Editorial Review
Explores how the ADHD gene is and has been critical to humanity's development
• Shows how artists, inventors, and innovators carry the gene necessary for the future survival of humanity
• Explains why children with the Edison gene are so often mislabeled in public schools as having a disorder
• 10,000 sold in hardcover since August 2003
Thomas Edison was expelled from school for behavior that today would label him as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but his mother understood how to salvage his self-esteem and prepare him for a lifetime of success. In The Edison Gene Thom Hartmann shows that the creativity, impulsiveness, and distractibility that are characteristic of ADHD are not signs of a disorder at all, but instead are components of a highly adaptive skill set utilized by our hunting and gathering ancestors. These characteristics have been critical to the survival and development of our modern civilization and will be vital as humanity faces new challenges in the future."
Hartmann, creator of the "hunter versus farmer" theory of ADHD, examines the latest discoveries confirming the existence of an ADHD gene and the global catastrophe 40,000 years ago that triggered its development. Citing examples of significant innovators in our modern era, he argues that the children who possess the "Edison gene" have neurology that is wired to give them brilliant success as innovators, inventors, explorers, and entrepreneurs. He offers concrete strategies for helping Edison-gene children reach their full potential and shows that rather than being "problems," such children are a vital gift to our society and the world.
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Customer Reviews
Nothing short of life-changing 
2006-11-09
This book saved us. Understanding our son as a "hunter child" helped us to understand the frustration he must have felt at not fitting into a world tailored to "farmers." The book changed how we respond to him and gave us a new respect for his valuable talents. Hartmann's proposals coupled with anecdotes about his wife's successes with their own children helped us to design an approach that has turned our relationship around and skyrocketed his confidence in himself and drawn out an outstanding ability to regulate HIMSELF.
Scientific without being too hard to understand 2006-04-16
Finally - a book on ADD/ADHD that includes scientific/medical information that is informative without being overwhelming. All too often books on ADD/ADHD are written in an overly simplistic manner that almost seems condescending to a reader's personal experience and intelligence. Kudos to Thom Hartmann for writing a comprehensive book that speaks to a reader as an equal while raising the reader's awareness to a higher level of understanding.
I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for beyond the mainstream perceptions of what is currently referred to as "ADD" and "ADHD".
Good but not Great 
2006-03-02
The book provides an interesting perspective on ADD as well as ADHD, suggesting that the "disorder" was once an adventagous evolutionary adaptation. He cites a lot of research which does support this idea, but in some parts the book drags a bit. Particlarluy if you already know a good deal about evolution. In some parts Heartman takes his ideas a bit too far and has an almost religious zeal for this topic. Overall the book could have been organised better.
Still, this is a very interesting read, and a refreshing new perspective on ADD and ADHD. Heartmans approch to ADD and ADHD is to work towards the strengths, as opposed to trying to repress the symptoms of ADD and ADHD. This is a very good book for those who are interested in the topic but have not done extensive reasearch about it yet.
Hartmann can't help but spiral downwards, again & again, into pro-Liberal diatribe... 2005-09-06
The author had a clear mission and a refreshing angle on ADHD (which I and my son have). He even went so far at one point to state (not suggest or hint) that ADHDers saved the world 40,000 years ago by being able to come up with solutions to problems caused by the near-simultaneous eruption of three major volcanoes that ushered in an ice age in less than 12 years (so he says!).
That's great. We get encouragement about being intellectual warriors who, like Thomas Edison, are curious about our world and find quick, creative solutions to problems. You might find us staffing an emergency room, zooming by on a motorcycle, making news with our latest start-up or excitedly finishing your sentences for you.
What's not great is that Hartmann still very clearly and consistently describes an us v. them world--which is what he ostensibly planned to avoid by writing this book. Moving from problem child v. "normal" (as he calls non-ADHDers) to hunter v. farmer doesn't provide the reader with integrative tools. It's one thing to pat someone on the back and encourage them to feel good about themselves; it's quite another to put that difference into practical application.
