Islands of Genius

Darold Treffert's Islands of Genius provides a fascinating and richly detailed account of the clinical and neuropsychological aspects of savant syndrome, the presence of very unusual abilities in persons with developmental disabilities. Treffert shares his lifetime of interest and learning, through clinical work and research, about persons with savant syndrome in this well-organized, timely, and respectful work... Here is a respectful, humanistic, optimistic book written by a master clinician-scientist who sees the whole person: history, gifts and challenges, environment, relationships. The book is a fascinating read that can be easily accessed by college students, professionals, and people in the general population who are interested in savant syndrome, including parents. -- American Journal of Psychiatry This is a beautifully written, inspiring and fascinating book by the man who probably knows more than anyone else about savant syndrome - the rare condition in which some individuals with disorders such as autism have one or more areas of ability or brilliance: islands of genius . -- Human Givens No one in the world can match Darold Treffert's experience and understanding of savant syndromes - he has spent nearly half a century immersed in the subject. And when he writes of the beautiful mind of the savant, Treffert shows the openness and generosity of his own mind. Islands of Genius brings us fully up to date with the latest research, and like all of Treffert's work, it is imbued with deep intellectual and emotional understanding. This is an indispensable examination of a remarkable human condition. -- Oliver Sacks, Professor of Neurology & Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center This book takes you on a wondrous journey through the mind of savants. Their abilities need to be nurtured and developed. Everyone who is interested in the human mind should read this important book. -- Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures Few people would or should want to learn to recite Pi to 22,514 decimal places, draw landmarks in breathtaking detail, or remember the contents of 12,000 books. Everyone is different. By refusing to gawp at these feats, preferring instead to focus on the person behind them, Dr Treffert sends out the message that it is the creative, imaginative processes at the root of such abilities that matter most. Only by considering the context of savants' lives can we more fully and properly understand the gifts that they possess. -- from the foreword by Daniel Tammet, author of Born On A Blue Day This reviewer has had a great experience by reading this book and recommend it warmly to all colleagues. -- Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association (translated from the Norwegian) Walk through a bookstore or library these days, and you'll find several dozen books on the workings of your brain. I believe, though, that this one is quite likely the most intriguing of all. Using case studies, reader-friendly medicine, and contagious curiosity, Treffert leads his readers on a tour of one facet of brain science that even Hollywood seems taken with, but about which few books are written... Armchair scientists, parents, educators, and anybody with an interest in brain works will find Islands of Genius fascinating and fresh. For you, savoring this book is a true no-brainer. -- Washington Informer Darold Treffert's Islands of Genius provides a fascinating and richly detailed account of the clinical and neuropsychological aspects of savant syndrome, the presence of very unusual abilities in persons with developmental disabilities. Treffert shares his lifetime of interest and learning, through clinical work and research, about persons with savant syndrome in this well-organized, timely, and respectful work... Here is a respectful, humanistic, optimistic book written by a master clinician-scientist who sees the whole person: history, gifts and challenges, environment, relationships. The book is a fascinating read that can be easily accessed by college students, professionals, and people in the general population who are interested in savant syndrome, including parents. The author is deeply respectful of the talents of those with savant syndrome and sees these as evidence of great talent to be more fully developed, as a source of satisfaction and meaning for the talented person and a source of betterment of others. He understands people with savant syndrome as part of the whole society--not as separate, interesting cases but rather as growing, developing, immensely talented people involved in relationships, loved by others, and demonstrating the brain plasticity and capacity that is available to all of us. -- The American Journal of Psychiatry For nearly half a century, Darold Treffert has single-mindedly pursued one focus: unraveling the mystery of the mind of the savant. This book is his third on savant personalities, and his vivid pictures of savant skills are always presented as attributes of real people--not as features of a clinical syndrome (Treffert, 1989, 2006). He views savants as extraordinary people with extraordinary strengths, not extraordinary weaknesses or deficits. This latest work is rich with personal histories of individuals whose unique skills would be difficult to explain in people who are labeled gifted and talented, and would be even more difficult to explain in persons diagnosed as having a disability such as autism. -- American Psychological Association He never writes of savants as simply curiosities and the tenderness with which he relates their stories and those of their carers could serve as an example to us all. -- British Journal of Psychiatry