Journal of Behavioral Education, VoL 4, No. 4, 1994, pp, 487-488

B O O K REVIEW Nature's Gambit: Child Prodigies and the Development of Human Potential. By David H. Feldman. New York: Teachers College Press. 1991. Pp. 266.

This book presents detailed case studies of six, male child prodigies from which the author develops a theory of prodigy development. David H. Feldman began following the children at ages ranging from 31/2 to 9 years. He continued following them until their mid to late adolescence. All six prodigies are Caucasian; however, several ethnic backgrounds are represented (Jewish, Spanish, Italian, and Finnish/Greek). Prodigies from several different domains were selected: chess, music, mathematics and natural sciences, languages, and writing. The book is divided into three parts. Part I includes two chapters which introduce the six children as well as Feldman's theory of co-incidence. Part II, the co-incidence process, includes six chapters which describe the types of domains which produce prodigies, the families and teachers of prodigies, the social and emotional lives of prodigies, and the influences of cultural context. Part III, Known and Unknown forces, includes four chapters. These chapters discuss conditions that express potential, how to harness the forces of co-incidence, the applicability of co-incidence to normal development, and provides follow-up observations on the six prodigies. This book is well organized. Examples from the lives of the six prodigies help illustrate major and minor points throughout the book. From these examples, it is easy to see how the author arrived at each conclusion. However, a more concise summary or introduction would have been helpful. The case studies might have been a little less tedious if the bulk of the case studies had been placed together in a separate section. The detail was appreciated in several areas, especially in illustrating the writing skills of the 3x/2-year-old writing prodigy. Chapter nine, Beyond Co-incidence, was particularly notable. In this chapter, the author presents anecdotes on prodigies and "unknown forces." 487 1053-0819/94/1200-0487507.00/0 O 1994 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

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Here, he discusses the mystical experiences of two of the prodigies. Feldman presents these experiences with a somewhat skeptical tone. While he admits that these sorts of experiences are not typical, he feels that not to present them for consideration would "deny one of the significant aspects of the experience of studying prodigies." The author does not attempt to interpret or explain these phenomena. He does suggest that further investigation may lead to a clearer explanation. He also neglects to compare the prevalence of such experiences among the general public to that among prodigies. The author's attempt to integrate his findings into evolutionary theory is unclear and not well developed. Feldman asserts that prodigies are an important part of cultural evolution, and that the extreme development of individual potential in highly specific domains is relevant to the survival of the species. Both are much debated topics among evolutionary theorists. Feldman does not shed further light on these issues. Feldman's theory of co-incidence is well developed and clear. The idea that many factors must come together in order for potential to develop fully is not a new one, but is intuitively appealing. Nature's Gambit does not present a grand theory or idea. However, it does present the most thorough accumulation of information about prodigies known to this reviewer. This book would be particularly useful to teachers or other professionals who are likely to come in contact with child prodigies. The detailed case studies would provide them with some idea of what prodigies are like. Parents of prodigies might find the approaches of each family to the development of their child's potential helpful in developing their own plans. The summary of the history of prodigies and their treatment would be useful to anyone interested in the study of prodigies. Teresa L. S. Parr

I4rginia Commonwealth University