas, las ideas y los sueños, que hacen posible una vida humana plena …
“Reflexionaré sobre la experiencia, leeré más y seguramente volveré”.
El viaje de Sacks comenzó un viernes y terminó diez días después en un domingo. Dado que comencé esta lectura un viernes y la acabé hoy domingo, extendí la lectura y el viaje una semana más. Hace una semana, el domingo, hicimos la última excursión en Oaxaca.
También espero volver muy pronto y más tiempo a ese gran destino que es Oaxaca.
El libro “Diario de Oaxaca” lo editó en español Anagrama en 2017. Dos años después de la muerte de Oliver Sacks.
December 13, 2019
I am a scientist, and one of the great joys of hanging out with other scientists is the sheer excitement about any topic you can develop when you sit down with others.
Recently, I had a meeting with one of the bigger Profs in my uni to talk about a course - we spent 10 minutes on that, and then another hour on the ridiculously awesome RNA-editing capabilities of liverworts and Amborella! That's the best part of the job: a community of people
I'm now convinced that anything in existence becomes extremely interesting once you start to learn more about it - the tiniest mud-puddle contains galaxies you can spend several life-times learning about, and never run out of stuff to research.
Sacks' Oaxaca Journal comes from exactly that place! Sacks spent two weeks on a trip with a US fern society to the Mexican Oaxaca region, one of the world's top fern hot-spots. The people on the trip are various hobbyists from around the US with varied interests, for example, a few avid birders are included in the mix, too. Sacks himself was more of an amateur in ferns which is lucky for the reader, as he can be as baffled about random ferns as we are while reading.
So that's essentially the book - Sacks' notes from different days spent in Mexico, admiring what the Zapotec and the Aztec achieved, traveling stories and descriptions of bustling markets, but the most fun is when Sacks geeks out with everyone else on chemistry and plants, unashamedly and unapologetically nerdy:
and that dorkiness is the warm joy this book has.
P.S.: At one point Sacks describes Boone's discovery of a 'slimy' corn that could fixate nitrogen from the air, which maize cannot - this is now, about 20 years after the book, a very famous maize! This paper caused quite a storm, and now different companies are trying to monetize this corn. Here's a long, good overview of the current issues from 6 months ago: Indigenous Maize: Who Owns the Rights to Mexico’s ‘Wonder’ Plant?
Recently, I had a meeting with one of the bigger Profs in my uni to talk about a course - we spent 10 minutes on that, and then another hour on the ridiculously awesome RNA-editing capabilities of liverworts and Amborella! That's the best part of the job: a community of people
I'm now convinced that anything in existence becomes extremely interesting once you start to learn more about it - the tiniest mud-puddle contains galaxies you can spend several life-times learning about, and never run out of stuff to research.
Sacks' Oaxaca Journal comes from exactly that place! Sacks spent two weeks on a trip with a US fern society to the Mexican Oaxaca region, one of the world's top fern hot-spots. The people on the trip are various hobbyists from around the US with varied interests, for example, a few avid birders are included in the mix, too. Sacks himself was more of an amateur in ferns which is lucky for the reader, as he can be as baffled about random ferns as we are while reading.
So that's essentially the book - Sacks' notes from different days spent in Mexico, admiring what the Zapotec and the Aztec achieved, traveling stories and descriptions of bustling markets, but the most fun is when Sacks geeks out with everyone else on chemistry and plants, unashamedly and unapologetically nerdy:
Thereafter, whenever David and I meet, we have a three-part greeting consisting of these sulfides. He says "Orpiment," to which I retort, "Realgar," and he caps the trio with "Mispickel!"
and that dorkiness is the warm joy this book has.
P.S.: At one point Sacks describes Boone's discovery of a 'slimy' corn that could fixate nitrogen from the air, which maize cannot - this is now, about 20 years after the book, a very famous maize! This paper caused quite a storm, and now different companies are trying to monetize this corn. Here's a long, good overview of the current issues from 6 months ago: Indigenous Maize: Who Owns the Rights to Mexico’s ‘Wonder’ Plant?
July 2, 2025
A book about a trip to Oaxaca to look at ferns with other fern enthusiasts ("pteridologists", apparently) might sound like it would be hella boring, but Oliver Sacks somehow makes it quaintly interesting.
February 6, 2025
If you are a fan of nature writings, Oliver Sacks, Oaxaca, or even want to go to Oaxaca, you should find this book delightful.
August 27, 2024
Relaxed,informative,personal. An overall very good read - something you would happily anticipate when you hear the combination of Oliver Sacks and National Geographic was involved in the creation. The subject (a field trip to see ferns) is immaterial. The pleasure is in the presentation.
