| Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's |  | Author: John Elder Robison
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
Buy Used: $12.50
Used (2) from $12.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  158 reviews
Sales Rank: 4704203
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
ISBN: 1863255990
EAN: 9781863255998
ASIN: 1863255990
Publication Date: January 2007
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Condition: current BRAND NEW Three Rivers trade paperback (US printing) with DIFFERENT COVER ART *** DIRECT FROM THE PUBLISHER *** NOT A SECOND OR REMAINDER - for fastest delivery select the EXPEDITED SHIPPING OPTION at check out 0908.09.0
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Product Description
Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.
After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It wasn’t worth the paycheck.
It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.
Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “Unit Two”). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents—the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.
Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 153 more reviews...
 NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE November 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. I HAVE A NEPHEW WHO HAS ASPERGER'S SYNDROME. I WAS LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT WOULD HELP ME TO HELP HIM. THE BOOK SEEMED A BIT LIKE "RUNNING WITH SCISSORS".
 good book November 12, 2008
This book is a reassuring recounting of John's turbulent growth through Aspbergers. He does an amazing job of identifying the difference in his perceptions and how he was able to alter them over time. John shows incredible insight as he reveals what caused him problems and shows typical Aspergish integrity in his life.
I got this book for my son,hoping it might affirm what I have been saying. It affirmed that this is not a defect,shame has no part of life with Aspberger syndrome,he will find his way and it does not need to be by some formula of "normalcy"
 Entertaining and positive November 6, 2008
As many other reviewers have said, this is a good read and an entertaining picture of what it's like to see the world through the author's eyes. But he also makes some very important points about Asperger's, namely:
1. Aspies are socially inept because they lack innate abilities that we take for granted: how to pick up on behavioral cues, empathy, etc.
2. They're not sociopaths; they're interested in other people and want to join in social activities, but they don't instinctively know how to behave in those situations and often say or do exactly the wrong thing.
3. Because they're logical and intelligent, Aspies can be taught the appropriate social behavior. Robison figured it out for himself in late childhood, and from then on he was able to make friends, but having some guidance at an early age would have spared him years of frustration.
I read the book because I suspected that a young man of my acquaintance is an Aspie -- and, after reading it, I'm sure he is. Unfortunately, his family seems convinced that he's hopelessly "weird" and "antisocial" and doomed to a life on the margins of society. I plan to recommend the book to his relatives, because I'm sure that if he's diagnosed and trained, he'll be able to lead a full, productive life.
 Flavor of the month? More and better education is needed. November 5, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As the mother of a 19-year old daughter with AS (first diagnosed by a neurologist at the age of 5), I read this book with mixed emotions. AS is becoming better recognized as a disorder distinct from "traditional" autism, but the mental suffering of those who are truly high-functioning, including my daughter, at the hands of the ignorant, children and adults alike, is still pervasive.
I am particularly concerned about Robison's self-description as a savant. That and genius in a "normal" person are somewhat different things. This, and the fact that he cannot comprehend the very complex logic that drives humor, are, I think, rather telling. Most autistic savants have one or two special abilities that may manifest themselves in multiple ways. But these abilities tend to be concrete and non-symbolic rather than more usual left hemisphere skills that are more logical and symbolic. Those with AS tend to use both hemispheres more-or-less equally, while "normal" people are largely left-brained.
This author may well have AS (as opposed to "true" high-functioning autism), but I am not convinced. This does not make his memoir any less important, but in my opinion, his disorder as he himself describes it does not seem to be a typical model of AS, nor would I see him as particularly high-functioning. His self-description lacks insight, and therefore makes it misleading. In particular, his misunderstanding of savant skills and misreading of such things as body language and social communication are more autistic than AS. Persons with AS may have such difficulties, but they are also more likely to simply exhibit literalism and anxiety with regard to change than Robison seems to do, and to be more aware of their disabilities from an early age.
Those readers who may see AS in themselves or others based on mere observation after reading this book would be well advised to delve further into the subject before participating in the creation of the next "flavor of the month".
Enlightening book! November 1, 2008
This book is a must read for anyone who is living with or knows someone with Asbergers. The descriptions of his feelings and life experiences gives great insight into how Aspergian minds work. It makes it much easier to understand the Aspergian and why they do and say the things they do. At the same time, it's entertaining. This book gives you a little bit of everything, comedy, drama, information, etc. I highly recommend it.
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