Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation

Book Description

A dramatic portrait of George Washington's presidential years, Patriarch is a gripping story of politics and statecraft. Smith describes Washington's struggle to preside over the bitter feud between Jefferson and Hamilton--two brilliant members of his cabinet--while attempting to distinguish the first presidency.

Customer Reviews:

Washington the true Father of the Country.......2007-07-03

This book concentrates on Washington's administration. It gave me a new appreciation for how instrumental he was in building the nation--not just freeing a collection of thirteen states from Britain.

Except for what I felt was the author's ponderous style, this is a great book.

Good information and stories, but difficult to read.......2006-05-30

If you are looking to add to an existing collection of books on Washington, this would really help complement it. This book was not what I was looking for, however.

What I was looking for was a book that (1) shed light on Washington as the man who presided over the creation of a new nation and (2) did not go over the head of someone who didn't take any American History class at the college level. It sorta met these criteria, but I think it would be more appreciated by someone who were familiar with the historical context and wanted to add to it. I felt like I read a lot of snippets which shed some light during this period in his life, but I didn't get a good feel of the significance or the context of his achievements.

Biographies (which this really isn't, because it only covered his life in the 1790's) are difficult to write because you have to present the facts but make it appealing as a fictional story (narrative trajectory, character development, etc...). I felt that the author has an elegant style of writing, but I kept saying "So what?" to myself at the end of the chapters. The book describes many instances where Washington maintained the delicate balance between the "Hamilton" style vs. the "Jefferson" philosophies of the federal government, along with many other political maneuverings and actions which occurred, but my impressions are that this book is better suited for complementing someone's existing knowledge of his achievements than a layperson like me who is several years removed from AP History.

A George Washington we can all shake hands with........2005-05-06

I bought Richard N. Smith's "Patriarch" at an airport gift shop because I was looking at two long boring flights and there wasn't any book that looked better. The situation was grim because I am no learned scholar or erudite student with 200 other books about Washington on the shelves.
But once I started "Patriarch" I simply could barely put it down. Somehow, Richard Smith was coaxing that cheerless Washington out of that stodgy old painting we've all seen and bringing GW to life. The "Founding Father" was - surprise - a real life person and, truth is, as a person and a statesman, he was positively jam up!
Before "Patriarch", it never occured to me what a real-time, online chore he had launchinig this country during his first Presidency. He, and mostly he alone, was the cool forge water that quenched Hamilton's fire and tempered Jefferson's steel to save the new country from a virtual "crib death". Washington's shepherding of the Constitution from damp and dangerous footing to solid ground was a feat nothing short of Incredible. And as the pages of "Patriarch" flew by for this jaded 60s-era non-Historian Washington's stature rose again like a Phoenix, and for the first time I understood why that glum old guy in that drab old picture was, and is, so venerated even 200 years after his death.
This book, "Patriarch", is George Washinton - The Man - at his Best, and thanks to Richard Norton Smith, you will actually enjoy meeting him this time around.

Extensive Groundwork.......2003-07-23

I was fascinated with this book about Washington's Presidency, but I would be remiss in not mentioning that is not much concerned with anything outside his presidency. It is not dry or lacking in details, but I found myself becoming more interested in the fleeting, anectdotal passages, or some of the more personal interactions Washington had. For instance, I found it gripping to follow Washington's decision making process when he is presented with evidence that a close acquaintance may be a traitor. This story only goes on for about two pages and similar examinations are found only few and far between the long stretches on global situations and policies. However, I would guess this proves that one of the important things to note about Washington was that he was not as outwardly notable as some of the more flamboyant and boisterous of those founding fellows surrounding him.

I feel very informed about Washington the president, but I would now like to learn a little bit more about the man.

Good, but not the best.......2003-05-26

I found Smith's biography of Washington educational, but at times dry. I certainly learned a lot in reference to Washington and the various trials he faced in holding together a fledgling government. However, I also found less enjoyment in this book than in others about Washington's contemporaries. Students of history and particularly government and diplomacy will find this book very informative. It is not however, for the average reader merely looking to become more familar with our first president.

Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation

Average customer rating:

Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation
Richard Norton Smith
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J2GWNS

Amazon.com

Peter Elbow calls it "freewriting." Julia Cameron refers to it as "morning pages." Mark Levy prefers the term "private writing." What they are all referring to is a timed, continuous-writing exercise, with no editing allowed. The messier the better. While Elbow and Cameron use the method as a way of improving one's personal writing and learning what one has to say, Levy applies its use to the business world. Businesspeople, too, he says, "should have fun with their subject. Give it fresh attention. View it from different angles." He makes a compelling argument for using private writing at work to get oneself to think outside the box. Too often, he says, we do things a certain way solely because that's the way they've always been done. Processes become so institutionalized that it takes "bursts of exceptional insight, or ...genius moments" to move beyond them. Levy's techniques for using private writing at work include "reality tweaking" (what if the budget were 100 times bigger or smaller?), having imaginary conversations with real people, and using "thought starters" to get the ball rolling. He also advocates the use of private writing to assess one's career and consider alternatives. Perhaps his most salient advice is, "Buy yourself a timer that doesn't make a clicking noise as it counts down." --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

Private writing enables businesspeople to get at their best, most creative, and most practical thinking. Mark Levy advocates writing without concern for grammar, punctuation, or style to achieve expressions of pure thought. He urges readers to write quickly on the theory that fast is honest. He also encourages writers to identify energy sources, follow digressions in thinking, investigate multiple perspectives, and translate written wisdom into real action.

Customer Reviews:

Notes to self..........2006-10-25

Accidental Genius is a quick read, but has a series of ideas that will keep you reading your favorite author (yourself!) for a long time to come.

This book is about using private writing to sharpen your own thinking. This is not a book about written communications. If you're looking for written communications skills, you can't do better than The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto - which is considered The Bible among consulting firms.

If you're like me, you would have noticed that your typing fingers have a mind of their own - ideas start forming *after* you've started writing about them. Words starting forming on their own, and before you know it, you have a fully formed idea staring back at you on the computer monitor. This book writes out a few ways you can actually use this writing momentum to your advantage. The writing you would do as a result is meant for your eyes only. Writing in free-form and then reviewing the text makes the ideas present themselves to us in black and white (literally!), allowing us to refine them until they're ready.

I travel on long flights, and have found the approaches in this book extremely useful in clarifying my thinking, and passing time.

Explore powerful insight generation with...apply structure & purpose to - & extract some value from - your own private writings!.......2006-10-19

Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing )
by Mark Levy

I have had this book for quite a while & I have also reread it several times. I have been attracted to the book in the first place by what the author writes in the Introduction:

- Every recognized innovation has, in some way, been a product of human thought. It stands to reason, then, that the thoughts appearing in your mind have an enormous, potential value to you & the world;

- Sometimes your best thoughts must be coaxed out, & played with, before they reach their fullest potential;

- The world's most progressive companies have sophisticated infrastructures just to develop, and protect, the kinds of thoughts that you've already had or are capable of having;

What does this book do, in a nut shell: it teaches you how to get at what you're thinking on paper, so you can convert the raw material of your thoughts into something useable, using an energising body of techniques called 'private writing'. It entails examining all kinds of work/life situations & creating solutions for them through personal reflection and free-form writing.

The chapter on 'Extracting Gold from a Business Book' is my personal favourite.

For me, I have often used the author's writing techniques as a catalyst to guide my own best thinking on paper. I use what I often like to term as my 'scratch pad', foolscape-size, spiral-bound, 100 pages per pad, 100 gms weight, similar to the type artists use, in conjuction with a multi-colour/multi-utility pen from Rotring. At one point in time, (for about 3 years) I used the Bienfang spiral-bound note/sketch pads until the only local supplier went out of business unexpectedly.

On many occasions, I have astonished myself by being able to wrestle with the valuable business & life insights from my own seemingly disparate 'private writing' pages. I have translated many of my valuable insights into pragmatic projects. One of the sideline projects is writing reviews on amazon website.

I have noted that one of the most outstanding results of 'private writing' is honing my own critical & creative thinking processes.

