Scan barcode
ohwhatagloomyshow's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
mmuutthh's review against another edition
5.0
I saw the author at an event a few weeks ago. As a hearing person who was only familiar with the conventional legend of Alexander Graham Bell — and the sort of ambiguous subtitle of the book — I assumed this was going to simply be a biography on the invention of the telephone and how it somehow had to do with research into assisting the deaf. The book, instead, is a deep-dive into the storied and in many ways hard to believe interconnectedness that has built so much of this country. Especially when it comes to the placement and prejudice against the disabled.
I had no idea the telephone was sort of an accidental discovery developed from simply trying to vary the amount of messages the telegraph could carry. No idea Bell was involved in the creation of “National Geographic.” And I hadn’t realized he had had anything to do with bringing Helen Keller the fame we associate her with. All of this was surprising in how it actually was in support of his desire to, as the book puts it, cure deafness. How he was inspired by his own father’s creation of a “visible alphabet”, his mother and wife who were both deaf (the wife originally being a student of his), and the incredibly misaligned belief (that is apparently still held by many to this day) that learning ASL is negative for the deaf community.
The book speaks to these biases and prejudices, and I think what it shows (as not as big of a surprise I feel like we all would consider) is just how long we have been hurting anyone who didn’t fit the norm of conventional culture/ability. I understand the choice the author makes in focusing the book mostly on Bell, and it may simply be that I prefer memoir and creative nonfiction than straight-up biography, but I wish she’d fit more of her story interspersed with Bell’s. I think a lot of the information sequestered in the introduction and afterword (which I am sure many people skip) would’ve felt right at home in-between the stories of the rest of the history of the deaf community in the United States. I also could have done with a little less of the technical development of the telephone, which may be from my own lack of understanding of how it all works, as much of it just turned into gobbedlygook that the author also didn’t really seem to understand, so it didn’t feel additive like so much of the other prose. (For instance, I have very little experience with ASL or teaching language, but I could feel the author’s familiarity and understanding of how that works.)
It’s an eye-opening and endlessly fascinating story about a “hero” who was much more a villain — and ain’t that always the way!
I had no idea the telephone was sort of an accidental discovery developed from simply trying to vary the amount of messages the telegraph could carry. No idea Bell was involved in the creation of “National Geographic.” And I hadn’t realized he had had anything to do with bringing Helen Keller the fame we associate her with. All of this was surprising in how it actually was in support of his desire to, as the book puts it, cure deafness. How he was inspired by his own father’s creation of a “visible alphabet”, his mother and wife who were both deaf (the wife originally being a student of his), and the incredibly misaligned belief (that is apparently still held by many to this day) that learning ASL is negative for the deaf community.
The book speaks to these biases and prejudices, and I think what it shows (as not as big of a surprise I feel like we all would consider) is just how long we have been hurting anyone who didn’t fit the norm of conventional culture/ability. I understand the choice the author makes in focusing the book mostly on Bell, and it may simply be that I prefer memoir and creative nonfiction than straight-up biography, but I wish she’d fit more of her story interspersed with Bell’s. I think a lot of the information sequestered in the introduction and afterword (which I am sure many people skip) would’ve felt right at home in-between the stories of the rest of the history of the deaf community in the United States. I also could have done with a little less of the technical development of the telephone, which may be from my own lack of understanding of how it all works, as much of it just turned into gobbedlygook that the author also didn’t really seem to understand, so it didn’t feel additive like so much of the other prose. (For instance, I have very little experience with ASL or teaching language, but I could feel the author’s familiarity and understanding of how that works.)
It’s an eye-opening and endlessly fascinating story about a “hero” who was much more a villain — and ain’t that always the way!
e46327's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Very interesting to juxtapose the deaf movement (for and against) with the current gender movements. Challenged me to think about language, Identity, shame for the deaf and the difficulty in aligning intentions, actions and outcomes for Bell and the movements inspired by him.
Insight into the technology and patent process was also interesting
Insight into the technology and patent process was also interesting
graciemark's review against another edition
3.0
Read this book for school, but honestly found it to be interesting. Many parts of this book felt like they could have been excluded but I felt like I learned something from the book in all.
gfwaffles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
peteradamson's review
4.0
Hardly as controversial as I was expecting, but still a great history on the oralism vs. manualism schools of thought regarding language acquisition for those who are potential members of Deaf culture. I am an audiologist and used to work dispensing hearing aids to the Deaf so this book was up my vocational alley— but not in a “work inservice for CEU” way at all.