Hartmann's bread and butter is the study of ADHD; with a dozen books under his belt it's time to move ahead in the research.
Hartmann's sad digs at everything to the right of Karl Marx start out as a trickle but are in full swing less than halfway into the book--and are sometimes contradictory.
For example: He praises ADHDer's ability to process large amounts of information quickly, but damns our desire for quick answers to complex problems (p. 104); he admires the tenacity and confidence we have in sports and the world generally but criticizes us when we "fight and claw and climb their way to the top of the social, political and economic ladders" (p. 105), stating that such behavior is no better than that of a lowly reptile.
His rants against other tired targets of the rabid left include TV (which causes psychopathology; p. 106); the alphabet (whose "rewiring of the brain" causes class wars! p. 107); vitamins (everyone should eat yerba mate, which was sent from some gods or other; and never take Ritalin; p. 121); the doctors (who are actually consorts of the drug companies); video games (children should play like kittens do! p. 129; but "achievement-oriented...physical education classes" are worthless, p. 130; yet exercise is "the optimal treatment," p. 132); the government; the environment; nutriceuticals; and school--which is "critical to a free society" (although he doesn't say how), "torture" and "condemnation" all at the same time. How exciting!
It's "just common sense," he assures us, that school, causing the stress that it does (he cites no studies), puts kids
at greater risk for "drug abuse, promiscuity, antisocial behavior, relationship troubles, and a whole range of failures and problems" for the rest of students' lives (p. 114).
I've just gotten into the chapter about how ADHD manifests in females. His blatant pandering to readers who lament the death of formal goddess-worship in the western world is sickening. His summation of history here, as in other parts of the book, has as its purpose not to enlighten (theoretically, we all know something of the Salem Witch Trials and high-fashion models) but to whip up a frenzy, to leave readers slightly off-balance as we scratch our heads and wonder if it's he or we who are misremembering what we've learned in the past. It's at this time that he sneaks in more of his illogical conclusions and back-patting nonsense.
The end result is a disappointing feeling of having been taken for a ride, and little else.
a good book for anyone looking to gain more knoweldge of ADD 
2005-08-12
I thought the book was good. My only complaint was the beggining was a little too much science, but than it was loaded with lots of good information such as how to parent children with ADD. Most of the science stuff was interesting, but some good a little too technical. I have read several of Thom Hartmans books and would reccomend them all. His style is easy to read, yet full with practical information.
I would not recocmend the book unless you had ADD or your kid or a close family member did.
Good customer service 2008-01-27
The book that I ordered came on-time and in great shape. I couldn't have asked for an easier transaction.
For self-help, buy something else 
2007-11-02
If you do have ADD, this book won't keep your attention for five minutes. I do agree with the author's premise that ADD is just a way of being that is "different", and even advantageous in certain situations, instead of "wrong", "defective", or "sick". However this book is not the self-help manual I was expecting. Instead it is full of tedious and repetitive analysis of the supposed evolutionary roots of ADD and technical discussions of the specific genes that supposedly contribute to a tendency towards ADD. This may be of interest to some but is not the best choice for an ADDer looking for practical strategies to improve their life. I resolutely plowed through the first couple of chapters, but after seeing that it was going nowhere just skimmed the rest of the book. A couple of books that I have found more helpful are ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life and Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder.
wasted $ 
2007-08-07
I had high hopes for this book. It sounded like such a great idea. It really is, but would have been much better summarized in a magazine article. You get the gist from the back cover. Most of the book is either the author touting how he is responsible for coining the phrase and that anyone else is only borrowing it from him; or is a lesson on the ice age and climatology - neither of which I wanted to shell out $20 for, not to mention my precious time.
must read 2007-05-14
There is a lot to learn about ADHD. This is a good place to start.
Children grow so fast, they have to live with our choices, let us all work hard to help make them happy adults.
Best ADHD book I have read so far 2007-01-10
Loved it. Easy to read and fascinating new info. you won't find in other books on this topic
