Summary

The Forward section, written by Kate Edgar, Daniel Frank and Bill Hayes, explains how the book The River of Consciousness came to be. The authors explain that they were charged with the task of ensuring its publication before the death of its author, Oliver Sacks. Sack himself outlines the contents of this book -- a collection of essays -- in his final weeks of life. Like Sacks' interdisciplinary professional life, this book explores "the issues, idea, and questions" of a variety of sciences (ix). The Forward also connects Sacks' character to that of the scientists and thinkers he admired: Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and William James.

Analysis

This Forward serves to contextualize the forthcoming material as an interdisciplinary collection which will ruminate on big issues, ideas, and questions related to a variety of scientific disciplines. Furthermore, it characters the author who is no longer...