NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently - Softcover

Steve Silberman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1760113646 ISBN 13: 9781760113643

Publisher: Allen and Unwin, 2016

Synopsis

Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
Shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize
Shortlisted for the MJA Health Book of the Year Award
Shortlisted for the BMA Medical Book Awards

A Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller

Foreword by Oliver Sacks

What is autism: a devastating developmental condition, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more - and the future of our society depends on our understanding it.

Following on from his groundbreaking article 'The Geek Syndrome', Wired reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle while casting light on the growing movement of 'neurodiversity' and mapping out a path towards a more humane world for people with learning differences.

About this title

Review:

Stunning... Highly original... Outstanding. --Spectator
A sprawling and fascinating dissection of the role autism has played in shaping human history. --The Daily Telegraph
NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman explores in fascinating, near-encyclopaedic depth how autism has evolved. It's a gripping narrative written with journalistic verve. --The Observer
Whatever the future of autism...Mr Silberman has surely written the definitive book about its past. --The Economist
Ambitious, meticulous and largehearted... NeuroTribes is beautifully told, humanizing, important. --New York Times
Silberman's sweeping history is always sensitive and builds a persuasive argument. --New Scientist
A rich amalgam of social history and contemporary reportage. --Ian Thomson, Financial Times
Silberman digs deep into the history of medicine to find out why so much confusion has surrounded the diagnosis of autism for so long. --Guardian
Silberman is a skilled storyteller... [He] researches with scientific rigour... A powerful voice: NeuroTribes offers keen insight. --New Statesman
NeuroTribes is remarkable. Silberman has done something unique: he's taken the dense and detailed history of autism and turned the story into a genuine page-turner. The book is sure to stir considerable discussion. --John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye
A comprehensive history of the science and culture surrounding autism studies... An essential resource. --Nature magazine
A lively, readable book... To read NeuroTribes is to realize how much autistic people have enriched the scope of human knowledge and diversity, and how impoverished the world would be without them. --San Francisco Chronicle
Breathtaking... As emotionally resonant as any [book] this year. --The Boston Globe
It's a readable, engaging story. But it's also a serious political and sociological critique, couched in a 500-page-long piece of original historical scholarship. --Salon
Stunning...a remarkable narrative...one of the most fascinating accounts of autism I have ever read. --Simon Baron-Cohen, The Lancet
Nothing short of a revelation... Sweeping and lovingly detailed. --Parent.co
The monks who inscribed beautiful manuscripts during the Middle Ages, Cavendish an 18th century scientist who explained electricity, and many of the geeks in Silicon Valley are all on the autism spectrum. Silberman reviews the history of autism treatments from horrible blaming of parents to the modern positive neurodiversity movement. Essential reading for anyone interested in psychology. --Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain
It is a beautifully written and thoughtfully crafted book, a historical tour of autism, richly populated with fascinating and engaging characters, and a rallying call to respect difference. --Science magazine
Epic and often shocking... Everyone with an interest in the history of science and medicine - how it has failed us, surprised us and benefited us - should read this book. --Chicago Tribune
The best book you can read to understand autism. --Gizmodo
This is perhaps the most significant history of the discovery, changing conception and public reaction to autism we will see in a generation. --TASH.org
A well-researched, readable report on the treatment of autism that explores its history and proposes significant changes for its future... In the foreword, Oliver Sacks writes that this "sweeping and penetrating history...is fascinating reading" that "will change how you think of autism." No argument with that assessment. --Kirkus Reviews

From the Author:

Steve Silberman is an award-winning investigative reporter and has covered science and cultural affairs for Wired and other national magazines for more than twenty years. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, TIME, Nature and Salon.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen and Unwin
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1760113646
• ISBN 13: 9781760113643
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 592