Ian Brown - Macmillan Library

The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2011

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Ali Fisher

We've already seen The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2011 and now they've posted their top 10! We're proud to see two of our enlightening nonfiction tites on the list:

THE BOY IN THE MOON
A Father’s Journey to Understand His Extraordinary Son.
Ian Brown

"Brown combines a reporter’s curiosity with a novelist’s instinctive feel for the unknowable in this exquisite book"

Read an excerpt here.

THINKING, FAST AND SLOW
Daniel Kahneman

"In this comprehensive presentation of a life’s work, the world’s most influential psychologist demonstrates that irrationality is in our bones, and we are not necessarily the worse for it."

Read an excerpt here.

Also, did you see this absurdly awesome suit jacket that they made out of the top ten book jackets? Seems like it might wrinkle easily, though.

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The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2011:

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Ali Fisher

The New York Times has weighed in with their list of 100 Notable Books of 2011 and there are quite a few excellent Macmillan reads in both the fiction and nonfiction sections:

Fiction & Poetry:

THE BARBARIAN NURSERIES by Héctor Tobar
BIG QUESTIONS by Anders Brekhus Nilsen
CANTI by Giacomo Leopardi
THE FREE WORLD by David Bezmozgis
THE LEFTOVERS by Tom Perrotta
LIFE ON MARS by Tracy K. Smith
THE MARRIAGE PLOT by Jeffrey Eugenides
PARALLEL STORIES by Peter Nadas
THE SUBMISSION by Amy Waldman
TALLER WHEN PRONE: Poems by Les Murray
TRAIN DREAMS by Denis Johnson

Nonfiction:

AND SO IT GOES by Charles J. Shields
THE BOY IN THE MOON by Ian Brown
EXAMINED LIVES by James Miller
IS THAT A FISH IN YOUR EAR? by David Bellos
MIDNIGHT RISING by Tony Horwitz
ONE DAY I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS PLACE by Binyavanga Wainaina
THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ORDER by Francis Fukuyama
PULPHEAD by John Jeremiah Sullivan
RIGHTS GONE WRONG by Richard Thompson Ford
THINKING, FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman
WHY THE WEST RULES—FOR NOW by Ian Morris

See The New York Times' full list of notable books here.

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The Boy in the Moon: Learning from Disabilities

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Ali Fisher

THE BOY IN THE MOON is an extraordinary true story that we felt we needed to bring to your attention.

Author Ian Brown’s son Walker is one of only about 300 people worldwide diagnosed with cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome—an extremely rare genetic mutation that results in unusual facial appearance, the inability to speak, and a compulsion to hit himself constantly. At age thirteen, he is mentally and developmentally between one and three years old and will need constant care for the rest of his life.

Brown travels the globe, meeting with genetic scientists and neurologists as well as parents, to solve the questions Walker’s doctors can’t answer. In his journey, he offers an insightful critique of society’s assumptions about the disabled, and he discovers a connected community of families living with this illness. As Brown gradually lets go of his self-blame and hope for a cure, he learns to accept the Walker he loves, just as he is.

Kirkus Reviews calls it, "A father’s candid, heart-wrenching account of raising, loving and trying to connect with and gain insight into his severely disabled son. [...] Much more than a moving journal of life with a disabled child; it is about Brown’s quest to understand his son and his son’s condition."

The New York Times Book Review did a wonderful piece about Brown, Walker, and their book; we recommend you take a look at it. Read "What Disabled Children Teach Us" here.

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