<p>My son is about to turn 17. He is brilliant, socially conscious, caring, but an underachiever (to put it mildly). He is discouraged because he has done very badly in HS, and he is looking at very limited options. I am looking for birthday gifts, and I’d love to find something that would help him find his way out of the hole he’s dug for himself. Do any of you have suggestions for great biographies or other books?</p>
<p>Its funny you should ask. I was reading the Sunday paper and there was a book in book reviews that looked interesting. I read the article and thought that it might be something that my 18 year old daughter would like. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is about an African American woman who died of cervical cancer decades ago. Her cancer cells were taken from her tumor without her knowledge or consent. This line of cells has been used to make some of the most significant advances in cancer research and therapy. The author sought out the woman’s family and the book is about their story and the story of the line of cancer cells still being used today.</p>
<p>Anyway, my D might be interested in a medical career and she is also socially aware and interested in civil rights so I might pick it up for her. Even if she doesn’t read it, I will.</p>
<p>“Endurance”, by Alfred Lansing. The story of Ernest Shackleton’s failed attempt to cross Antarctica. The ship was crushed by ice and sank before the start of the expedition; the book tells of the crew’s against-all-odds survival and return to civilization. </p>
<p>There’s also a nice coffee table book of photos of the expedition.</p>
<p>Since the Haiti earthquake, I’ve heard absolutely phenomenal things about Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, and also found out it’s required reading for some schools.</p>
<p>It’s about the obstacles and journey Dr. Paul Farmer had to endure to get Partners in Health up and running.</p>
<p>How about “Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon? It inspired my D & now she’s so excited to be taking a course taught by one of his students.</p>
<p>Also, if it helps, my D had a very rough time in HS as well. She ended up leaving it after junior year, getting her GED & starting community college. After doing very well there, she’s transferred to a very competitive private university, where she’s doing great.</p>
<p>Splinter Cell and all its permutations, Halo, and the rest of the series, is what my 17 y.o. son likes. I’ll ask about others.</p>
<p>The Way of Shadows, Beyond the Shadows, and a third in the series, by Brent Weeks. As a point of reference, </p>
<p>Not inspiring, just fun. ymmv.</p>
<p>Outliers: The Story of Success–It really makes you think about “success” in a different way. Your son probably has some talents/advantages that he’s not making the most of, and this might help him see the possibilities. (I gave this book to MY underachieving son. . .)</p>
<p>2nd Mountains Beyond Mountains–how one person CAN make a difference.</p>
<p>I second The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho (9780375502989): Jon Katz: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Geeks-Lost-Boys-Internet-Idaho/dp/037550298X]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Geeks-Lost-Boys-Internet-Idaho/dp/037550298X) is an inspiring book about two technically savvy misfits stuck in small town Idaho who are befriended by Wired and Rolling Stone writer Katz and end up at the U. of Chicago.</p>
<p>I agree that the Last Lecture is a good suggestion as well.</p>
<p>my daughter really liked" Three cups of tea" at that age. ( I am now reading Stones into Schools)</p>
<p>It was one of her inspirations behind taking a year off after high school graduation- working two jobs to earn money for a volunteer experience in southern India.</p>
<p>The story of the Antarctic expedition is absolutely amazing. I had never heard of it, until older daughters biology teacher wrote an epic poem about the story which was published and won a book award.
( If you wonder how she had the time to write a book while teaching high school science- well, she was only teaching 3/4 time, because she was being treated for breast cancer- talk about inspiring!)</p>
<p>I haven’t had a chance to read this yet, but it is next on my list
[William</a> Kamkwamba, author, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” and Malawi Windmill Maker](<a href=“http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/]William”>http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/)</p>
<p>I also read about Ms. Lacks- amazing story ( from NYT)</p>
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<p>I found " The Color Purple" by Alice Walker to be uplifting.</p>
<p>I would suggest considering one of the Americorp programs and taking a gap year.</p>
<p>[AmeriCorps.gov</a> > AmeriCorps NCCC](<a href=“http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp]AmeriCorps.gov”>http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp)</p>
<p>Look into “Return with Honor” by Scott O’Grady. I don’t know if that’s the sort of inspirational story you’re looking for, but this pilot was sort of looked down on by more elite pilots and yet turned out to be a hero.</p>
<p>I like Cal Newport’s blog</p>
<p>[Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive Does Living a Remarkable Life Require Courage or Effort?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/07/22/does-living-a-remarkable-life-require-courage-or-effort/]Study”>Does Living a Remarkable Life Require Courage or Effort? - Cal Newport)</p>
<p>I gave my disorganized, sometimes focused, sometimes not, son one of his books. His response? “This book was great! I’m going to tear out pages and paper my walls with them, so I can see his advice every day!”</p>
<p>Oh, and I second the suggestions for “Endurance” and “The Last Lecture.”</p>
<p>I second “Three Cups of Tea”–it’s a regular guy who did amazing things.</p>