Because of my personal interests in visual thinking, I often incorporate the 'rapid visualisation' & 'deliberate doodling' techniques I have picked up from Kurt Hanks as well as Joy Sikorski into my 'private writing' processes. As most readers may know, Kurt crafted the classic book, Rapid Viz, among many others. Joy crafted the following three marvellous doodling books, which I also own:

- How to Draw a Cup of Coffee & Other Fun Ideas;
- How to Draw a Radish & Other Fun Things to do at Work;
- How to Draw a Clam: A Wonderful Vacation Planner;

I have drawn phenomenal power from my purposeful integration of 'private writing' with 'rapid visualisation' & 'delberate doodling'. That's why I always use a multi-colour/multi-utlity Rotring pen in my work. My scratch pad is always a visual smorgasbord of relatively heavy text, mystical doodles & logical illustrations (thanks & no thanks to my engineering training!).

To conclude my review, Accidental Genius, is a real, rare gem. I strongly recommend this book to any reader who wants to explore powerful insight generation, &/or to apply some structure & purpose to - & at the end, extract some value from - all those notes you've been writing to yourself.

Good bones.......2003-07-15

How many times have you looked at a new idea or invention and said "I thought of doing that once..." How many times have you forgotten things because you didn't write them down? Answers: lots of times, lots of times.

Now ask yourself "How many good ideas have come to me pure, shining forth with no clutter around them, precisely when I needed them?" The answer is likely to be "Never."

Accidental Genius tries to capitalize on these truisms by suggesting that the mechanism of writing can liberate the mind and allow the good ideas to pour forth - amid lots of debris, even nonsense. "Write fast, as close to the speed of your thinking as you can," says Levy, and with a timer (one that doesn't tick). And be relaxed while you do it.

The private writing log, which is Levy's main tool, can contain a journal, jottings on a problem or a wish, conversations with self or imaginary interlocutors, fantastic scenarios ranging from phenomenal strokes of good luck to horrifying catastrophe.

During the time you assign yourself you pour it all into your log, which only you will see and use. Later, perhaps much later, you will look over what you've written and try to extract the gold nuggets. For the price of a pencil and a pad of paper, you have built yourself a personal brainstormer.

Thought-logging has a long tradition among writing; many writers cannot survive without a notebook. Too many character sketches, images, details, dialogue and states of mind would be lost forever. However, the stated purpose of Levy's method is not to become a great or even a publishable writer but to keep a record of your thoughts for revisiting and future profit. The book is aimed at businesspeople but, at least in theory, anyone could benefit from the Levy method.

First, the method, which seems inspired by meditation techniques -- paradoxically, it replaces mind-quieting with page-filling --, requires a relaxed state of mind before starting a thought-logging session. Thus, the practice will be much easier for experienced meditators than for people who constantly carry unacknowledged tensions, fears, or other obstacles.

Someone capable of quieting his mind and relaxing may find it disconcerting to subject himself to a fast-paced exercise in free writing. Indeed, such a person may not want to get good ideas in this seemingly crass and haphazard way. Yet, in principle, the Levy exercises are no more absurd than practicing archery or repeating mantras.

True, the tone of the book is boosterish, the author being almost too eager to tell you his secret recipe -- but as in food recipes, literary polish matters little and the results are everything. Wonderful things can be done with cabbage, raw fish and snails (ants and cockroaches, too).

Despite its rough surface, this brief book has the bones of a fine meditation manual for businesspeople and a possibly useful tool for removing mental obstructions and even promoting a degree of self-knowledge in the age of commodity and show -- Levy's tacitly assumed and accepted scenario (whether the acceptance is reluctant or not, we don't know).

Talking to yourself in writing cannot be a substitute for the lost art of civilized conversation, but it will likely be a useful exercise. At worst, the technique can work as a placebo or not work at all, in which case you have lost nothing (think homeopathy).

At best, it can inspire you to pay attention to your thoughts and to develop an eye for good ideas, as well as good work habits. And if it teaches how to be comfortable in your own company, this book will have been not just a good buy but a steal. Good bones.

