Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2009
304 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
"The brain is wider than the sky
For, put them side by side,
The one the other will include
With ease, and you beside."
Emily Dickinson's poem expresses the universal belief that the mind has almost infinite capacities. Yet most of people only scratch the surface. Memories often fail; people often give lousy driving directions; and calculators are needed for simple math problems.
Daniel Tammet is one of the world's most famous autistic savants, not only because his memory, math, and language skills are so astonishing, but because he can express himself so beautifully and clearly. He also has one of the world's most examined brains, having been the subject of leading neuroscientists in the U.S. and the U.K. Here, he explains what science has learned about him and about the brain in general, and he explains the techniques he uses to master language, math, and memorization. Everyone has the capacity to unlock their "hidden Rain Man," and Daniel is in the perfect position to explain how.
Many people's brains automatically sift information, to "get the gist." Daniel explains how we can learn to observe better. Many people have heard of such memory tricks as associating names with a visual cue, but Daniel explains how associative thinking can help in many other areas. Throughout, he draws on his personal experience in fascinating and profound ways. The deepest secrets of the brain may be hidden in plain sight among savants like Daniel. His tour of brain science will fascinate and instruct like no other work of its kind.
"Starred Review. Tammet concludes that all humans have something unique to contribute to the world, and he himself has a gift for rendering science accessible and even delightful." - Publishers Weekly.
This information about Embracing the Wide Sky was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Tammet was born in London, England in 1979 and began writing in 2005. His first book, Born On A Blue Day, subtitled 'A Memoir of Asperger's and an Extraordinary Mind', was first published in the UK in 2006 and became a Sunday Times bestseller. The US edition, published in 2007, spent 8 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2008, the American Library Association named it a 'Best Book for Young Adults'. It was also a Booklist Editors' Choice. It has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, and been translated into more than 20 languages.
In 2009, Tammet published Embracing the Wide Sky, a personal survey of current neuroscience. The French edition (co-translated by Tammet himself) became one of the country's best-selling non-fiction books of the year. It also appeared on bestseller ...
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