A Left-Hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meaning of All Things Southpaw
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Synopses & Reviews
A light-hearted exploration into the history, psychology, science, and most of all, the culture of left-handedness.
Readers who believe that "only left-handed people are in their right minds" will want to join David Wolman on his left-hand turn around the world, in search of the origin and meaning of the lefty mystique.
In a quest to prove his premise of Southpaw superiority, his travels take him from the halls of history to the halls of science, as he visits a Scottish castle with a staircase designed for left-handed swordfighting, and a California operating room where he watches cataract surgery performed by a left-handed doctor. He confers with primatologists about whether chimps' hand preference for throwing could show an evolutionary link between coordination and language ability. He searches for the mystical significance of leftiness at a handwriting analysis conference and a palmistry workshop. Along the way, he meets colorful Southpaws such as Diabolos Rex, follower of the ancient religion of the Left Hand Path, and members of the National Association of Left-Handed Golfers of Japan.
Weaving his personal experience with a blend of sharp-eyed reporting and intriguing personalities, Wolman crafts an entertaining narrative in praise of all things Southpaw.
Review:
"Why are so many humans right-handed when most animal species show random preferences for one side or another? Is a preference for the left hand an indicator of brain difference? How do developing embryos figure out which side is left, anyway, and why is that information so critical to their development? Wolman's breezy, informative account of 'what makes left-handers special' tackles these and other fascinating questions on its journey to finding out what exactly handedness means and why it happens. The author, a proud member of 'the fraternity of Southpaw' and a journalist whose work has appeared in New Scientist, Discover and Wired, travels all over the world to find his answers, and his lively tales of visits to the field's top researchers double as solid introductions to the science of handedness. Though his visits to a palmist in Quebec and a graphologist in Virginia are less than entertaining — he finds them illogical, they find him irritating — his attempts at left-handed golf in Japan and lefthanded sword fighting in Scotland are funny and instructive. Amusing and thorough, this little tome makes a good gift for the left-handers on the Christmas list." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
A light-hearted exploration into the science, history, psychology, and culture of left-handedness.
Synopsis:
Weaving his personal experience with a blend of sharp-eyed reporting and intriguing personalities, Wolman crafts an entertaining narrative in praise of all things Southpaw.
Synopsis:
Are Southpaws really more creative, or is that just a myth? Is there a gene for left-handedness? David Wolman--a lefty, and proud of it--sets out to answer these and other questions on a journey through the world of the left-hander. Traveling from the halls of history to the halls of science, Wolman explores a Scottish castle designed for left-handed swordfights, visits a Paris museum to inspect nineteenth-century brains that hold clues to this biological puzzle, consults an Indian palm reader, subjects his own brain to research in a basement laboratory in California, and sits with a primatologist in Atlanta whose chimpanzees may hold the key to the evolutionary mystery of left-handedness. Along the way, Wolman meets fellow left-handers who share his sense of kinship and help him uncover the essence of Southpaw. There is sinister Diabolos Rex, follower of the Left Hand Path; left-handed handwriting analysts; and John Evans, an amputee whose left hand was reattached to his right arm. In Japan, Wolman tees off with the National Association of Left-Handed Golfers, and seeks wisdom from a left-handed baseball legend and a world renowned biologist. A seamless blend of science, travel, culture, and humor, this inquisitive exploration of all things Southpaw is sure to be the perfect book for lefties and the righties who love them.
About the Author
David Wolman is a journalist whose work has appeared in such publications as Discover, Newsweek, New Scientist, Forbes, Outside, Wired, and the San Jose Mercury News. He lives in Oregon.
