Born on a Blue Day

A Memoir

By: Daniel Tammet

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the world's 50 living autistic savants is the first and only to tell his compelling and inspiring life story and explain how his incredible mind works.

Worldwide, there are fewer than 50 living savants, those autistic individuals who can perform miraculous mental calculations or artistic feats. (Think Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man.) Until now, none of them has been able to discuss his or her thought processes, much less write a book. Daniel Tammet is the first.

Tammet's problems were apparent from childhood. He was shunned by his classmates and often resorted to rocking and humming quietly. Yet he could memorize almost anything, and his math and language skills were astonishing. By high school, Daniel was diagnosed as autistic, and he began to discover his own superhuman abilities: calculating huge sums in his head in seconds, learning new languages in one week, and memorizing more than 22,000 digits of pi.

With heart-melting simplicity and astonishing self-awareness, Born on a Blue Day tells Daniel's story: from his childhood frustrations to adult triumphs, while explaining how his mind works. He thinks in pictures. He sees numbers as complex shapes: 37 is lumpy like porridge; 89 reminds him of falling snow. Today, Daniel has emerged as one of the world's most fascinating minds and inspiring stories. His brain has amazed scientists for years, and everyone will be moved by his remarkable life story.

©2007 Daniel Tammet (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Tanmet's] ability to express himself clearly and with a surprisingly engaging tone (given his symptoms) makes for an account that will intrigue." (Publishers Weekly)

a happy autistic life!

I loved hearing about thinking of numbers and their colors by someone on the spectrum

Fabulous

Books about someone gifted never seem to be autobiographical. All the political autobiographies serve as proof of that. But here's a book by the actual guy living it. I was fascinated. I was touched (and I am usually the caveman at the book review). It's as genuine as it gets.

Thank you Daniel for you taught me much!

What did you love best about Born on a Blue Day?

I had thought that I would learn more about savants, which is a subject I have found of great interest. This book was much more than that to me. Let me state here that I am not autistic, or am I a savant, yet I found so much in Daniel that is me.The book has taught me much about myself.I unlike other reviewers find Daniel not to be at all self-indulgent instead being honest, very honest! This I am afraid is a virtue which is not as common today as it could, and should be.Those who read this book and who did not find the value of this within it I believe missed the purpose and meaning of it's writing. A wonderful story interesting and with great purpose.

A helpful insight, not all that surprising

If you've learned a bit about synesthesia before, or anything about memory, you won't be surprised by much in here. But simply spending time in Tammet's head and life can help build an important degree of empathy for the autistic spectrum of mindset.

Intellectually stimulating

I have somewhat of an academic background and a deep interest in language, so I found this book extremely interesting and whizzed through it. If you're not sure about it, worried about the other comments of slowness, boring childhood or self-indulgence, have a search for the documentary on Daniel Tammet/ Brain Man on You Tube and you'll know for sure.

My wife also listened to this book very quickly and would probably give it 5 stars too. She's not that interested in language nor much of an 'academic' but she found it very good, mainly because of the way he describes how he sees life, and his perspective on so many things. In short, she says he's "extraordinary," which is an understatement if in fact he could be the next step in our evolution.

B for Brainman

I don't read much nonfiction, but this biography had me hooked. I was so fascinated by Daniel's perceptions about numbers and language, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I shared all the really interesting insights about how Daniel's brain works with my family over dinner. They were equally surprised by the contrast.

I can't say that I relate to Daniel, but I think I understand him better and I appreciate the way he thinks and feel it could be beneficial to others who struggle with math or language.

I am looking forward to watching the documentary, Brainman, to find out more about Daniel and "see" the things he describes in the audio book.

my story

I always love to hear these "my story" types. It is fun to know other kinds of people, especially the more gifted of us. I am particularly fond of logical thinkers. Unfortunately Mr Tammet ends on a sour note.
Overall, however, not too bad.

great read.

Well written and spoken. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is curious about autism and and rare insight of the autistic mind.

education

Unless one was visually handicapped being a child from the 50's, we were all the same. In my family it was "nothing is wrong with your brother". Just 2 years ago a friend told me to look up Asperger in regarding my brother, I found that this is his bio! I have since read up on Asperger's but this book gives me some incite on how he thinks. Although Daniel is functional in different ways than my brother I now have more of an understanding of what world my brother lives in and when I can educate him to the "new world" and when I need to let things go.

A Wonderful Surprise

Would you consider the audio edition of Born on a Blue Day to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, so I have no idea. But I do feel the narration was wonderful and, I'm sure, added to the interest of the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Born on a Blue Day?

When he recited pi - I could feel the tension and emotion. Also, it was his defining moment to the world - he was able to say, "look at me, I may be odd, but I have an extraordinary gift - SEE ME!"

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

the emotion he brought to a story about a man who has difficulty with emotion. His voice was like a bridge that crossed that sea of understanding.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when he met the man who would become his life companion. There is someone out there for everyone - keep an open mind and heart!

Any additional comments?

I took a chance on this book because I wasn't sure I would really like it. So glad I did! I hope this review will encourage others to do the same. It's a powerful story that I won't soon forget!