Allan H. Ropper

It took 8 months, from the end of April until 1 Jan, to finish this book. 1331 pages, two columns, about 9 point type, quarto size, probably the equivalent of four times as many paperback pages. It is impossible to summarize. The prose is elegant, in the passive voice, with numerous phrasings like “It is the opinion of the authors” or “In our clinical experience” that is almost archaic for today’s styles, and a tremendous antidote to the list makers and outliners that constitute most textbooks these days. It is difficult to say what I have learned, but I have noted my general confidence in explaining things to patients, and my faith in what I know and have been recommending, has increased in the course of this reading.

A few choice phrases and definitions, kept in the course of noting errata (I found about 43).

“anxietas tibiarum” for restless legs syndrome

“poriomania” the term for wandering during a seizure

“The otolithic catastrophe of Tumarkin”

“tortopia” for tilting of vision

“Le fou rire prodromique of Fere” uncontrollable laughter followed by hemiparesis in basilar artery occlusion.… (altro)