Does Writing Have To Be like Sweating Blood? No..........2002-12-14

Many people have preconceptions about how the writing process goes. Grueling, frustrating and aggravating are just a few. This book shows you how to let go of your inner editor using private writing to let those unpolished gems come to the surface. Writing is work, but there are ways to make it easier and this book gives numerous useful strategies for moving past writing blocks and barriers when you have to write. It is very clearly, creatively and humorously written. Leavy illustrates many of his concepts with examples from his own writing. The most useful thing about this book is that it demystifies the process of writing and shows you multiple ways to create new ideas, strategies and perspectives. These are real, useful strategies, not "learn our new system and you will be successful" systems that are so complicated that you never use them after you read the book. I started using them when I was a quarter of the way through the book and produced 20 pages of single space material in one day. Not all that was great, but I was surprised at how good some of it was. It turned out there were a lot of good ideas in my head just waiting to get out. We are moving toward a knowledge society and most companies get their best value from ideas. This small, potent book will pay you back many times over by helping you get your ideas onto paper and into the world.

Easy and fun to read. It will change my learning habits.......2002-03-30

This is a great book. It's short, easy to read, and entertaining. But it's also a very powerful book that will change the way you approach creativity and learning.

It's not just about "private writing", it's about how to generate creative ideas and increase your learning and retention of what you read. It's also about how to clarify your thinking. The book has more than enough ideas to improve your life than what you would expect in his 141 page book.

I give it an A+ in my rating scale. This is a MUST READ for those who want to increase their learning, creativity and retention.

Book Description

In the world of independent filmmaking, John Cassavetes became the prototypical outsider fighting the system for much of his career. A major star of live television and a serious actor, he stumbled into making his first film, Shadows, and created a template for working outside the Hollywood system that would produce some of the most piercing and human films of the last thirty years including A Women Under the Influence and Husbands.Film critic Marshall Fine has been hailed by the New York Times for this "first full life of Cassavetes." The Minneapolis Star Tribune said, "Accidental Genius is as thoroughly researched as an academic study but reads like a pop biography minus the fawning." Fine reveals the passion and singularity that characterized Cassavetes and his lasting influence on filmmaking.

Customer Reviews:

Any film library needs this........2007-02-09

The rise of independent film in Hollywood is an event which boils down to the efforts of one man: John Cassavetes. ACCIDENTAL GENIUS: HOW JOHN CASSAVETES INVENTED THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FILM is thus a biography any film buff will want: it holds an essential key to understanding the foundations and evolution of independent film as a whole, revealing his life and work in context of the evolving Hollywood industry. Any film library needs this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

snooozer.......2006-12-17

Not sure why I picked this book up. Knowing next to nothing about Cassavetes before attempting this book, I decided halfway through it, that I don't care who Cassevetes is. Not my cup of tea at all.

Reverential Biography of the Film Auteur Who Gave Rise to Independent American Cinema-Verité.......2006-08-14

I just saw one of John Cassavetes' early films as a director, 1963's "A Child Is Waiting", which he apparently disowned once producer Stanley Kramer edited it to make the story of mentally disabled children in a state-run institution a more sentimental movie. Despite Cassavetes' misgivings about the finished product, what remains has some truly unexpected moments of emotional honesty. Author Marshall Fine, film and TV critic for Star Magazine, has written a thorough, sometimes effusive biography of the film auteur who died in 1989. Cassavetes is most definitely a worthy subject for a comprehensive book, as he was a groundbreaking filmmaker who made gritty, low-budget independent films well before Sundance.

His style was polarizing, but there is no getting around the fact that he dared to go to places other filmmakers feared, primarily the dark spaces where self-pity and hurtful actions were predominant. Even though his favorite director was ironically the supreme optimist Frank Capra, Cassavetes liked exposing the chaotic nature of life among the middle classes and refused to tie up loose ends for the sake of a happy ending. Fine does an illuminating job of showing the filmmaker's psyche at work and how he kept the focus constantly on the actors, especially as he created an intimate environment where spontaneity was encouraged and prized. Lacking the desire for a more formal process, Cassavetes employed a hand-held, semi-documentary style to elicit the naturalism he wanted to capture even when it meant constant script rewrites.

