If the mind is the last frontier, those who push at its bounds and sift
through its mysteries are the Marco Polos of our day. Yet explorers can get a
raw deal. Precocious children are often seen as brats hothoused by obsessive
parents, but Ellen Winner’s Gifted Children (Basic Books, $28, ISBN 0 465
01760 6) turns the whole thing on its head. Her analysis offers a portrait of
children driven by a “rage to learn”. A book that grips— and leaves you
wondering at future possibilities.
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