Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness - Hardcover

David Weeks; Jamie James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394565657 ISBN 13: 9780394565651

Publisher: Villard, 1995

Synopsis

From 1859 to 1880, Joshua Abraham Norton thought he was Emperor of the United States. Ann Atkin keeps 7,500 garden gnomes in her backyard. Brooklyn artist Peter McGough dresses and acts as if it were 1895. These are just a few of the eccentrics discussed by Dr. Weeks, the world's foremost expert on the subject.

About this title

Review:

This book summarizes findings from the first systematic study of "eccentrics": highly talented and unusual people who are somewhere between "normal" and "nuts". This is a domain occupied by genuine geniuses and charming crackpots whose common feature is that they refuse to hold commonly held beliefs or refuse to act in accordance with the norms of society. Although the book would have been a more compelling read if it treated each individual in more depth, and its conclusions more convincing if there were more tables of data, it is nonetheless a delightful book that will give you either more respect for the eccentric (if you believe that you are "normal") or greater confidence in yourself (if you suspect--or know--that you are eccentric). Recommended.

About the Author:

DR. DAVID WEEKS has been a clinical neuropsychologist and psychotherapist at Scotland's Royal Edinburgh Hospital. JAMIE JAMES, the author of The Music of the Spheres, writes about music, science, and art for a variety of magazines.

About this edition

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0394565657
• ISBN 13: 9780394565651
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 277