A Beautiful Gift Edition of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

We’re thrilled to share that there’s a gorgeous new edition of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat out from Everyman’s Library. If you follow us on any social media platform you have likely already seen how lovely it is.

Everyman’s Library editions are printed on a fine cream-wove paper with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers. It’s a beautiful thing to hold (and a lovely gift idea!). They also include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

This edition of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat has a new introduction from surgeon and writer Atul Gawande, the author of Being Mortal. Gawande describes his personal relationship with Oliver and how they showed each other their manuscripts in progress. And he writes eloquently about the way Oliver saw his patients as individual human beings rather than a list of symptoms or a puzzle to solve. He says:

“In his brief introductions to each of the four parts of this book, he lays out a sort of manifesto that he would continue to refine throughout his life: that he would see patients not as collections of deficits but as unique individuals, often bravely living with and adapting to neurological conditions which were unimaginable for the rest of us. He captured their experiences, their hopes and fears, their humor and perseverance. It is heroic stuff, and he was well aware of its mythic resonances.”

We hope you enjoy this new edition of Oliver’s work. Please feel free to email us at any time to share your thoughts – we love hearing from you.

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