Allan Ropper

Brian David Burrell

One of the world's leading neurologists reveals the extraordinary stories behind some of the brain disorders that he and his staff at the Harvard Medical School endeavour to treat.

Extraordinary Journeys Into the Human Brain

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole

Allan H. Ropper

A top neurologist explains the difficulty of diagnosing brain diseases through such cases as a college quarterback who keeps calling the same play and a salesman who continuously drives around a traffic circle.

A Renowned Neurologist Explains the Mystery and Drama of Brain Disease

Lauren

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole is a fascinating, case-driven look at neurology. Dr. Ropper is knowledgeable, intuitive, and emphasizes that each patient is unique. The book highlights the brain’s complexity with compelling cases, though his approach to hysteria feels outdated. Overall, it’s an engaging reminder to value patient-reported symptoms as much as observable signs.

Liana

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole is a fascinating, case-driven look at neurology. Dr. Ropper is knowledgeable, intuitive, and emphasizes that each patient is unique. The book highlights the brain’s complexity with compelling cases, though his approach to hysteria feels outdated. Overall, it’s an engaging reminder to value patient-reported symptoms as much as observable signs.



This read comprised primarily of short chapters (20ish pages each) each consisting of a few anecdotes concerning different neurological conditions and cases. Surface level and simplistic, which made for an easy read, but not a immersive or analytical one.

The downfall here was in the simplicity, there was little analysis or discussion, no actual depth to the neurology of the cases. While this did slightly improve later into the book, and where it lacked scientific depth there was some behavioural/attitudinal debates I found myself enjoying, overall it just wasn’t what I look for in these sorts of books.

Also, the author is somewhat egocentric, which detracts from the overall enjoyment slightly (then again, this seems frequent with doctor-authored books, so perhaps it’s simply a criticism to keep in mind, but let not put you off.

As I said, there were some highlights- such as the debate about life-support, and the choices patients make regarding this- it was compelling and balanced, I still find myself considering the other side of the argument now, a few days later, which is quite brilliant.

I found the writing tone was more enjoyable in the latter half of the book. This is a good one if you’re looking for something more simple and anecdotal- but if you’re looking for something a bit heavier on depth I wouldn’t recommend it for that. 


Jade Flynn

Read for the #olympicgames2020 Readathon - House Artemis. Prompt - Honour Apollo, read a five star prediction.

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole Extraordinary Journeys Into the Human Brain

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