<p>If he likes science, how about a Stephen Hawking book like “a Brief History of Time?”</p>
<p>For fiction, I’d recommend “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, “Life of Pi”, maybe “Kite Runner.”</p>
<p>An amazing book about someone who was quite bright but drifted a while right after high school: “Thieves of Baghdad: One Marine’s Passion to Recover the World’s Greatest Stolen Treasures” by Matthew Bogdanos</p>
<p>If the boy can relate to sports stories of insiration try Its Not About The Bike, Lance Armstrong’s battle against cancer, whichi is pretty harrowing. Afterwards we know how he did! And similarly Michael Phelps Beneath The Surface, which is his take on his ADHD, parents divorce, competitive career, etc., and the like written when he was only 19 (with a coauthor). Its got a very neat youthful tone which might appeal to a teenager. </p>
<p>Great gifts do not automatically generate great rewards. Theres a lot of stuff that comes in between.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great suggestions! My son already has several of the suggested books (Mountains Beyond Mountains, Three Cups of Tea, Hawking), and he loved them. He has also watched “The Last Lecture” and loved it.</p>
<p>I heard part of an interview with the author of the Henrietta Lacks book on NPR yesterday - well worth listening to on their website. It sounds like an incredible book, and I am going to order it (and steal it to read myself). </p>
<p>I am worried about giving him “Outliers”, although I have downloaded it this morning to listen to it myself. From what I gather, the thesis is that people who succeed in a major way do so, at least in part, because they have advantages that others do not have. My son is already uncomfortable with the advantages he has - and the last thing I want to do is to discourage him from using those advantages.</p>
<p>I looked at Cal Newport’s blog and loved it! I will have to find a way to put it in front of my son. </p>
<p>Thank you , HImom, for the encouraging account of your daughter’s success. I think my son might take a similar path. He does very well on all his tests, but fails courses because he does not do the homework. </p>
<p>I am quite worried, BigAppleDaddy, about the disconnect between “great gifts” and success. I will look into the books you suggested. My son is not into sports, mainly because he is not talented in that area, but it sounds as fi the books you mentioned could have something to offer him.</p>
<p>I’m off to look into some of the other suggestions, but I will definitely order the HeLa book. I also happened to find some great book suggestions this morning on my favorite political blog. I can’t link to it, but if you google:</p>
<p>“what are you reading” pfl515</p>
<p>it will come up. Some of plf’s suggestions:</p>
<p>Mistakes were made, but not by me (Tavris)
The annotated Alan Turing (Petzold)
Ideas (Peter Watson)
Pursuit of Glory (Blanning)</p>
<p>Not a biography, but I think Ken Robinson’s Element would be a good read for him. Have a view at the video first on TED to see what you think.</p>
<p>I’ll second Emeraldkity’s suggestion of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. When you described your son as “brilliant, socially conscious, caring” its the first book I thought of. My 17 yo S saw the young man who wrote this book interviewed on The Daily Show and was interested enough to read it. (Worth looking at Daily Show website or You Tube to watch the interview.) My S ended up writing one of his college essays about how inspirational the book was & how it made him realize all he took for granted here in America. It was choosen by Amazon as one of the best books of 2009.</p>
<p>In hindsight, we all agree that her HS forcing her to leave after her junior year was the best thing that happened for D. In many ways, she was ready to leave, and our on-going struggles with their inflexibilitly to work with her & us was exhausting. The CC setting was MUCH more flexible and nurturing. It allowed her to have a lot more control over her schedule and choose the courses she had more passion for.</p>
<p>At the time she was forced out of HS, it was traumatic and she was afraid she’d be shunned by her former HS friends. Fortunately, they were all VERY supportive of her & mad at the HS for its inflexibility. CC allowed our D to get back her confidence and great grades. Also, it freed her to try courses she wasn’t sure she’d like or do well in, since she was already a year ahead of her buddies (who were in their senior year of HS). The teachers she had at CC also taught the SAME courses at the flagship U but at CC, the classes had only about 20 or so students each, allowing for a lot more individual attention. Tuition at CC was nominal (about $1000 or less per semester). She got her highest GPA in many years in the 1st semester she was in CC, which emboldened her to reach for the stars & apply to the very competitive private U she really wanted to attend–it was the only college app she ever completed.</p>
<p>Her adventurous spirit has continued in the private U she now attends & she’s taking a fascinating mix of courses, including intro to architecture for the non-architecture majors, intro to international relations, animation and cinema courses and many others.</p>
<p>By the way, some folks have found it helpful for their kids who have a hard time keeping track of assignments and/or turning in homework to get some academic coaching and/or evaluated for ADD/ADHD. Don’t know if this might be an issue for your child.</p>
<p>Shadow Divers - Robert Kurson</p>
<p>My husband and a good friend both highly recommended the book - and their top picks re reading material seldom overlap. I haven’t read it yet, but plan to at some point.</p>
<p>Reviews:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/shadow_divers/[/url]”>http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/shadow_divers/</a></p>