Overview

From an article in ""The New Yorker"" comes the true story of a young woman rescued from a childhood of epic abuse. Incarcerated by a deranged father, Genie spent her early years strapped in a chair in a closed back room of an all-too-quiet suburban house. When discovered, she was a teenager who had to begin her new life with the rudiments - how to walk, how to chew and how to talk with the scientists who were her new caretakers and companions. She entered a world of culture, affection and great ambition, for she fell head-first into a seething scientific debate over how the human brain acquires language. Even as Genie spoke her first words, her experience gave eloquent answers to that linguistic question, and to another much older mystery - what does it mean to be human? In this book, Russ Rymer relates new details, not revealed in ""The New Yorker"", of the discovery, emergence and eventual disappearance of a woman who changed American science, and the lives of the scientists as well.

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9780060924652

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A child deprived of her birthright of love. . . and then almost rescued: out of that 'almost' comes this remarkable story of dedication impeded by personal squabbles and the research bureaucracy. -- Roger Shattuck, author of The Forbidden Experiment Russ Rymer, in the process of telling the poignant story of one desperately unfortunate little girl, raises profound questions about both the origins of language and the ultimate source of what we call 'human nature.' At once a scientific detective story and an examination of professional ethics, Genie is disturbing, enlightening, and impossible to forget. -- Michael Dorris, author of The Broken Cord Topical books by journalists rarely afford the reading pleasures of Genie: high drama, intellectual and philosophical substance, and vivid, poetic reportage. . . brilliant. -- Richard Higgins, Boston Globe I am dazzled by Rymer's literary skills and his expertise in delineating the debate--or rather the feeding frenzy--that Genie's 'case' stirred among scientists, academics, and caretakers. It is a tragic tale of obsession, exploitation, and lost souls. And the questions Rymer poses about human experience and experiements on humans make the story both intellectually absorbing and emotionally disturbing. Genie is a wondrous feat of storytelling and investigative journalism, compulsively readable while forcing us to think hard about our own humanity. -- Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club A rarity among popular science books, a luciously written page turner. -- New York Times Book Review

A child deprived of her birthright of love. . . and then almost rescued: out of that 'almost' comes this remarkable story of dedication impeded by personal squabbles and the research bureaucracy. -- Roger Shattuck, author of The Forbidden Experiment Russ Rymer, in the process of telling the poignant story of one desperately unfortunate little girl, raises profound questions about both the origins of language and the ultimate source of what we call 'human nature.' At once a scientific detective story and an examination of professional ethics, Genie is disturbing, enlightening, and impossible to forget. -- Michael Dorris, author of The Broken Cord Topical books by journalists rarely afford the reading pleasures of Genie: high drama, intellectual and philosophical substance, and vivid, poetic reportage. . . brilliant. -- Richard Higgins, Boston Globe I am dazzled by Rymer's literary skills and his expertise in delineating the debate--or rather the feeding frenzy--that Genie's 'case' stirred among scientists, academics, and caretakers. It is a tragic tale of obsession, exploitation, and lost souls. And the questions Rymer poses about human experience and experiements on humans make the story both intellectually absorbing and emotionally disturbing. Genie is a wondrous feat of storytelling and investigative journalism, compulsively readable while forcing us to think hard about our own humanity. -- Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club A rarity among popular science books, a luciously written page turner. -- New York Times Book Review

""A child deprived of her birthright of love. . . and then almost rescued: out of that 'almost' comes this remarkable story of dedication impeded by personal squabbles and the research bureaucracy."" -- Roger Shattuck, author of The Forbidden Experiment ""Russ Rymer, in the process of telling the poignant story of one desperately unfortunate little girl, raises profound questions about both the origins of language and the ultimate source of what we call 'human nature.' At once a scientific detective story and an examination of professional ethics, Genie is disturbing, enlightening, and impossible to forget."" -- Michael Dorris, author of The Broken Cord ""Topical books by journalists rarely afford the reading pleasures of Genie: high drama, intellectual and philosophical substance, and vivid, poetic reportage. . . brilliant."" -- Richard Higgins, Boston Globe ""I am dazzled by Rymer's literary skills and his expertise in delineating the debate--or rather the feeding frenzy--that Genie's 'case' stirred among scientists, academics, and caretakers. It is a tragic tale of obsession, exploitation, and lost souls. And the questions Rymer poses about human experience and experiements on humans make the story both intellectually absorbing and emotionally disturbing. Genie is a wondrous feat of storytelling and investigative journalism, compulsively readable while forcing us to think hard about our own humanity."" -- Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club ""A rarity among popular science books, a luciously written page turner."" -- New York Times Book Review

Russ Rymer, in the process of telling the poignant story of one desperately unfortunate little girl, raises profound questions about both the origins of language and the ultimate source of what we call 'human nature.' At once a scientific detective story and an examination of professional ethics, Genie is disturbing, enlightening, and impossible to forget. -- Michael Dorris, author of The Broken Cord A child deprived of her birthright of love...and then almost rescued: out of that 'almost' comes this remarkable story of dedication impeded by personal squabbles and the research bureaucracy. -- Roger Shattuck, author of The Forbidden Experiment Topical books by journalists rarely afford the reading pleasures of Genie: high drama, intellectual and philosophical substance, and vivid, poetic reportage...brilliant. -- Richard Higgins, Boston

Author Information

Russ Rymer is a journalist who has written for The New Yorker, Harper's, and the New York Times. His first book, Genie, was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He lives in Los Angles.

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