Recommended for These Courses
Description
When anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker's daughter was diagnosed with autism in 1994, it was considered a very rare disorder, occurring in only about 1 in every 10,000 children. Within ten years, rates as high as 1 in 150 were being reported, and the media was declaring autism an epidemic. Unstrange Minds documents Grinker's quest to find out why autism is so much more common today, and to uncover the implications of the increase. His search took him to Africa, India, and East Asia, to the National Institutes of Mental Health, and to the mountains of Appalachia. What he discovered is both surprising and controversial: There is no true increase in autism. Grinker shows that the identification and treatment of autism depends on culture just as much as on science. As more and more cases of autism are documented, doctors are describing the disorder better, school systems are coding it better—and children are benefiting. Filled with moving stories and informed by the latest science, Unstrange Minds is unlike any other book on autism. It is a powerful testament to a father's quest for the truth, and is urgently relevant to anyone whose life is touched by one of history's most puzzling disorders.
Runner-up for the 2007 Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing
Roy Richard Grinker is Professor of Anthropology and Director, George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research. He is the author of four other books, including the widely acclaimed In the Arms of Africa: The Life of Colin M. Turnbull. He lectures widely at universities and to parents and professionals involved in autism. He lives in Cabin John, Maryland.
About the Author
Roy Richard Grinker is Professor of Anthropology and Director, George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research. He is the author of four other books, including the widely acclaimed In the Arms of Africa: The Life of Colin M. Turnbull. He lectures widely at universities and to parents and professionals involved in autism. He lives in Cabin John, Maryland.
Unstrange Minds is a well-written, carefully presented work of scientific research, looking at the cultural implications of autism. It manages to address key points about autism today, both internationally and very personally. I believe that anyone touched by autism, whether physician, psychologist, teacher, or parent, should read this book.
— Psychiatric Services
A fresh view of the challenges posed by this condition…Grinker’s exploration of cultural differences in attitudes to autism is very moving.
— Lorna Wing Nature
Hands down, Unstrange Minds is the most useful book of the bunch for anyone who is interested in learning more about autism.
— USA Today
Rigorous and compelling… Deeper and more provocative than other such memoirs, his work beautifully conveys the fact that Isabel is not her disability; instead she is invested with ‘an inner truth … struggling to blossom.’
— People Magazine
In Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism, Grinker uses the lens of anthropology to show how shifting cultural conditions change the way medical scientists do their work and how we perceive mental health.
— Time Magazine
Beautifully explores autism… ranks with Uta Frith's Autism: Explaining the Enigma as one of the great general books on autism.
— Library Journal
Scientifically rigorous and profoundly moving…
— AHA newsletter
[Unstrange Minds] makes the case that the rise in autism diagnosis is nothing more than an epidemic of discovery.
— Slate
His daughter Isabel was diagnosed in 1994, and his warmth and compassion for autistic children and parents alike shines through this immensely readable and informative narrative that looks closely at how culture influences the ways we understand, classify and treat autistic-spectrum disorders.
— Toronto Globe & Mail
Beautifully written look at autism through the lens of history and culture … marshals an impressive body of research to support his contention.
— UPI
In his new book Unstrange Minds, he confidently traces how the press distorted terminology and misrepresented statistics to create a dangerous myth, and his credentials couldn’t be better… most moving moments of Minds occur when he recalls his life with Isabel. As he describes watching her around her preschool, he writes like an experienced memoirist…
— Chicago Time Out
In the emotionally powerful second portion, Grinker details the experiences of parents of autistic children in South Africa, South Korea and India, how their respective societies view the disorder (often negatively) and the obstacles surmounted to increase awareness of autism, its treatment and management.
— Publishers Weekly
Grinker's worldwide scope embraces the personal experiences of families with autistic children from the U.S. to Africa and adds dimension and power to his position.
— Booklist
UNSTRANGE MINDS: REMAPPING THE WORLD OF AUTISM is a powerful survey of the parents of autistic children in South Africa, South Korea and India and how their societies view the disorder—and is written by an anthropologist and father of a daughter with autism.
— Midwest Book Review
An anthropologist as well as the parent of a child with autism, Grinker is perhaps uniquely placed to investigate the subject; and in Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism he weaves cutting-edge science, personal anecdote and wry humour into a compelling journey of discovery.
— Irish Times
Impassioned and thoughtful … [Grinker] makes a number of fascinating points about how doctors and health professionals understand issues pertaining to mental health and how cultural shifts can influence such understanding.
— Medscape Pediatrics online
Order from an online bookseller
Find a local bookseller
(Check your local Yellow Pages for a bookstore near you.)
International online orders
Domestic and International offline orders
The Perseus Books Group
Customer Service Department
1094 Flex Drive
Jackson, TN 38301
Return to top
