... gripping, meticulously researched ... The bracing revelation of Brookwood’s book is that these essential lessons in countering the effects of neglect and disadvantage came frighteningly close to disappearing without a trace. Discovering that past helps us recognize just how far we still have to go to provide opportunities to help all young minds realize the promise they possess.
... excellent ... In chronicling a major intellectual battle of the 20th century, The Orphans of Davenport offers scientists a cautionary, timeless tale about groupthink’s power to subvert the dispassionate analysis of new findings. It is also yet another sobering reminder of how specious science can be wielded to justify evil ends—with the attendant suffering of those least able to defend themselves.
With this riveting history of an unsung scientific breakthrough in the 1930s, psychologist Brookwood tells how U.S. state and federal governments, backed by mainstream psychologists, had for decades enforced eugenicist policies ... A remarkable unsung history, told with empathy, nuance, and a knack for character-driven storytelling.
... a revealing and thoroughly researched history ... Brookwood meticulously documents the scholarly dispute, which played out in journals and at conferences, and she reports many intriguing case histories of individual children, including those involved in a longitudinal study that Skeels and Skodak conducted ... A substantive contribution to the history of psychology.
... a lucid and immersive history of how researchers in 1930s Iowa refuted prevailing notions about childhood development ... Brookwood’s well-paced, character-driven account is a worthy tribute to these optimistic and determined researchers, and a reminder that scientific breakthroughs can come from the unlikeliest of places. This spirited history soars.
