Product Description

- Why are most people right-handed? Do left-handers behave differently from right-handers? - Why is the heart on the left-hand side of the body? - Why is each side of the human brain so different? - Why do the British drive on the left? Why do European languages go from left to right, while Arabic ones read the other way? - Why do clocks go clockwise? - What is the relationship between handedness and speech disorders, such as stuttering? RIGHT HAND, LEFT HAND uses sources as diverse as the paintings of Rembrandt and the sculpture of Michelangelo, the behaviour of Canadian cichlid fish and the story of early cartography. Modern cognitive science, the history of the Wimbledon tennis championship and the biographies of great musicians are also used to explain the vast repertoire of 'left-right' symbolism that permeates our everyday lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147025 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Chris McManus' Left Hand, Right Hand will be of interest to lefties who may have slightly resented the historic association of right-handers as being correct and dextrous (Latin dexter: right-hand side) and left-handers as sinister and gauche (Latin sinister: left-hand side with the heraldic bend sinister indicating illegitimacy). Chris McManus could hardly be more appropriately named (Latin manus: hand) and, as a university professor and one of the world's leading authorities the extraordinary and fascinating intricacies of our fundamental asymmetry. Wherever you look in nature there is asymmetry with an inclination to handedness and, like the law and life, it is almost impossible to be even-handed.

Right Hand Left Hand is a wonderful read, reaching from the fundamental depths of atomic structure (sub-atomic particles called neutrinos are left-handed) and the stuff we are all made of (the DNA double helix has a right-handed twist, although one of its co-discoverers Jim Watson is left-handed) through anatomy (our hearts generally are on our left side) up to Zulus, who reputedly cured any left-handed child's tendency by so scalding the hand so that the child is bound to use the right hand. Whatever your inherited or chosen handedness, there is a surprise and a good story here for the general reader. You will be able to keep family and friends entertained for hours retelling the details, although they might appreciate it more if you just handed round copies of the book since it is over 400 pages long. Accompanied by illustrations, notes, further reading and an excellent index, this is one of the best popular science books of the year. --Douglas Palmer

Review
Chris McManus has given four very successful public lectures at the Hay Festival, Royal Institution (200 people attending), Edinburgh Science Festival about 150 attending and at the Institute for Cultural Research about 150 attending, with the event being listed in the Sunday Times Books Events Section. His lecture at the Hay Festival led to an article in the Guardian and subsequent interviews with The World Today, BBC World Service, Late Night Live, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Leeds. He appeared on Start the Week (BBC Radio 4) on Monday 1st April. BBC Radio 4 are also running a three part series in May/June on handedness' which will feature Chris McManus. Interviews have also been fixed up with: Talk Sport, German Public Radio, NewsDrive (BBC Radio Scotland - 18 March), BBC Three Counties Radio (18 March), BBC Asian Network Radio (18 March), Nicky Campbell Show (BBC Radio 5, 19 March), Jimmy Young Show (BBC Radio 2 19 March), BBC Radio Belfast (1 April) Gary Robertson Show (BBC Radio Scotland 4 April), BBC Radio Kent - phone in (23 April), Jerry Ryan Show, RTE Radio Ireland and BBC London. Further interviews are planned with BBC Radio Leeds and Star 107.9FM. There was a feature on London Tonight on 19 March about the author and his research. Other feature/news coverage includes: Sunday Times (17 March), Daily Mail (full page feature, 19 March), Daily Mail (news piece, 18 March), Times (full page feature, 18 March), Ta Nea (Greek National Newspaper), Corriere Della Sera (Italian National Newspaper) which has published a news article, a feature and a further feature in its colour magazine supplement, Interest has also been expressed by The Sunday Herald, The Herald, and Scottish Metro Reviews have appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator, Scotland on Sunday, Financial Times, Chemistry in Britain, Nature, New Scientist and on Amazon. ... this wonderful book...delightful and informative ..Nature Read this deservedly prize-winning book for yourself...An extraordinarily wide-ranging and gripping "whatdunnit"Financial Times It is a triumph of a book. Limpidly written, dryly witty and extraordinarily wide-reaching,this is surely the most inclusive and erudite popular account of asymmetry yet produced.The Spectator A work of such breadth of eruditionScotland on Sunday This is one of the best popular science books of the year.Douglas Palmer, A

The Spectator, 13 April 2002
'limpidly written, drily witty and extraordinarily wide-reaching ... surely the most inclusive and erudite popular account of asymmetry yet produced'

Customer Reviews

Intriguing take on the world of asymmetry
Many left-handed people (like myself) like to make a point of their "individuality", particularly since in generations past left-handers were (and still are in parts of the world) persecuted for simply using another side of their bodies to achieve everyday tasks. In this ambitious and entertaining book, the entire world of asymmetry (and symmetry) is covered in depth. Assymetries in social science, biology, chemistry, physics and psychology are heartily dissected. From Dr Watson's discovery that not all hearts are placed on the left, to disturbing accounts of loss of language and thought processes when one half of the brain is damaged, this book has it covered. A rather deep review of the left-handedness of amino acids and why genes might make us more "left" than right" are offset by two frivilous and fun chapters about left-handed facts and figures such as Da Vinci's mirror-writing and the left-handedness of Muppets. And lots of diagrams will keep you interested. I had an entertaining two weeks reading this book, and you will too.

Wonderful exploration of symmetry and asymmetry
I am left-handed (or as I now know partially left-handed) as I suspect most of the readers of this book are. That is a pity as this is an excellent book and is about much more than just handedness, it is about symmetry (and asymmetry).

The author shows a fantastic breadth of knowledge as he covers not only handedness but also a wide range of subjects, including:
- Situs inversus - where the organs are reversed (i.e. a mirror image) but there is no increase in the likelihood of the person being left-handed
- Word associations - where typically 'good' words are associated with right and 'bad' words are associated with left
- Burial conventions - how different societies orientated their dead in different directions
- Symmetry of molecules - L-isomers and D-isomers - and how a different orientation can have a radical effect on the nature of the molecule
- A collection of left-handed myths (and explanations)
- An analysis of which side of the road countries drive on
- And much, much more

This is popular science writing at its very best and the result is one of the best popular science books I have ever read.

Recommended to all (not just left-handers).

Very interesting for both left & right handers
I'm a 'lefty', 'southpaw', 'cack-handed' etc. My daughter bought me this for my birthday. It was a very interesting read.

The only downside was that some of the chapters seemed too long, at over 30 pages? There were points when the topic of the chapter seemed exhausted, and was strung out, and on more than one occasion my interest waned, only to perk up on the next page when some new issue was introduced, and off we went again?

What I liked best was the little anecdotes (I drafted this before I read the previous Reviewers thoughts, so he stole my thunder, but I thought I'd leave it in).

Like how it took years for Canada to decide whether to drive on the Left or the Right, with British Columbia & the Maritime Provinces not changing over until after the First World War, and then still over a number years between 1920 and 1924. Similarly how Western & Eastern Austria drove on different sides of the road until 1938.

Lots of fascinating material.