Off the Charts: The Hidden Lives and Lessons of American Child Prodigies

Author: Hulbert, Ann

Format: Deckle Edge

Number Of Pages: 400

Details:

From the author of the widely praised Raising America--a compelling exploration of child genius told through the gripping stories of fifteen exceptionally gifted boys and girls, from a math wonder a century ago to young jazz and classical piano virtuosos today. A thought-provoking book for a time when parents anxiously aspire to raise "super children" and experts worry the nation is wasting the brilliant young minds it needs. Ann Hulbert examines the lives of children whose rare accomplishments have raised hopes about untapped human potential and questions about how best to nurture it. She probes the changing role of parents and teachers, as well as of psychologists and a curious press. Above all, she delves into the feelings of the prodigies themselves, who push back against adults more as the decades proceed. Among the children are the math genius Norbert Wiener, founder of cybernetics, a Harvard graduate student at age fifteen; two girls, a poet and a novelist, whose published work stirred debate in the 1920s; the movie superstar Shirley Temple and the African American pianist and composer Philippa Schuyler; the chess champion Bobby Fischer; computer pioneers and autistic "prodigious savants"; and musical prodigies, present and past. Off the Charts also tells the surprising inside stories of Lewis Terman's prewar study of high-IQ children and of the postwar talent search begun at Johns Hopkins, and discovers what Tiger Mom Amy Chua really has to tell us. But in these moving stories, it is the children who deliver the most important messages.

Reviews:

Praise for Off the Charts

"Engaging and insightful . . . Ms. Hulbert approaches her dozen or so subjects not as a social scientist but as biographer and essayist, where her skills are superlative." —John Donvan, The Wall Street Journal

“Hulbert’s book is smart—as all her books have been . . . Rather than ordinary kids with ordinary parents, these are the outliers. . . . What can we learn, in a society dedicated to high-achieving children, from children who seem ‘naturally’ off the charts in their achievements? . . . [Hulbert] does the good work, throughout, of resisting morals or too neat generalizations.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker  

“Part ode to young genius, part indictment of helicopter parenting, Hulbert’s crisply written account of überachieving kids probes our own complicated obsessions with talent and the need to stand out.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Compelling . . . Wide-ranging . . . The major theme is childhood brilliance, of course, but equally compelling are the minor ones: alienation, wonder, preternatural focus and discipline, misunderstandings, rebellions, often-tragic adulthoods, and inevitably, the minefield of parenting. . . . Child prodigies have always been fascinating [and] today their lives resonate with special force.”

— Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, The Washington Post

“A fascinating if at times disturbing chronicle of how 15 prodigies came to the world’s attention—and at what cost. Hulbert disabuses readers of the romantic notion that prodigies are born and not made, introducing us to the cast of supporting characters that push the child’s star . . . [She] makes clear, in this nuanced and meticulous book, that when it comes to the prodigy’s gift, the peril is indivisible from the glory” —Nancy Rommelmann, Newsday  

“The richness of the book, and the pleasure of it, is in the human stories. . . . Hulbert has chosen her wunderkinds carefully, recognizing them not only for their individual brilliance but also as pint-sized portraits of their eras.” —Rachel Sugar, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“In Off the Charts Hulbert attempts to capture the complicated lives of child prodigies without descending into voyeurism or caricature. She has tried to ‘listen hard for the prodigies’ side of the story,’ to her great credit .” —Amanda Ripley, The New York Times Book Review

“A profound, sensitive look at what it takes to make a child prodigy, and...

EAN: 9781101947296

Release Date: 09-01-2018

Languages: English

Item Note: Readable book with typical wear and small creases. Part of cover is torn. Has a remainder mark. Hardcover Used - Good 2018

Item Condition: UsedGood

Binding: Hardcover