The subjects of autism and Asperger's syndrome are receiving ever greater coverage in the media, in films such as Rainman and in literature, most notably in the hugely successful book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon which won the Whitbread Prize.
This provocative and stimulating book by Antoinette Walker and Prof. Michael Fitzgerald suggests many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome - and much of their drive and success may in some way be connected.
The book is for the general reader and includes figures like Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle: scientist, William Rowan Hamilton: mathematician, Daisy Bates: anthropologist, WB Yeats, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett.
Very often people who are affected by Asperger's exhibit high level abilities in certain areas, other physical or behavioral traits may also be apparent. In Unstoppable Brilliance, the authors seek to demonstrate the particular facts and attributes of many well-known Irish historical figures, and show that in many ways their drive, focus and considerable achievements were almost inevitable given their high-level aptitude in particular fields - an aptitude not entirely of their own making or volition.
Also available in paperback.
About the authors: Michael Fitzgerald is Professor Of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Trinity College, Dublin and is the leading expert on Asperger's and autism in Ireland today. He has written extensively in this area and addressed national and international symposia on the issue.
Antoinette Walker is a freelance editor and writer who has worked in publishing in Ireland for ten years, with the Irish Medical Journal, Blackwater Press and Folens Publishers. She holds an MA in philosophy from University College Dublin and trained as a general nurse.
ISBN: 1-905483-031
