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Rating: 
Summary: It's Just OK
Review: As a left-handed woman, and doing research on handedness and brain laterality for a master's thesis; I found Coren's work to bias, and much of his research limiting. But I also found McManus to be just as limiting and bias also, maybe it's time for left-handers to start looking at those who really researched handedness, ie. Gardner's The Ambidextrous Universe, and Annette's Left, Right Hand and Brain: The Right Shift Theory.
Rating:
Summary: It's Just OK
Review: As a left-handed woman, and doing research on handedness and brain laterality for a master's thesis; I found Coren's work to bias, and much of his research limiting. But I also found McManus to be just as limiting and bias also, maybe it's time for left-handers to start looking at those who really researched handedness, ie. Gardner's The Ambidextrous Universe, and Annette's Left, Right Hand and Brain: The Right Shift Theory.
Rating: 
Summary: Very concrete and helpful as well as scientifically sound
Review: I learned a great deal about myself reading this book and I think even came away with higher self esteem. The author is a leading scientist studying left-handedness and explains why media and "common knowledge" information and facts on the subject are often incorrect. The writing style is factual and informative but also entertaining. You learn about the problems of left-handed presidents as well as your own or a friend's problems and why there are fewer left-handed older people than younger ones. I'm very grateful to the author for explaining to me why I had so much trouble in dancing class as a teenager; I found his answer to that puzzle much more help than all the dermatologists my mother took me to for my acne. I wish I could have read this book earlier in my life.
Rating:
Summary: Some important information...
Review: People reading this book should know that Coren's theorys are not completely accepted. Other good scientists believe that left-handedness could be gentic. Other scientists believe other things and each have done tests to back up their beliefs. Coren has proved his theory, but others have proved otherwise. While it is an interesting book, if one is interested in such things, it was written over 7 years ago, and some of the information is no doubt no outdated. Try it, but don't take the information as truth without considering other possibilities.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting issues that are worthy of further investigation
Review: This book doesn't tell left-handers how best to live in a right-handers' world, but it doesn't purport to. It does, however, live up to its title. Coren presents a range of very interesting theories and conclusions about left-handedness. Crucially, he also describes the actual studies and presents their results, and is fairly clear about when something's just a theory and why one might believe it, so you get to see some raw facts and judge for yourself. I'm strongly left-handed and am not in the least bit offended by the idea that it could have possibly been caused by something going slightly wrong somewhere. Some of the theories did actually explain a few things about my family and myself quite well, which was an added bonus.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I was looking for!
Review: This book is an interesting combination of fairly good writing and fairly poor science. The information on which the author draws is taken out of its context, so while his conclusions have an internal logic, that logic is far-fetched and has almost no bearing on the rest of the world. But the author's writing is good enough to keep this from being self-evident. I found the book an easy but worthless read.
Rating:
Summary: Sad Sorry Snoozer
Review: This book is not what I thought I bought. I was expecting information useful to left handers. Instead I found out why society belives left-handers are evil and research on how left handers are formed. I enjoyed reading the encylopedia more than this book. By the way, it was written by a right-handed person!
Rating:
Summary: Well-referenced and very interesting reading...
Review: This is a great book! I read it many years ago when it first was released and I checked it out from the library. Now I'm buying my own copy. The author strives to prove that left-handedness is largely a concequence of brain trauma either during pregnancy early, or during birth that causes some level of brain damange. When I first read this, I was all offended thinking that I wasn't brain damanged! But after reading the book, his theories (which he has backed up with his own and other's research) make a lot of sense. If you are interested in this subject at all, this is a great book to read!
Rating:
Summary: The best book on Left handedness
Review: This is the best book on left handedness I have read. It's covers a variety of topics with just enough detail. Although it contains some scientific data, it is easy to read and understand. I strongly recommend this book if you're left handed. It will give you great perspective on your mind.
Rating:
Summary: All hands are equal,but one hand is more equal than theother
Review: Well well, there is some very interesting stuff here. Why are only around 10% of the population left handed? Is this genetic or learned? And what does this mean for tool making, writing, driving, accident proneness, societal prejudice, sporting pursuits, and general living as a left hander? You might also be interested to know that around 20% of people are left footed, and around 40% of people are left eyed. Also more woman are right handed than men. And then there are the mixed types, the ambidextorous, and also those who mix different activities and their handedness- say writing and throwing. A surpising number of people are actually mixed types, and this increases for footedness and eyedness. This book is a good overview of various statistics, and what it means to live as a left hander in a right handed world. The author has conducted many years research into various studies, from identical twin studies, to family studies, to genes and learning, to the way tools are designed, and how left handers cope with these sorts of things in general. Bias, prejudice, and general policies are discussed, both historically and in recent times. (Everyone knows the old rap over the knuckle for left handed school students several generations ago, but where have we come from there?). The author mentions his university in the 1990s where all the chairs in his lecture theatre have right-sided writing areas. (Being left handed in writing, I also remember having to cope with this at university. I also remember smudging most of my first ink pen writing in primary school-left handed writers will know what I am talking about!). One of the best things about this book is the detail. Not only is there analyses of handedness, but as mentioned, footedness, eyeness, and even earness. Which ear do you listen to your watch with? Also, mixed handed types are discussed, along with various sports, and degree of lefthandness (and right handedness!) in each, and where it may be useful to be more of a mixed type for some sports (eg soccer with mixed footedness, and basketball with mixed handedness). Readers are given personal questionaires to determine their general level of left or right handedness, footedness, earness, and eyeness. Links with brain states and brain areas, personality types, tendancy to certain careers and so on is also discussed. Famous lefties are also listed. The book is a must for the curious leftie, and for those who are interested in where this curious, and rather little studied aspect of humanity is taking us.
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