The author also explores the downside of the filmmaker's work techniques: his quick temper, his megalomania, his lack of savvy in dealing with studio bosses. More importantly, Fine takes us behind the scenes on each of Cassavetes' films beginning with 1959's jazz-infused "Shadows" of which he did two versions. From there, we see him at work on such acknowledged classics as "Faces" and "A Woman Under the Influence" all the way through the end of his life when he took over from Andrew Bergman on 1989's "Big Trouble" as he was dying of cirrhosis of the liver. Recollections are meticulously detailed but do not feel extraneous. It's a fascinating career well documented by Fine, though I wish he could have been more critical on the finished films and more interested in letting us know who is carrying on Cassavetes' legacy.

FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF A DYNAMIC MAN.......2006-05-24

Biographer Marshall Fine (Harvey Keitel and The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah) introduces us to John Cassavetes by describing a 1954 night on a deserted New York street when the actor frightened away four thugs by "pretending to be a madman having a full-blown psychotic episode."

From this incident we learn as many would later discover that Cassavetes was someone who enjoyed turning things around, he loved spontaneity. Later he would become known as a gifted actor, an innovative director, the man whom many consider to be the father of independent films.

Although she declined to be interviewed, responding as she always did that John did not want a biography, Cassavetes' widow, Gina Rowlands, did give Fine her approval and access to many of the actor's close friends and associates. Thus, we are rewarded with an intimate portrait of this enigmatic individual who so changed the way we view and think of movies today.

After success as a star in 1950s television, Cassavetes began his highly acclaimed motion work work and made his first film, Shadows (1959). It was while he was serving as director of an acting workshop that he came up with a blueprint for films other than the ones made inside the then accepted system. In order to do this he tackled subjects other film makers wouldn't touch - race relations in America, marital relationships.

Faces, which many consider to be one of his finest works, received three Academy Award nominations, one of which was for best screenplay by Cassavetes. Later, Woman Under The Influence garnered an Oscar nomination for Gina Rowlands as best actress in a leading role and Cassavetes was nominated Best Director. Those were not his only accolades - as an actor he won an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor for The Dirty Dozen.

Much of the richness in this extensive bio is found in the recollections of Cassavetes' close friends, such as Peter Falk and Ben Gazarra. Accidental Genius is a fascinating account of a dynamic and driven man who said, "It is not so important that people like your films. It's only important that you make something you like."

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

Someone FINALLY Got it Right!!.......2006-04-18

After years of either being forgotten by the genral public or written about in the most pretentious, yawn-inducing dirges, author Marshall Fine finally got it right in his bio of actor/director John Cassavetes. The author's style is accesible, his subject fascinating and the theme is undeniable. Cassavetes is to independent cinema what Elvis Presley was to Rock and Roll: Neither one invented their respected venues but they definitely created the way in which they are percieved today.
Not only does the author give the man his due, but the freshly recounted anecdotes of Cassavetes' cohorts certainly brings the man back to life. No, it's not like having him in the room with you -- it's more like being at the Irish wake in which friends recount with a glass held high what it was that made the man so great.
To the naysayers who have already written about this book, what did you guys read?? Fine does not state that Cassavetes 'created' independent American films but is the progenitor, as in laying down the groundwork that others have followed. Before Ruth Orkin and Morris Engels, there was also independent black filmmaker Oscar Michenaux and Kenneth Anger, and countless others but the original consistency of effort and undeniable style belonged to Cassavetes alone. All hail the Acciental Genuis!!
One quibble: Why no index? It makes looking up remebered moments MUCH eaiser to find.

Average customer rating:

Sad...
Could hardly put it down!
This book tells it like it is!
Poorly written, but an interesting story.
"Accidental Parents" is a better title

Accidental Genius
Kevin James Kearney , and Cassidy Yumiko Kearney
Manufacturer: Woodshed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Special Needs | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Creativity & Genius | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0962874612

Book Description

Experienced home schoolers, Kevin and Cassidy Kearney explain in an easy-to-read guide-- packed with examples-- how you can take charge of the education of your gifted/special needs children.

