An ambitious book which has been billed as “a history of autism” has been nominated for a prestigious award.
NeuroTribes, by the American writer Steve Silberman, is one of several volumes up for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize.
The annual awards celebrate “the best new books that engage with any aspect of medicine, health or illness.”
The shortlist was published earlier this week with a number of critically acclaimed books in the running for the £30,000 prize.
The nominees were announced by Baroness Joan Bakewell, who will be heading up the judging panel.
“The shortlist reflects what has moved and inspired us most about books that deal with intimate and often complex matters of the human body and human experience,” said Baroness Bakewell.
“Each one has found its way not just onto the shortlist, but into our hearts.”
Children’s writer Frances Balkwill and fellow wordsmiths Damian Barr, Tessa Hadley and Sathnam Sanghera will also be helping to choose the winners.
NeuroTribes won plenty of plaudits for its in-depth analysis of how understanding of autism has evolved over the course of several decades.
The first attempts to categorise the condition came in the 20th century, when it was regarded as a sub-set of schizophrenia and a number of people living with the disorder suffered particularly unpleasant treatment.
As time has gone on, understanding has improved significantly and Mr Silberman details how increasingly it has been the families of those with autism and the individuals themselves who have played a crucial part in the development of more effective support mechanisms.