Fairly good overall, but Grandin often presumes that her experience of autism is universal across the autistic spectrum, and only belatedly corrects some of these assumptions in her updated postscripts to several of the chapters (added in the expanded addition). ( )

The autistic cattle machinery designer writing about how she thinks. Interesting, though I would have liked more about her life. ( )

An amazing book. Temple Grandin is a person extraordinary and gives us insight how it is to live with autism. She is very educated in brain science and animal science. Highly, higly recommended ( )

This was one of those books that I learned a great deal from and treasure. A good eye opener. Highly recommended. ( )

This is the book that sparked my interest in and curiosity about autism.

Before I read it, all I knew of autism was the stereotypical idea of a kid huddled in a corner, non-speaking, closed out from the world. But I learned that there are many forms of autism, some quite high-functioning, some unrecognizable from what I had assumed. Temple Grandin describes her own experiences, her journey through school, her amazing aunt who helped her channel an obsessive interest and turn it into a career at which she became very successful. Grandin explains how autism causes her senses to function differently from normal people's (mostly in being more sensitive). Because of this, she can understand why animals respond in certain ways to their environment; and she used this ability along with her drawing skills, to design more humane livestock-handling systems. Her work was innovative and award-winning.

This is a fascinating book on many levels. It can feel a bit disjointed, moving from one theme or subject to another unexpectedly, and sometimes you have to step back from the book to see how it all connects together. But I did not find this bothersome, seeing how difficult it was for the author to learn to write at all and present her thoughts in writing.

Read the original review on Dog Ear Diary ( )