Experts Kevin and Cassidy Kearney show you:

How you can have a more normal home life by tapping and redirecting the boundless hyper-energy of brilliant children...

14 undocumented characteristics of the highly gifted that put them at risk for being mislabeled as Learning Disabled or ADD/ADHD...

How smart girls are at special risk of not reaching their potential...

How children with high intellectual capacity are at great risk of developing destructive behaviors...

How to make a brighter future for your own pint-sized genius!

Customer Reviews:

Sad..........2006-12-19

This is one of the worst books on giftedness I've ever read. I bought the book thinking I would learn something about acceleration. What I got was nothing but a sad tale of a dysfunctional family whose mother is completely obsessed with her son's intelligence and her rationalizations for why she kept pushing him. Everything in their life is put on hold and everything in their life is sacrificed for the education of this ONE child. I'm sure Michael believes the world revolves around him -his family certainly believes it...and they don't do anything to teach him any different. Sadly for Michael, life only revolved around him,his education and his intelligence. He never experienced what it was like to be part of a family where EVERYONE was valued for who they are...not just their intelligence.

Could hardly put it down!.......2005-06-24

Yes, that's right... this was a fascinating story. And it was easy to read almost non-stop until I had heard it told. However, the book really does have many shortcomings. Perhaps just because the story is so fascinating that it raises all sorts of questions that are not addressed here. Most notably missing is Michael's own view on his childhood. How could the parents not think of including him in his own story? His own analysis would be at least as insightful as that of his parents. Especially since some of the speculation engaged in by the parents is of limited cogency. Particularly unsettling, in the midst of an already loose and casual narrative style, is the large number of spelling errors or similar proofreading errors that are in the book. Apparently this small press charges more money but offers less quality in its product. The story is fascinating and merits a 4 out of 5 rating for its interest alone. But the parental interpretation could have greatly benefited from editing, proofreading, and supplemental material provided by a third author - either a subject area expert or their "whiz kid" himself. Strangely, they refer to Michael's autobiography as if it is a published book somewhere, but web searches have turned up no sign of it. Nor is it included in the reference section at the back of this book. This book is fascinating, just as if one could meet directly with the parents and talk with them all day long. However, it really feels like a draft manuscript, rather than a polished and completed work. I am grateful it's available, but the story and subject deserved more thorough treatment.

This book tells it like it is!.......2003-06-23

My daughter entered full-time college at age 13 and graduated at age 16. This book gave the most accurate description of what it is really like to go through the acceleration process. Although the book details the personal experiences of the Kearny family, the reader should know that many families that accelerate will experience a lot of what the Kearny's write about. The first chapter of the book that is provided in the Amazon description is not really representative of the book. Once you get past Chapter One, the real story begins. The authors are painfully honest about their feelings and experiences; and do the reader a great service by sharing their personal stories. I have been through the acceleration process with my child and I believe that the Kearny's had a lot to do with the academic acceleration abilities of their children. They should be congratulated for thier enormous efforts and brilliant teaching methods.

The Kearny's are pioneers in the area of acceleration. There are now hundreds of accelerated kids attending colleges across the nation. If you are interested in accelerating your child, I highly recommend this book. You will encounter many of the same roadblocks and negative opinions from teachers and administrators. Reading this book will give you an idea about what you will encounter so you're prepared to deal with the negatives when they happen. The book also shares the joys of acceleration and shows how beneficial early college can be. My daughter and I would do it all over again and encourage others to think about it too. This book is a great way to start your journey. Give it a try!

Poorly written, but an interesting story........2003-06-06

This book could have benefited from better editing- it has a lot of typos, some incomplete sentences, and at one point two paragraphs are repeated almost word-for-word in two different chapters. It is, however, an interesting case study of an exceptionally gifted child and the family who raised him. Parents seeking advice from other parents of gifted children might find this book hard to put down, but I think they could find better resources by starting with "Smart Boys" or "Smart Girls" by Barbara Kerr, or the books "Re-forming Gifted Education" and "Stand Up for Your Gifted Child."

