The Edison Gene: ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: One of the best things that came out of reading this book was that it made me realize I don't need to force my child to conform to the norm. The most important thing I can do is foster my son's interests and support him in his endeavors. I found the way the author described the origins of the Edison Gene through examples of evolution and climate changes was fascinating. I highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with a bright child having problems in school (especially those that have been diagnosed as ADHD) and also adults investigating their own diagnosis of ADHD. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Look At ADHD, Goes Beyond The Title
Review: Thom Hartmann is one of our society's most articulate expositors of progressive and non-conformist social and spiritual ideas. It is no coincidence that he has written extensively on the topic of "ADHD," a label that by definition is given to people (especially children) who don't conform to the rules and demands of their environments.
This book starts with Hartmann's previously proposed idea that ADHD traits are consistent with a human genetic factor that was adaptive for "hunters" in the course of human evolution. He points out how many non-conformists in history became great inventors, leaders, and innovators, precisely because they were not forced to conform to prevailing dogmas and customs.
Rightly, Hartmann sees the current desire to force conformity as a dangerous threat to individuality and progress.
Hartmann recognizes that those labeled ADHD are often more sensitive and reactive than the norm, and need supportive conditions to help them flourish. The "negative" side of ADHD traits is most likely to appear when children are abused or over-stressed rather than nurtured. I would have liked to have seen this book go into more depth and provide more of the existing documentation about the various holistic approaches to helping those labeled ADHD thrive rather than be drugged and treated as disordered. The flaws and dangers of orthodox ways of responding to ADHD traits/behaviors could have also been explored further, although there are other books that cover that ground well and which lack the broad scope and perspective provided by Hartmann.
Overall, this book provides a lot of great insights. It recognizes those labeled ADHD as unique individuals with a variety of strengths and talents, and encourages society to examine itself and to learn from those seen as ADHD, rather than seeing ADHD behaviors as a disorder to suppress. The interaction of individual traits with various environmental conditions can yield behaviors and patterns that often get labeled ADHD. This gives the thoughtful person an opportunity to look for ways of helping the individual AND the society grow toward greater balance and maturity. There is much greater depth to consciousness, motivation, and creation than conventional paradigms consider, and authors like Thom Hartmann help us look beyond the surface to explore our greater potential and resist the urge to accept conformity and denial.

Rating:
Summary: Dishonoring to Edison!
Review: To build up a thesis and a book title on Edison like this is uninformed and dishonoring to Edison. Edison was no 'mere' inventor, but a much more broad thinker and leader of non-violence. It is a misnomer to think of an 'Edison gene' that makes people good hunters. Edison was committed to non-violence and NOT hunting. This book regards ADHD, a quality that, in an ancient, dangerous, changing world, may indeed have been to some benefit. But Edison was no hunter.

Thomas Edison wrote that, "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

Edison, a true thinker, rejected the violence of hunting and killing, and was a committed vegetarian.