The Falling Sickness: A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology

by Owsei Temkin

"A thoroughly admirable and informative introduction to our knowledge of epilepsy in the Western world from antiquity to the early twentieth century." - American Scientist Owsei Temkin presents the history of epilepsy in Western civilization from ancient times to the beginnings of modern neurology. First published in 1945 and thoroughly revised in 1971, this classic work by one of the history of medicine's most eminent scholars now returns to print available in both paperback and eBook formats.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Neuroscience

488 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I had seizures. This is a history of the diagnosis of this disease. Therefore, my enjoyment of it was largely a result of my own personal history. It's always a boost to the ego when you discover the illness plagued your younger years was once seen as a divine invasion or possession.

[Albie]

The Falling Sickness : A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology (Softshell Books) by Owsei Temkin (1994)

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is loaded with information about the history of epilepsy which is great, but unfortunately it is very technically, scientifically, lecture-like written which does make it quite difficult to read.

[Flossie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stellar message based on real-life story. One star removed for the simplistic language.

[Nieva21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been thinking about why The Falling Sickness has pulled me in so deeply. I’m not a neuropsychologist, and yet I find myself drawn to the way the book traces the relationship between the brain, behavior, and human meaning across history. At times I almost feel like I’m stepping into a space that isn’t mine, but the truth is, my interest isn’t about claiming expertise. It’s about trying to understand the lived experience of being in a body and a nervous system that carries memory, emotion, and change.

In my work, I sit with people every day who are trying to make sense of their own minds, their reactions, their trauma, their substance use, and the moments they feel out of control. I’m always helping them find language that softens shame and brings understanding. This book speaks to that same instinct. It shows how, for centuries, people tried to explain what they didn’t yet understand about the brain and behavior — sometimes through spirituality, sometimes through fear, sometimes through early medicine. The body didn’t change. The interpretation did.

On a personal level, it connects too. I’ve seen what neurological struggle can look like in someone I loved. I’ve felt the disorientation and the guilt that can come after a shift in awareness or behavior, and the deep need to make meaning out of those moments. Reading about how the nervous system has been understood across time makes me feel less alone in that search. It gives context to something that is both deeply physical and deeply human.

So my interest in this book isn’t about stepping into another profession. It’s about curiosity. It’s about honoring the connection between brain, body, and story. As a therapist and as a writer, I’m always trying to understand how people carry their experiences and how they find their way back to themselves. This book simply meets me in that same place.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating medical history tracing epilepsy in the west from before the Greeks to 1900. Even today the epileptic afflictions are largely a mystery and I think about half the cases aren’t even treatable. The medical thought around the disease through the centuries as laid out here widens significantly more than it deepens, the causes and aspects getting more and more complex to fit with the context and other discoveries of the day: new parts of the brain classified as doing this, that, and the other? Let’s use that in our epilepsy study. New function of the nervous system uncovered? Sure, that’s probably the answer. Lots of witches around? Let’s blame them. Hysterical women? Sounds like epilepsy. Gray matter in the spine? I bet this can correspond to these “different” types of epileptic attacks. There’s real progress, sure, though it takes a long while, like till the 1880s, and even then it feels like we’re barely out of the 1300s unless you look real close and the amount that very intelligent people still don’t know despite hundreds of years of looking is humbling, and the ever complicating, almost hallucinogenic ways very intelligent people can find to abstractly categorize and narrativize versions of “I have no fucking idea, man” makes for very compelling reading.

[Austin Lim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, given that the topic of epilepsy gets brought up by my students all the time during lectures. There are some super interesting anecdotes throughout the ancient historical chunk of the book (seizures were named after the belief that the victim was being "seized" by a spirit??? Whoa!) But the more modern stuff is less instructive, since the text is 50 years old, making the "modern" bit a piece of history on it's own.

Overall, the text could have benefited from a little slimming down and a bit more pizazz in the prose. There are still some wonderful gems of knowledge throughout, especially for anyone interested in the history of this part of clinical neurology.