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	DISABILITY RESOURCES ONLINE
	Monitoring, Reviewing and Reporting on Resources For Independent Living
	Updated 3/2008
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Unstrange Minds: Remapping The World Of Autism
by Roy Richard Grinker

Basic Books, 2007. Hardcover, 340 pages, $26.95

 

Is there, as many people believe, an autism epidemic? Judging from the increasing number of books about autism that come across our desks at disabilityresources.org, one might think so. However, according to Roy Richard Grinker, author of Unstrange Minds, the answer is more complex.

Grinker, an internationally-known anthropologist whose daughter was diagnosed with autism over a decade ago, has channeled his personal need for information into a reframing of the question of an epidemic. His quest took him to research the cultural implications of autism in the United States and on an international basis, looking at the rise of autism as the criteria for such a diagnosis have become expanded and globally addressed. Combining memoir and scientific inquiry, Grinker has written an intriguing examination of autism and how discovering its continuous prevalence in the world should change the ways society provides care and services.

 

-Reviewed by Sally Rosenthal

Wheeling And Dealing: Living With Spinal Cord Injury
by Esther Isabelle Wilder

Vanderbilt University Press, 2006. Softcover, 368 pages, $34.95. Also available in hardcover at $69.95.

 

Anyone who wants to see what disability studies look like in the 21st century need look no further than Wheeling and Dealing. Anyone looking for a perfect synthesis of academic pursuit and disability experience need look no further, either. And, anyone who wants to read one of the best books about life with spinal cord injury...well, you get my point.

In this excellent and very thorough examination of how spinal cord injury impacts all aspects of individuals' lives, nondisabled sociologist Wilder presents the results of a study conducted among 32 people with SCI living in what she calls "the American heartland." In addition to the usual topics of physical, emotional, and social adjustment and concerns, this book also covers current "hot potato" topics such as stem cell research, physician-assisted suicide, etc. In the middle, areas of interest such as sexuality image and identity, spirituality and religion, economic and social oppression, family life, etc. are viewed through the eyes of the study participants.

The only problem I have with this book is its relatively hefty price. Even the softcover edition's cost places it out of the range of many consumers. Let's see a more consumer-friendly price range in a reprint so this volume can reach all of its target audience.

 

 

-Reviewed by Sally Rosenthal

 

 

About the reviewer: A former college librarian and occupational therapist, Sally Rosenthal is a frequent contributor to magazines, websites, and anthologies on the topics of companion animals, working dogs, and disability.