The book was mentioned by Zoe Schlanger as part of her immersion research in THE LIGHT EATERS.
The book was mentioned by Zoe Schlanger as part of her immersion research in THE LIGHT EATERS.
July 12, 2012
Welch ein wunderbares Buch! Oliver Sacks, Neurologe, eher bekannt durch seine Bücher über seine PatientInnen wie z. B. ,Der Mann der seine Frau mit einem Hut verwechselte' oder (ganz aktuell) ,Der einarmige Pianist' beschreibt hier eine 10tägige Reise der New Yorker Farngesellschaft nach Oaxaca, Mexiko, an der er als Mitglied dieser Gesellschaft teilnahm.
Der Name ist Programm: Alle TeilnehmerInnen sind FarnliebhaberInnen und Oaxaca ist bekannt für seine große Vielfalt an sehr unterschiedlichen Farnarten.
Natürlich drängt sich da die Frage auf: Na toll, Farne. Und wann fällt der nächste Sack Reis in China um?
Dennoch, dieses Buch ist wirklich ein Genuss. Selbstverständlich sind Farne eines der Hauptthemen in diesem Buch. Aber Sacks stellt diese Pflanzen mit einer Begeisterung und Wärme dar, dass man eine Ahnung davon bekommt, was diese FarnliebhaberInnen antreibt. Doch er ist im Vergleich zu seinen Begleitern eher ein Amateur. Ihn fasziniert das Land gleichermaßen: Mit der gleichen Begeisterung beschreibt Sacks die Menschen, denen er begegnet, die Landschaft sowie seine Mitreisenden. Auch die Geschichte dieses Landes und seiner Bewohner haben sein Interesse und ganzes Mitgefühl; voller Anteilnahme schildert er das Gute, aber auch die Grausamkeiten, die sich vor langer Zeit dort in Mexiko ereignet haben. Man erfährt so viel Neues und Interessantes aus diesem Buch, dass man am Ende fast den Überblick verloren hat, was es alles war bzw. wo es stand. Sacks ist in der Lage, die unterschiedlichsten Gebiete miteinander zu verbinden: Ornithologie, Botanik, die Geschichte Oaxacas und der Umgebung, die sozialen Strukturen im Hier und Heute, die Geschichte der Schokolade, des Mescal, des Handwerks allgemein, Chemie - und daneben noch liebevolle Orts- und Personenbeschreibungen.
Für Jeden, der nach Mexiko (und insbesondere Oaxaca) reist, ist dieses Buch ein Muss. Für alle Anderen - auch. Ein Genuss ist es in jedem Fall!
Der Name ist Programm: Alle TeilnehmerInnen sind FarnliebhaberInnen und Oaxaca ist bekannt für seine große Vielfalt an sehr unterschiedlichen Farnarten.
Natürlich drängt sich da die Frage auf: Na toll, Farne. Und wann fällt der nächste Sack Reis in China um?
Dennoch, dieses Buch ist wirklich ein Genuss. Selbstverständlich sind Farne eines der Hauptthemen in diesem Buch. Aber Sacks stellt diese Pflanzen mit einer Begeisterung und Wärme dar, dass man eine Ahnung davon bekommt, was diese FarnliebhaberInnen antreibt. Doch er ist im Vergleich zu seinen Begleitern eher ein Amateur. Ihn fasziniert das Land gleichermaßen: Mit der gleichen Begeisterung beschreibt Sacks die Menschen, denen er begegnet, die Landschaft sowie seine Mitreisenden. Auch die Geschichte dieses Landes und seiner Bewohner haben sein Interesse und ganzes Mitgefühl; voller Anteilnahme schildert er das Gute, aber auch die Grausamkeiten, die sich vor langer Zeit dort in Mexiko ereignet haben. Man erfährt so viel Neues und Interessantes aus diesem Buch, dass man am Ende fast den Überblick verloren hat, was es alles war bzw. wo es stand. Sacks ist in der Lage, die unterschiedlichsten Gebiete miteinander zu verbinden: Ornithologie, Botanik, die Geschichte Oaxacas und der Umgebung, die sozialen Strukturen im Hier und Heute, die Geschichte der Schokolade, des Mescal, des Handwerks allgemein, Chemie - und daneben noch liebevolle Orts- und Personenbeschreibungen.
Für Jeden, der nach Mexiko (und insbesondere Oaxaca) reist, ist dieses Buch ein Muss. Für alle Anderen - auch. Ein Genuss ist es in jedem Fall!
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