Product Description

Babies are strange creatures. They enter our lives, and things are never the same again. In this unusual book, Ian Sansom (father of three) conveys the oddness and beauty of human beings in their first year of life, and the cataclysmic affect they have on those around them. At a time when most books on babies are manuals crammed with milestones and measurements, "The Truth About Babies" is different. It is written as a series of meditations on every aspect of babies, from bathing, boredom, breastfeeding and buggies to weaning, weight, words and work. Sansom manages to be both playful and profound, both philosophical and earthy - and frequently very funny.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #359097 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

New Baby
‘Packed full of wry, poignant observations on all aspects of babydom...One to enjoy with a nightcap’

The Guardian
‘A true and beautiful book...Every new parent should have a copy for their journey through that first year'

Evening Standard
‘Funny and touching and true’

Customer Reviews

The Truth Is Out There
I don't have children. I don't even like children that much and I only picked up this book as a recommendation from a friend. Frankly, it blew my socks off. Don't be fooled by the title; while it is a book about babies, it is also an epic tale of how we live and function in the modern world and there is something here for everyone. I personally don't think that this book belongs in the Parenting or Pregnancy section of any bookshop, rather on the shelves next to Dave Eggers or Garrison Keillor. With an alphabetical entry to a page, it moves you through the horrors and pleasures of the first year of life, but also brings into focus all our pasts and futures. It is refreshing, enlightening, down to earth and incredibly funny. Sansom must surely be the next big thing... a cross between Hornby, Chomsky and a good night out with Victoria Wood. Whether you are a parent, someone who loves to read or if you simply need a bit of cheering up, this really is a great book to curl up with. Highly recommended.

Buy this book before the secret is out...
As a busy parent of young children, I was sceptical that 'The Truth About Babies' would have anything to offer me that I hadn't already experienced or pondered. The beauty of this A-Z montage is that you can dip in and out during those late night feeds as a reminder that you are still a functioning and relatively intelligent adult. It is an extraordinary reflection of what life is really like with a babe in arms - the snot, the poo, the overwhelming beauty of it all, but beyond that it also presents a series of philosophical and life affirming meditations for the modern parent. Sansom is profoundly humorous and has produced a book which is touching, hilarious, poignant and true. I loved it. I urge you to buy this one now before the secret is out...

Unexpected
Expecting the birth of our first child, we bought several sensible books, full of factual details. I decided to buy this based on an Amazon recomendation. It's the balance against all the other people, books and magazines you will come into contact with. It's very very personnal indeed, easily and carefully crossing into those taboo areas about babies and their habits, that your parents and well meaning friends won't go into, for fear of putting you off!

Short thoughts and musings, in alphabetical order, from a parent trying to make sense of their new baby, while the baby tries to make sense of them. Sometimes the thoughts go off at tangents, sometimes they are very funny, other times very deep and full of powerful emotions.

A good book that will give people, with any interest in entering the wonderful world of parenting at some point in their lives, a balanced view that babies are not all cute pink or blue, lovely little fluffy bundles of joy, but that they are trainee human beings trying hard to get to grips with a big scary world, while their parents try hard to understand them.