John Hughlings Jackson

"This remarkable book was finished in his ninety-seventh year by Macdonald Critchly, one of the greatest of the twentieth century neurologists, with the collaboration of his wife. It is...an informal summary of Jackson's contributions to neurological subjects and evaluation of these contributions by scholars both of his time and later...it also includes a personal biography."--Doody's Journal "The Critchley's biography is a straightforward and comprehensive account of Jackson's life, which should interest all physicians who enjoy medical history, particularly those whose practice is in the neurological sciences."--Journal of the American Medical Association "The pleasure of John Hughlings Jackson comes from the Critchleys' fondness for the man. He was clearly an intriguing and endearing character."--Times Literary Supplement "This is a fascinating historical document about one of the giants of English neurology, extensively researched and written by authors whose life and experience uniquely qualify them to provide a detailed and touching account of the life of this great man....it is humbling to read about the achievements of a man whose only tools were his powers of observation and obsessive and detailed recording of what he saw in his daily practice and his ability to recognise clinical patterns of disease....I very much enjoyed reading this work which provides an authorative account of one of the founding fathers of our trade and would recommend it to neurologists young and old."--Neil Robertson, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry "This recording of the life of Jackson goes a considerable way to explaining...why he was held in such high esteem. This book is not only a record of the man: the history of neurology itself might, to borrow from Thomas Carlyle, be considered to be the biography of the great neurologists, and this book also serves to explain the impact that the philosophical, imaginative and perceptive thinking of Hughlings Jackson had on the speciality itself in its earliest days....Aside from fulfilling its aim in recording his life and achievements this book is very entertaining...I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would not hesitate to recommend it both to the novice Jacksonologist and to the expert looking to fill in the gaps in his or her knowledge."--Paul Morrish, BRAIN "This new book by the Critchleys is the first work that could fairly be called a biography of Jackson. The authors have brought together a wealth of biographical detail that was previously scattered or unavailable. In the process, they have been commendably careful to avoid accepting anecdotes that cannot be substantiated. The authors have also taken Jackson's genealogy as far as it could possibly go. The prose style is simple and straightforward." -- Samuel H. Greenblatt, Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, Vol 9, No 2, Aug 2000