THE PRODIGY: A Biography of William Sidis

by Amy Wallace ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 26, 1986

The 20th century has witnessed some remarkable child prodigies, including chess master Bobby Fischer and Norbert Wiener, the inventor of cybernetics. But none were as strange or pathetic as William James Sidis, the subject of this riveting biography by the co-author of The Book of Lists and Significa. Wallace does little more here than recount the mind-boggling facts about Sidis; this reads like a book-length entry from Ripley's Believe it or Not, with minimal psychological insight and literary sparkle, but a wealth of compelling information. Sidis was treated like a grown-up from his day of birth. At 18 months, he read The New York Times. At 3, he taught himself Latin, and read Homer in the original Greek. At 7, he invented a new language called Vendergood. He entered Harvard at 11--and there his life began to unravel. Wallace doesn't establish exactly why Sidis rebelled so fiercely against his early fame, but we know that in later life he denied any prodigious talents, worked at a series of low-paying clerical jobs, and devoted his spare time to some very eccentric pursuits. Among others: he contacted Venusians through a Ouija board, established secret societies that met in abandoned subway tunnels, and developed a passion for collecting streetcar transfers (Sidis wrote a 304-page book on the subject, which Wallace calls ""arguably the most boring book ever written""). An endlessly diverting trifle.

Pub Date: June 26, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION