Ruth Searle

A frustrating, patronising, and sloppily researched book.

The author all but ignores women with Asperger's, focusing on the theory of the 'extreme male brain' without ever explaining how this has resulted in women being under-diagnosed. There is no exploration at all of the differences between the genders, even though they are significant enough to mean most women don't get a diagnosis (or even realise they have) Asperger's until later in life.
I found the book to be simplisticly written, almost patronising at times; I'm unsure who she felt her intended audience was, but it doesn't seem to have been any semi-educated person, either with or without Asperger's.

I agree with the review by askajnaiman here on LibraryThing: I, too, periodically felt the need to set it on fire.… (mere)

31.08 (UNFINISHED, because it sucks)

It’s amazing that a book published in 2010 makes the sweeping generalizations about gender this one does. I periodically felt the need to set in on fire. Even though it claims Asperger is a ‘extreme male brain’ it never explains how you get female Aspies and how this affects them and their personalities, considering they are still asked the same from society. It’s such a gapping hole in the argument it’s not simply a matter of choosing not to engage but of actively ignoring the issue.

I think I liked one line from the whole book:

People with Asperger syndrome may have a limited capacity for socializing because they are only able to achieve success in social interactions by intellectualizing and thinking about how social interactions work - they find it difficult to understand the process intuitively. pp 5… (mere)

31.08 (UNFINISHED, because it sucks)

It’s amazing that a book published in 2010 makes the sweeping generalizations about gender this one does. I periodically felt the need to set in on fire. Even though it claims Asperger is a ‘extreme male brain’ it never explains how you get female Aspies and how this affects them and their personalities, considering they are still asked the same from society. It’s such a gapping hole in the argument it’s not simply a matter of choosing not to engage but of actively ignoring the issue.

I think I liked one line from the whole book:

People with Asperger syndrome may have a limited capacity for socializing because they are only able to achieve success in social interactions by intellectualizing and thinking about how social interactions work - they find it difficult to understand the process intuitively. pp 5… (mere)

This book has amazingly low rating. Maybe people just don't agree with what is written in it. It is an eight chapter book, very easy to read. The first four chapters provide information on a variety of subjects. After all psychology is something complex an u can't isolate one matter without looking into what else affects us. It covers subject like aspergers, social psicology and even the biological differences between men and women. But the best thing is that the book gives the main contradicting theories and let us make up our own minds. Very informative and interesting to read.
The end chapter give practical advice for building relationships and a clear way of communicating.… (mere)