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The Natural Superiority of the Left-Hander
Over 400,000 copies in print!
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 1979
6 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
James Tertius de Kay
18 books13 followersJames Tertius deKay is also the author of Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History and Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian. He lives in Stonington, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 10, 2017
A generous birthday gift from my wonderful (and, of course, also leftie!) GR friend, Werner, this humorous book of left-hander facts was informative as well as fun. Some of the tidbits I was already aware of; some I wasn't, but all were interesting. One that particularly delighted me (geekily weird as some may find it) is that (the left-handed) Michelangelo portrayed the first man as a leftie in The Creation of Adam, something it surprised me I hadn't noticed before, as every time I see a leftie anywhere - in movies, on TV, or otherwise - it immediately stands out for me. Though it may well have been simply an artistic choice, considering the body positions of God and Adam in the painting, of all the fun facts in the book, I liked discovering this one the best. Thank you so much for the very enjoyable read, Werner!
August 14, 2018
Of course I loved it! It details all the reasons I am so awesome.
March 9, 2017
As a proud left-hander, this book just called to me. I really enjoyed it. Every left-hander needs to know that they are important and they are special. This book is also perfect for annoying my sister, who is constantly annoyed by me pointing out all kinds of left-handed facts and people!
January 13, 2009
It's just true, that's all I'm sayin'...
December 25, 2015
If you know a left-handed person who’s feeling out-of-place for being a southpaw, then this illustrated book of quirky facts about left-handers may be just the book to cheer them up.
I spotted this gem in my friend Andrea’s classroom. Many people, myself included, are guilty of giving Andrea a hard time about the amount of stuff that she collects. Generally, teachers hoard everything from handouts to books to sentimental cards to anything we think might be useful for any future project for any subject. We’re cool with sharing, so we gather across any curriculum. When I spotted this book, I was immediately drawn to it...probably because I’m a lefty who enjoys my own delusions of grandeur. I picked it up and Andrea said, “That was one of my dad’s favorites!”
Boom!
I had another book for my Reading Challenge and I saw Andrea’s collection of unending stuff in a new light.
One of the categories for my Reading Challenge is to read a book my mom loves. Well, my mom passed away a few years ago, so I had been debating how to handle this category. When I saw Andrea’s visceral connection to her dad through this book, I knew I had found a book that honored my interpretation of the category’s intent: read wisdom passed on from a parental figure.
Looking around at the variety of books in Andrea’s classroom, I thought what a joy it must be to be a middle schooler in her room. Besides being one of the kindest people I know, Andrea has amassed a treasure trove of surprises. Theoretically, kids could spend an entire school year in her classroom and not discover every object stowed away in secret nooks and crannies. She feeds their curiosity! With books like this one…
Since this book was originally published in 1979, the author focused on devices created for right-handed people like scissors, watches, and even phonograph tone arms. With modern technology, my lefty preference and age is apparent to any IT person who sees my mouse on the left side of my keyboard. The look of shock and horror that overcomes their faces is actually priceless.
Taking in some historical perspective, I learned that in 1992, all three major candidates for President were left-handed. Bush, Clinton, and Perot. Any conspiracy theorists want to run with this one?
My mom was a fraternal twin. While she was not a lefty, her brother is. My dad is right-handed too, so me being a lefty is rare. If both parents are right-handed, only 2% of their kids will be left-handed. And there are more lefty boys than girls.
Now most of these facts are not cited, but I don’t think they’d be too hard to verify if I were writing an academic paper. Better still, deKay spends the second half of the book comparing the ideas of various researchers and psychologists. He includes the ideas of neurosurgeon Joseph Bogan and transitions into information on the brain’s two hemispheres. Most of this section nicely explains how left-handed people are more artsy fartsy and right-handed people are logical thinkers.
My favorite fact, though, involved the NASA astronauts for the Apollo missions. One out of every four was left-handed, which seems pretty amazing!
And now that I’ve read this quirky sampling of lefty facts, I must return it to Andrea for her to share with her students, left-handed or not.
