Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet
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Book Reviews of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Book Review: Awesome Read !
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this book and decided to kill a little time before the Super Bowl so I started reading it. I did not stop until I read 122 pages !!!
This book will have you in awe! Well written, fascinating, and touching.
Book Review: Truly Inspiring!
Summary: 5 Stars
An "extraordinary mind" and a wonderful person. I couldn't put this book down. I am grateful to Mr. Tammet for sharing his story.Book Review: Growing up with a head full of numbers
Summary: 4 Stars
It's fascinating to watch numerical savants on TV -- performing bizarre and seemingly impossible tasks like telling strangers the day of the week on which they were born or on which they'll turn 65. But aside from their phenomenal talents, many of these people -- individuals on the autism/Asperger's spectrum -- are profoundly disabled. They have enormous difficulty with simple tasks, and are huge emotional and financial drains on their families. "Born on a Blue Day" is Daniel Tammet's memoir of his own life as a high-functioning person with Asperger's Syndrome. He takes us on an interior tour of his own life, from the cradle to his mid-20s. Tammet is luckier than many who share his challenges. His parents were loving and caring and provided the enormous emotional support required to tend a child who lives by rules that most of us would find bizarre. Though able to solve difficult math puzzles in his head in startlingly creative visual ways, he cannot comprehend seemingly simple rules of human interaction. He had to be trained laboriously to maintain eye contact with people.
Tammet's youth was extremely lonely and painful, taking place as it did before much was known about Asperger's. He had a profound and alienating sense of being different, but had no way to cope other than retreating into his own peculiar activities, like stacking coins or listening to songs literally hundreds of times in succession. Yet in his late teens, Tammet (for whom a bus trip across town could be terrifying) decides to take an overseas teaching assignment. Through this adventure and others, he begins to reach out to others. Eventually, he falls in love and comes to the attention of the media, becoming the subject of a documentary and an interview with David Letterman.
Tammet's ability to bring readers into his strange, inner world makes "Born on a Blue Day" so interesting and profoundly moving. By the end of the book, you may understand better what being autistic is from the inside out, and come to appreciate the odd logic and extreme literalness that underlies the special traits of those with Asperger's. It's only the final third of the book, dealing with Tammet's triumphs, that was a bit disappointing. It is hard to connect the pathological introverted Daniel of the first part of the book with the seemingly outside-world-focused young man of the last part. Tammet may himself not understand what made him change (or at least be able to tolerate change better) and this is a lingering puzzle.
"Born on Blue Day" was a very worthwhile read. Tammet punctuated his story with scientific information about autism and the organizations that assist the autistic. His book, along with Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" helped to make those with autism and Asperger's more real and more human -- a worthy endeavor!
Book Review: Are You Getting The Picture?
Summary: 4 Stars
After I saw the author on television, I had to get his book. As an analytical person with a background in mathematics, I had to see how someone could do calculations in their head that would take me hours to run.
The book takes Daniel through his life in his own words. He explains what went on in his mind and what he felt that made him act or act out. An absolutely fascinating look into how an autistic savant (Asperger's Syndrome) experiences the world.
He sees numbers as having shape, texture and color, fitting them together like a puzzle to solve complex math problems. He can even tell what day of the week a date will fall on in the past or future.
Who's to say his mind isn't working correctly and mine isn't? Do the math.
Book Review: An amazing indiviual.
Summary: 4 Stars
Most people will love to read the first chapter regarding how Daniel is able to memorize and calculate numbers in regards to his synesthesia (seeing numbers in colors and shapes). The rest of the book is written very matter of fact in regards to his life, birth and to finding love and a certain fame. It is written in a matter of fact honest way that i really enjoyed. I've seen some people comment that it was a little on the boring side but i disagree. His honest assesment of his life is laid out on the book. He is an amazing individual.
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