"Accidental Parents" is a better title.......2001-06-27

I initially read this book because I have always felt that school was a place that encouraged conformity and regression toward the mean, rather than socialization and creative thinking. Toward that end, I ordered "Accidental Genius", the story of an incredibly precocious child whose parents battle a school system inequipped to deal with prodigious child minds and parents committed to children's well being.

The book, however, was a large disappointment. First, I have a very hard time getting past Cassidy Kearney's self-reported tale of what amounts to in-vitro child abuse. During her pregnancy with Michael, she refused to eat following a doctor's seemingly innocuous admonition to her to watch her weight in her second trimester of pregnancy. She even states that her vanity impeded her from stopping this behavior, despite the fact that she developed toxemia, was warned that she might lose the pregnancy, and was risking the mental and physical health of the child if indeed he/she would be born. Tired of his patient's narcissm, the doctor induced Cassidy almost two months early, and malnourished, jaundiced Michael was born. Cassidy makes another comment that she wanted the pregnancy to be over so she could remain thin and not have to worry about battling others to eat. SICKENING!! As someone who cannot have children, I find her selfish behavior repugnant to the point of being criminal.

The book continues with Cassidy's "Don't bother me" mode of parenting. Despite the fact that her child beat the medical odds in the most miraculous of ways, she continues to whine and complain, labeling him "severely" gifted as one would label a child "severely autistic" or "severely disabled". She constantly reiterates how exhausted she was in raising both Michael and his equally precocious sister Megan [sic]. The burden of raising these gifted children became so great that her husband Kevin was summoned home from his job in the military to aid in the great undertaking of raising these children. One day in a store, for example, Cassidy sees other children having tantrums and admits while Michael "annoyed" her at times, at least he didn't act like THAT. Umm, should we add Dr. Spock to the bibliography, maybe? This is all part of what you deal with as a mother or father! While child rearing is no doubt the hardest job there is, isn't this a bit histrionic? Surely these gifted children had boundless energy, endless questions and questioned authority. But considering the way Michael was treated (or mistreated) in the womb (and considering Megan (sp?) had health problems that had nothing to do with her mother), shouldn't this state of exhaustion be replaced with more gratitude?

The story is candidly written and honest, and I appreciate that. However, the tale is replete with all things cerebral and has little affect. We get a great sense of the hours the parents spent advocating and nourishing their intellect, often in the face of the jealousy, ignorance and misconception of others. This is laudable and the best part of the book that parents of other gifted children can learn from. However, despite assertions to the contrary, I fail to see where anyone ministered to these children's souls. A good example of this is an account where Michael, still practically an infant, was standing beside an obese woman in a grocery store (I believe) who was purchasing some ice cream. Michael then vociferated his thoughts that this woman was, "enormous" and shouldn't consume the confection. Michael later learned that he should whisper rather than shout these things, which clearly embarrassed his parents. What is frightening is that this account is told as an example of his giftedness. Whispering cruel things about a fat person was seen as a benevolent alternative to screaming them out; no one ever discussed that these statements were cruel and should be refrained from (despite the contention that gifted children were replete with a quality called "moral courage").

In summary, the book is an excellent chronicle of parents who nourish the mind of an incredible child and serve as his tireless advocate. I did not feel that Michael was pushed to learn. He was encouraged to explore his own potential which he not only enjoyed but demanded. Again, I laud the Kearneys for working to fight a school system that just can't handle a child who is smarter than the adults who run the system. This aspect of the book, as well as the well-developed bibliography at the end, is commendable indeed.

As a book, "Accidental Genius" suffers from a good degree of sexism (more attention is paid to Michael than his equally capable sibling), flatness of narrative, and lack of emotion. It's hard to read the message when you've got a messenger that does a lot of complaining. Anyone who can't have a child or has a disabled child knows what real exhaustion, pain and struggle are. The woes of teaching your toddler algebra pale in comparison. Get over it.

Average customer rating:
Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented the Independent
Marshall Fine
Manufacturer: HYPERION
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WTM27I

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