I spotted this gem in my friend Andrea’s classroom. Many people, myself included, are guilty of giving Andrea a hard time about the amount of stuff that she collects. Generally, teachers hoard everything from handouts to books to sentimental cards to anything we think might be useful for any future project for any subject. We’re cool with sharing, so we gather across any curriculum. When I spotted this book, I was immediately drawn to it...probably because I’m a lefty who enjoys my own delusions of grandeur. I picked it up and Andrea said, “That was one of my dad’s favorites!”
Boom!
I had another book for my Reading Challenge and I saw Andrea’s collection of unending stuff in a new light.
One of the categories for my Reading Challenge is to read a book my mom loves. Well, my mom passed away a few years ago, so I had been debating how to handle this category. When I saw Andrea’s visceral connection to her dad through this book, I knew I had found a book that honored my interpretation of the category’s intent: read wisdom passed on from a parental figure.
Looking around at the variety of books in Andrea’s classroom, I thought what a joy it must be to be a middle schooler in her room. Besides being one of the kindest people I know, Andrea has amassed a treasure trove of surprises. Theoretically, kids could spend an entire school year in her classroom and not discover every object stowed away in secret nooks and crannies. She feeds their curiosity! With books like this one…
Since this book was originally published in 1979, the author focused on devices created for right-handed people like scissors, watches, and even phonograph tone arms. With modern technology, my lefty preference and age is apparent to any IT person who sees my mouse on the left side of my keyboard. The look of shock and horror that overcomes their faces is actually priceless.
Taking in some historical perspective, I learned that in 1992, all three major candidates for President were left-handed. Bush, Clinton, and Perot. Any conspiracy theorists want to run with this one?
My mom was a fraternal twin. While she was not a lefty, her brother is. My dad is right-handed too, so me being a lefty is rare. If both parents are right-handed, only 2% of their kids will be left-handed. And there are more lefty boys than girls.
Now most of these facts are not cited, but I don’t think they’d be too hard to verify if I were writing an academic paper. Better still, deKay spends the second half of the book comparing the ideas of various researchers and psychologists. He includes the ideas of neurosurgeon Joseph Bogan and transitions into information on the brain’s two hemispheres. Most of this section nicely explains how left-handed people are more artsy fartsy and right-handed people are logical thinkers.
My favorite fact, though, involved the NASA astronauts for the Apollo missions. One out of every four was left-handed, which seems pretty amazing!
And now that I’ve read this quirky sampling of lefty facts, I must return it to Andrea for her to share with her students, left-handed or not.
August 16, 2019
Despite a significant amount of study, there has been no definitive conclusion as to the reason why approximately ten percent of the human population is left-handed. There is conclusive evidence that there is a genetic component, but no specific cause is known. This book is a description of many of the facts of being left-handed, including the bias in the construction of tools towards the right-handed and words used to describe left-handers as somehow sinister.
Two of the most interesting facts concern the concentrations of left-handers in some populations. There is evidence that one in three Native Americans was left-handed at the time of the arrival of the Europeans. When NASA conducted batteries of tests on astronaut candidates, twenty-five percent of the group deemed the best and brightest were left-handed. Far higher than the percentage in the general population.
The book closes with an absurd statement, that left-handers are almost a different species than the balance of the population. There is not much evidence for this claim, it perpetuates the idea that left-handedness is somehow bizarre and should be suppressed. Some of these facts are fun, others a bit silly, but all are interesting.
Two of the most interesting facts concern the concentrations of left-handers in some populations. There is evidence that one in three Native Americans was left-handed at the time of the arrival of the Europeans. When NASA conducted batteries of tests on astronaut candidates, twenty-five percent of the group deemed the best and brightest were left-handed. Far higher than the percentage in the general population.
The book closes with an absurd statement, that left-handers are almost a different species than the balance of the population. There is not much evidence for this claim, it perpetuates the idea that left-handedness is somehow bizarre and should be suppressed. Some of these facts are fun, others a bit silly, but all are interesting.
