• The Boy Who Played with Fusion

  • Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star
  • By: Tom Clynes
  • Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
  • Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (141 ratings)

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The Boy Who Played with Fusion  By  cover art

The Boy Who Played with Fusion

By: Tom Clynes
Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
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Publisher's summary

This is the story of how an American teenager became the youngest person ever to build a working nuclear fusion reactor.

By the age of nine, Taylor Wilson had mastered the science of rocket propulsion. At 11 his grandmother's cancer diagnosis drove him to investigate new ways to produce medical isotopes. And by 14 Wilson had built a 500-million-degree reactor and become the youngest person in history to achieve nuclear fusion. How could someone so young achieve so much, and what can Wilson's story teach parents and teachers about how to support high-achieving kids?

In The Boy Who Played with Fusion, science journalist Tom Clynes narrates Taylor's extraordinary journey - from his Arkansas home, where his parents fully supported his intellectual passions; to a unique Reno, Nevada, public high school just for academic superstars; to the present, when now 19-year-old Wilson is winning international science competitions with devices designed to prevent terrorists from shipping radioactive material into the country. Along the way Clynes reveals how our education system shortchanges gifted students - and what we can do to fix it.

©2015 Tom Clynes (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

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What listeners say about The Boy Who Played with Fusion

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Amazing Story

At the age of fourteen Taylor Wilson built his first working fusion reactor. He and his brother are super intelligent in the upper 1% bracket. Clynes goes into Taylor’s achievements starting at age nine with building his own rockets and fuel. Clynes goes into depth about the public schools Taylor attended in Texarkana to the Davidson Academy for the Gifted at the University of Nevada Reno. He briefly discussed what worked with Taylor did not work with his brother.

His grandmother died of cancer when he was in his teens and Taylor became interested in cancer treatment. Taylor used his reactor to create medical isotopes. He could do this at much less cost than the big cyclotrons or linear accelerator could. He went on to develop a company to produce the isotopes while he was a teenager.

Taylor decided not to attend college as his high school work was at the level of a grad student and he was not interested in a more general education. He already was the recipient of a research grant, so decided to stay with research and development. He was working on developing a small safe fusion reactor unit to produce energy to power cities.

The author discussed the unusual parenting techniques of Taylor’s parents and the need for schools to change their approach to learning. He went on to discuss various learning and teaching techniques to allow all students to achieve more. The book is well written and the science is written in a way everyone can understand it.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Science thriller

That anyone can do the things in this book is amazing. For a teenager to do them requires reexamination of standard views of education. The fact that shop courses are no longer part of standard curriculum needs to be changed.

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2 people found this helpful

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A parents must read

I wish I had known Of this book years ago. Having smart but floundering and unchallenged kids in a traditional school system can be aggravating. Finding ways in which I can better challenge & advocate for not only my kiddos learning but for the kids I come across at work as well.

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1 person found this helpful

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interesting insight to a bright child

It is a good look into childhood genius and his story. The ideas of how to best encourage intellectual children seemed helpful too

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Great story

loved the way the author lived with Tyler and his family to really absorb what was going on.

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  • Js
  • 08-17-22

More about our education system then I was hoping for

Well I agree education is very important this is focused a little too much on the economic systems in hours nation versus just a story of the main character not a bad but just not what I was hoping for

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Worth Your Time

This was a very interesting, well told story. Definitely worth putting in your library, the fact that it’s in the plus catalogue is even better

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Very interesting

The story of Taylor Wilson is highly interesting if you can get passed his narcissistic attitude and bratty behavior. He does mature and becomes humble towards the end of the book, but it’s tough to like this kid at first. Great book full of interesting ideas and well read.

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Inspiring and insightful

Well read. My family of six listened to this, with my oldest , an 11 year old boy, most inspired. The story was told in such a manner that I was taken in with amazement of experiments and achievements. It has inspired me to parent better, and be a bit more “forward thinking” with education/experimentation in my children’s interests. I have recommended this highly on Facebook. I wonder what Taylor is up to now.

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Absolutely profound!

Incredible story, superb storytelling, and beautifully narrated. This one is truly a masterpiece and one that I will refer back to time and time again.
The author finishes with this quote "Taylor built a star, then he became one. Now he's lighting up the world." That sums up the details of the book that everyone should take the time to hear/read from start to finish. Buy this one, it's worth more than they are asking. The value is in the lessons of parenting;--considering the sibling dynamic as well.
The only critique that I have for this is that it should be whispersynced with the book. Both are available and I purchased the book after hearing it in full, but they need to be synced. I personally prefer to highlight takeaway word segments than to bookmark audio clips.

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