Review : Driven darlings

If the mind is the last frontier, those who push at its bounds and sift
through its mysteries are the Marco Polos of our day. Yet explorers can get a
raw deal. Precocious children are often seen as brats hothoused by obsessive
parents, but Ellen Winner’s Gifted Children (Basic Books, $28, ISBN 0 465
01760 6) turns the whole thing on its head. Her analysis offers a portrait of
children driven by a “rage to learn”. A book that grips— and leaves you
wondering at future possibilities.