November 21, 2021
This is a great book for left handed kids, but it’s likely to make right handed kids a bit jealous of their left handed peers. With many clever illustrations, the author certainly does make a case for lefties being superior. The book has a lot of interesting facts and tidbits. I found it quite interesting that two right handed parents only have a 2% chance of having a left handed child. That happened in my family twice! It’s an entertaining and informative book.
March 17, 2013
This was a fun book to read. Naturally, it contained a lot of interesting left-hander trivia. It is really quirky. It has drawings that are just begging to be colored. Could someone please pass me some color pencils? LOL
*This book does mention group sex in one drawing like another review mentioned, which did feel out of place and makes this book a little non-kid friendly.
*This book does mention group sex in one drawing like another review mentioned, which did feel out of place and makes this book a little non-kid friendly.
February 25, 2009
I got this book for my oldest son who by some weird phenomenon ended up left handed. We got a laugh out of some of the things in this book and were amazed by some of the facts.
So, what do you think, could it be that left handers are a step up in evolution??
So, what do you think, could it be that left handers are a step up in evolution??
January 3, 2009
it's true. we're just better at stuff.
August 27, 2009
A humorous look at the natural advantages, an the imposed disadvantages, of Left-Handers.
March 15, 2011
THIS BOOK ROCKS!!
March 18, 2011
A great book for any proud left-hander!
June 25, 2012
I gave this to my left-handed sister for her birthday - but not before reading it & dying of laughter! This book is hilarious & fascinating!
January 5, 2013
I learned some stuff that once rekindled my pride in my left-handedness.
January 5, 2016
It's fun to read, but a lot of the data and references are drastically out of date now.
October 8, 2016
I bought this as a joke for my left handed hubby and ended up reading it myself.
March 25, 2018
Another fun look at us lovable lefties!
November 22, 2018
fun facts and statistics for lefties.
March 10, 2019
I’ve never been more proud to be a southpaw!
April 7, 2025
I am left-handed, and this is another book my mom gifted me at some point. Honestly though, I don't think a lot of the left-handed "facts" here are all that true. Kind of has horoscope vibes, where if the shoe fits (on the left foot), then people think it makes sense and is applicable to them. I don't think being left-handed has really informed who I am that much. I don't know, I definitely hate scissors though.
March 18, 2020
I read this book with my south-paw son. We learned about the famous Kerr family from Scotland who built left-handed staircases so they’d be easy to defend and the American Indians who may have been the world’s largest single population of left-handers (one in three was left-handed). “One out of every four Apollo astronauts turned out to be left-handed—a figure 250% greater than drastically probability.”
Several times while reading my son exclaimed, “That’s so true!” The whorl of my son’s hair twists counterclockwise, just like the book says. When we got to the math part, “left-handers tens to translate everything into visual imagery,” and he explained what math and science tests look like in his brain. I never knew. But I did know my left-handed son was special.
Several times while reading my son exclaimed, “That’s so true!” The whorl of my son’s hair twists counterclockwise, just like the book says. When we got to the math part, “left-handers tens to translate everything into visual imagery,” and he explained what math and science tests look like in his brain. I never knew. But I did know my left-handed son was special.
October 11, 2021
This is a fun and easy read for anyone that is left-handed. I highly recommend it as a gift to any left-hander that you know. Very enjoyable...but it's an older book so it doesn't show all of the IMPORTANT left-handers (since my name was missing ;-) ). It does not show all the left-handed US Presidents, either.
February 3, 2009
I always thought lefties were all right ;)
September 18, 2011
Great quick read! Love the illustrations that went along with it.
April 30, 2017
Adorable, informative, and gives me a sense of kinship. It's nice to be reminded sometimes that I'm not alone!
March 2, 2020
A fun look at stats of lefties. We already know we are superior people and this book helps that knowledge. :)
July 5, 2020
Left handers are clearly superior.
July 18, 2021
A bathroom reader type of book on left handed people who were successful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews