Publisher's Synopsis
Beautifully rendered, painstakingly researched, and completely absorbing, Nine Minds offers something that autistic people urgently need: it humanises us - Katherine May, author of WINTERING and ENCHANTMENT
A Japanese researcher in psychology sets out to measure loneliness while drawing on her own experience of autism. A quirky boy growing up in 1950s Ottawa sows the seeds of his future Hollywood stardom. In the US, a non-verbal man explores body language, gesture by eloquent gesture, in his mother's yoga classes.
Nine Minds delves into the extraordinary lives of nine neurodivergent men and women from around the globe. From a Fields Medal-winning mathematician to a murder detective, a pioneering surgeon to a bestselling novelist, each is remarkable in their field, and each is changing how the world sees those on the spectrum.
Exploding the tired stereotypes of autism, Daniel Tammet - acclaimed author and an autistic savant himself - reaches across the divides of age, gender, sexuality and nationality to draw out the inner worlds of his subjects. Telling stories as richly diverse as the spectrum itself, this illuminating, life-affirming work of narrative nonfiction celebrates the power and beauty of the neurodivergent mind, and the daring freedom with which these individuals have built their lives.
Beautiful and intimate and mind-expanding. We generally presume that everyone's inner life is like our own; only rarely do we get to dive deeply into the mind of another, much less nine of them. Tammet gives us this opportunity with his characteristic eloquence, insight, and grace - David Eagleman, neurologist and author of INCOGNITO and LIVEWIRED
A study of remarkable people on the spectrum and their dazzling accomplishments. Written with insight, generosity, compassion and narrative energy, Tammet's exquisite portraits remind us that the variety of brains is every bit as essential as any other form of diversity that sustains the planet - Andrew Solomon, author of FAR FROM THE TREE
Daniel Tammet's wonderful portraits of autistic people's inner lives illustrate the range of neurodivergent talents and experiences, and celebrate human cognitive diversity - Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University, author of THE PATTERN SEEKERS
