Books by John Elder Robison

From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non-sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label 'social deviant'. It didn't help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry.Look Me in the Eye is his story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome a form of autism at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. Along the way it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris, who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller.

The slyly funny, sweetly moving memoir of an unconventional dad's relationship with his equally offbeat son-complete with fast cars, tall tales, homemade explosives, and a whole lot of fun and trouble John Robison was not your typical dad. Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at the age of forty, he approached fatherhood as a series of logic puzzles and practical jokes. Instead of a speech about the birds and the bees, he told his son, Cubby, that he'd bought him at the Kid Store-and that the salesman had cheated him by promising Cubby would "do all chores." While other parents played catch with their kids, John taught Cubby to drive the family's antique Rolls-Royce. Still, Cubby seemed to be turning out pretty well, at least until school authorities decided that he was dumb and stubborn-the very same thing John had been told as a child. Did Cubby have Asperger's too? The answer was unclear. One thing was clear, though: By the time he turned seventeen, Cubby had become a brilliant and curious chemist-smart enough to make military-grade explosives and bring federal agents calling. With Cubby facing a felony trial-and up to sixty years in prison-both father and son were forced to take stock of their lives, finally accepting that being "on the spectrum" is both a challenge and a unique gift.