Where do I begin with my review of “Miracle Man” by author, William R. Leibowitz? Well, for starters, it was a fantastic read…
Based on the story found within “Miracle Man,” Leibowitz appears to have a fundamental grasp of the sciences and it shows in his writing. Leibowitz is also explanatory and descriptive, yet he does so without becoming verbose or tediously long-winded as many “scientific” writers are often wont to do. Finally, Leibowitz takes care to engage the reader in an interesting manner, and has even used events/happenings from our current day and age to infuse a true-to-life realism to this tale.
Now, with all that said, let me share a little about “Miracle Man.”
Robert Austin, or Bobby as he prefers to be called, is an amazingly gifted child. (And that statement doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of his intelligence). At age four, his adoptive parents, Edith and Peter, take Bobby to see a child psychologist. Bobby frequently falls into these “trance-like” states and they are genuinely concerned that there could be something seriously wrong. Especially since during these periods, Bobby appears to be oblivious to the rest of the world. Bobby doesn’t spend much time sleeping either, and when he does, he’s assaulted with horrific-to-him nightmares.
Bobby’s pediatrician has assured Edith and Peter that bad dreams are normal for his age; he even suggested that the trances are Bobby’s version of a “sleep substitute.” Yet, living with their son; seeing the aftermath of these nightmares and how much Bobby is negatively impacted by them; neither parent can truly believe the pediatrician. Thus they set an appointment with the best child psychologist they have access to. To receive answers and assurance, (not to mention their desire to ensure the safety of their son), they want to have Bobby’s mental health/stability evaluated.
As I mentioned a moment ago, Bobby is only four, but somehow this young child is reading, understanding, and correctly answering and/or problem solving at a graduate school level. In more than one field… That amount of intelligence is definitely shocking, especially when you consider that most children Bobby’s age have a vocabulary of around 500 words, and are only now becoming aware and/or curious about small “scientific” things like: “why is the sky blue?”
Enter, Dr. Ronald Draper, (Head of the Department of Child Psychology at Mount Sinai Hospital), who, after spending several hours alone with Bobby, knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this young boy is the smartest child he’s ever tested. After several additional days with him, Dr. Draper is willing to bet that Bobby, (at just four), is the smartest person this world has ever seen. Being a child psychologist, Dr. Draper is quite familiar with the developmental progress of children. To say he is in awe of this boy’s unseen, and yet untapped, potential would probably be the understatement of the century. Knowing full well the challenges that Bobby will face once he begins public school, he reaches out to the Chancellor of the city’s Board of Education.
If you want to know where Bobby goes from here, may I suggest that you get your own copy of “Miracle Man.”
And … for those of you who enjoy well-written books, or books that center around science, mathematics, medical, et cetera; then “Miracle Man” is a “must” read. Five stars…