Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Tammet, Daniel Author
Vance, Simon Narrator
Published
Tantor Media, Inc , 2007.
Status
Checked Out

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Libby/OverDrive
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Description

One of the world's fifty living autistic savants is the first and only to tell his compelling and inspiring life story-and explain how his incredible mind works.Worldwide, there are fewer than fifty living savants, those autistic individuals who can perform miraculous mental calculations or artistic feats (think Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man). Until now, none of them has ever been capable of discussing his or her thought processes, much less undertake the writing of a book. Daniel Tammet is the first.From childhood, Tammet's problems were immediately apparent. He was shunned by his classmates and often resorted to rocking and humming quietly. Yet he could memorize almost anything, and his math and language skills were astonishing. By the time he entered high school, Daniel was diagnosed as autistic, and he began to discover his own superhuman abilities-calculating huge sums in his head in seconds, learning new languages in one week, and memorizing more than 22,000 digits of pi.With heart-melting simplicity and astonishing self-awareness, Born on a Blue Day tells Daniel's story-from his childhood frustrations to adult triumphs-while explaining how his mind works. He thinks in pictures. He sees numbers as complex shapes; thirty-seven, for example, is lumpy like porridge, while eighty-nine reminds him of falling snow. Today, Daniel has emerged as one of the world's most fascinating minds and inspiring stories. While his brain has amazed scientists for years, everyone will be moved by this remarkable man's life story.

More Details

Format
eAudiobook
Edition
Unabridged
Street Date
01/09/2007
Language
English
ISBN
9781400124039

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Daniel Tammet and John Elder Robison both fall on the autism spectrum. While autism takes very different forms in their lives, they have both overcome the challenges of communicating their personal experiences in order to share this with readers. Their moving memoirs raise awareness of the diverse manifestations of this disorder. -- Ellie Coen Boote
Daniel Tammet and Temple Grandin both write memoirs that describe their experiences with autism and Asperger's Syndome. Both writers are intellectually brilliant but socially awkward, and they relate their struggles with crisp, straightforward prose. -- Jessica Zellers
Oliver Sacks and Daniel Tammet are both fascinated by the human mind and how it works. Tammet focuses on the Autism spectrum from a personal perspective while Sacks writes about many different topics, but they both produce engaging, moving works that focus on the person as well as the science. -- Melissa Gray
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These authors' works have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."
These authors' works have the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."
These authors' works have the subjects "autistic people," "savant syndrome," and "autism spectrum disorders."
These authors' works have the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."
These authors' works have the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."
These authors' works have the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographies and memoirs" and "life stories"; and the subjects "autistic people," "autism spectrum disorders," and "neurodivergent people."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Although Tammet is only 27, his autobiography is as fascinating as Benjamin Franklin's and John Stuart Mill's, both of which are, like his, about the growth of a mind. Not that Tammet is a scientist-statesman or philosopher. He is an autistic savant who can perform hefty arithmetical calculations at lightning speed and acquire speaking competency in a previously unknown language in mere days (the latter capability he used to create the Web-based language-learning systems with which he supports himself). More socially competent and independent than the autistic savant famously played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Tammet shares his peers' strong preferences for routine, peace and quiet, private space, and literalness, as well as aversion to chance occurrences, aural and informational noise, and figurative language (despite his arithmetical gift, he can't do algebra; he reads a lot but never fiction). He learned fellowship very gradually and says he couldn't really acknowledge his eight siblings until he grew up. He also writes some of the clearest prose this side of Hemingway; he tells his story with such concentration, precision, and simplicity that his familial poverty, schooling as a mainstreamed student, self-realization as gay, and embracing of Christianity prove as enthralling as they are, ultimately, normal. --Ray Olson Copyright 2007 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

This unique first-person account offers a window into the mind of a high-functioning, 27-year-old British autistic savant with Asperger's syndrome. Tammet's ability to think abstractly, deviate from routine, and empathize, interact and communicate with others is impaired, yet he's capable of incredible feats of memorization and mental calculation. Besides being able to effortlessly multiply and divide huge sums in his head with the speed and accuracy of a computer, Tammet, the subject of the 2005 documentary Brainman, learned Icelandic in a single week and recited the number pi up to the 22,514th digit, breaking the European record. He also experiences synesthesia, an unusual neurological syndrome that enables him to experience numbers and words as "shapes, colors, textures and motions." Tammet traces his life from a frustrating, withdrawn childhood and adolescence to his adult achievements, which include teaching in Lithuania, achieving financial independence with an educational Web site and sustaining a long-term romantic relationship. As one of only about 50 people living today with synesthesia and autism, Tammet's condition is intriguing to researchers; his ability to express himself clearly and with a surprisingly engaging tone (given his symptoms) makes for an account that will intrigue others as well. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Kirkus Book Review

A riveting account of living with autism. Tammet, a 27-year-old Brit, is a highly functional autistic individual and something of a genius when it comes to numbers--he's a terrific chess player and knows over 22,000 digits of pi. Here, he chronicles his often confusing childhood and his successful adult life. As a schoolboy, he felt isolated: Autistic children tend toward literalism, and they have a difficult time catching unstated nuances in speech. And so, when teachers or friends spoke to Tammet but failed to ask him a direct question, he didn't realize he was supposed to respond. Although, as the author explains, autistic people tend not to catch on to emotional undercurrents, Tammet is quite attentive to the stresses and strains in his childhood home: His father had a nervous breakdown and there was never enough money (Tammet experienced his parents' fights as a color--blue). Turning to adolescence and his early 20s, Tammet recalls coming out as gay, but he doesn't allow sexuality to take over the book. Perhaps the most affecting chapters come near the end, as the author describes the quiet comfort he has achieved with his partner, Neil. In the predictable order of their shared home, Tammet feels "calm...and secure." Tammet usefully sets his own story in a wider context, with period discussions of the state of research into autism and Asperger's syndrome. At times, he is quite poetic, especially when he writes about numbers. In his mind, numbers have shape, color and texture. Describing his occasional nighttime visions of numbers, Tammet explains that "walking around my numerical landscapes...I never feel lost, because the prime number shapes act as signposts." Transcends the disability-memoir genre. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Tammet, D., & Vance, S. (2007). Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant (Unabridged). Tantor Media, Inc.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Tammet, Daniel and Simon Vance. 2007. Born On a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant. Tantor Media, Inc.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Tammet, Daniel and Simon Vance. Born On a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant Tantor Media, Inc, 2007.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Tammet, D. and Vance, S. (2007). Born on a blue day: inside the extraordinary mind of an autistic savant. Unabridged Tantor Media, Inc.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Tammet, Daniel, and Simon Vance. Born On a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant Unabridged, Tantor Media, Inc, 2007.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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