Left-hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meaning of All Things Southpaw

by David Wolman

A light-hearted exploration into the history, psychology, science, and most of all, the culture of left-handedness Readers who believe that "only left-handed people are in their right minds" will want to join David Wolman on his left-hand turn around the world, in search of the origin and meaning of the lefty mystique. In a quest to prove his premise of Southpaw superiority, his travels take him from the halls of history to the halls of science, as he visits a Scottish castle with a staircase designed for left-handed swordfighting, and a California operating room where he watches cataract surgery performed by a left-handed doctor. He confers with primatologists about whether chimps' hand preference for throwing could show an evolutionary link between coordination and language ability. He searches for the mystical significance of leftiness at a handwriting analysis conference and a palmistry workshop. Along the way, he meets colourful Southpaws such as Diabolos Rex, follower of the ancient religion of the Left Hand Path, and members of the National Association of Left-Handed Golfers of Japan.
Weaving his personal experience with a blend of sharp-eyed reporting and intriguing personalities, Wolman crafts an entertaining narrative in praise of all things Southpaw.

• ISBN10: 0306814153
• ISBN13: 9780306814150
• Publish Date: 24 October 2005
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 13 December 2008
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US
• Imprint: Da Capo Press Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 248
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

The number of words used to describe left-handedness that have negative connotations are rife. This is the story of one lefties trip to try to find out the why of left-handedness and if humans are unique.

His conclusion? That the scientists are still kinda stumped and unsure what's the reasoning but that some of them are arguing that handedness is a spectrum rather than a fixed thing.

For a leftie it's interesting, for everyone it has something to say. Assumption is interesting and it's also a situation that until people stop trying to force people to use particular hands for tasks we will not really understand it properly.