Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole
A Renowned Neurologist Explains the Mystery and Drama of Brain Disease

As a retired neurologist, I really wanted to like this book, but I found it very disappointing. I have tremendous respect for Dr. Ropper. Principles of Neurology, the textbook of neurology that he currently edits, is still my favorite introduction to general neurology. I have heard him speak several......more

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole is a really fascinating book. It's a little fictionalised, so we get dialogues and little portraits of character, enough that we can care about the cases discussed. Dr Ropper is pretty much everything an ideal doctor should be: knowledgeable, capable of acting fast, cap......more

This starts out strong, with an introduction into various complex and interesting neurology patients. We have hydrocephalus, subarachnoid haemorrhage, strokes and even ovarian teratomas. It's fascinating stuff, told in a way that feels accessible and not too weighed down by medical jargon. However,......more

Surprisingly, although this book delves into some pretty gut wrenching patient-care scenarios, there is a lot to read and digest in these pages. A big take-away: “To become a good clinical neurologist, you have to be intensely interested by what the brain does, how it works, how it breaks down.” This......more

I read it wondering if the author, a neurologist, would ever turn professional insight on himself. If he did, he would realize he spends an entire book blowing eighteen over-inflated tires of sexist, egotistical, out of touch diesel right up his own glowing red exhaust stack. I was hoping for someon......more