Books For Tall People

Oct 17, 2010 by tallook

There isn’t much reading material out there that focuses on being tall, tall heath, and other general tall information. You have to really search for it and still you will be disappointed in the lack of information out there for talls. Hopefully more talls will write about their experiences and lesson’s learned in the future—hint, hint. I’ve selected a few nonfiction books that seem to be fairly popular in the tall community. If you know about anymore please add a comment below or email me so I can feature them.

Source for the book descriptions: Amazon.com.

 

Normal at Any Cost: Tall Girls, Short Boys, and the Medical Industry’s Quest to Manipulate Height
By: Christine Cosgrove, Susan Cohen
Price: $10.11 [Hardcover]

Most people rarely think about their height beyond a little wishing and hoping. But for the parents of children who are ridiculed by their peers for being extraordinarily tall or extraordinarily short, height can cause great anguish. For decades, the medical establishment has responded to these worries by prescribing controversial treatments and therapies for children who fall outside of the “normal” height range. While some have benefited, many have suffered from devastating side effects.

In this riveting book, Susan Cohen and Christine Cosgrove provide a voice for the parents, doctors, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies involved in these experimental treatments. They also tell the story of the boys and girls themselves, many of them now grown, who were subjected to a wide range of non-FDA-approved medical procedures. These treatments— which consisted of extreme doses of estrogen, pituitary glands taken from both animals and human cadavers, and testosterone injections—often had disastrous side effects.

Who is to say how tall is too tall, and how short is too short? For many of the individuals represented in this book, the answers have been clear—and they are grateful to the medical industry for improving upon nature. For others, left in the wake of this same science, the answers are fueled by tragic regret. The authors explore the dueling motives behind these procedures— with parents desperate to help their children “fit in” and doctors and scientists hungry for scientific breakthroughs. Combining extensive research and in-depth interviews, Normal at Any Cost is the first book to place a human face on this complex and ethically charged medical history.

 

The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life from on High
By: Arianne Cohen
Price: $14.40 [Hardcover]

In this, the first book of its kind, Arianne Cohen—all 6’3″ of her—takes us on a tour of the tall world, traveling from endocrinologists’ offices to the annual European Tall Club Convention to unlock the mysteries at the center of talldom: why do tall people succeed professionally, financially and intellectually far more than others? Why are tall men the most successful dating and mating group on earth, while tall women have low birth rates? And who the hell is behind those airplane seats?

Part investigation and part personal story, The Tall Book follows Arianne as she circles the globe, meeting the tallest people in the world, questioning them on how to raise a well-adjusted tall kid, and yes, becoming one half of America’s tallest couple.

Lively, witty, and erudite, The Tall Book is a must-read for the tall, the not-so-tall—or anyone searching for the secrets of living the high life.

 

Standing Tall: Unusually Tall People [children book]
By: Elaine Landau
Price: $17.94 [Hardcover]

Traces the treatment of giants in folklore, the challenges faced by unusually tall people throughout history, the medical reasons behind gigantism and acromegaly, and the prejudices that tall people find today.

 

I’m Tall You’re Not, So That Makes Us Even
By: Katherine Kat Smith
Price: $17.94 [Paperback]

I’m Tall You’re Not So That Makes us Even is a short book about Tall women. This book deals with the humor of being a statuesque female in today’s society, while enlightening these grand beauties on just how envied they are. Smith delves into the science of being tall (ScienTALLogy), growing up tall, and the art of dating women who are looked up to.

 

Don’t Let The Lipstick Fool You: The Making of a Champion
By: Lisa Leslie
Price: $17.16 [Hardcover]

A three-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time MVP of the WNBA, and the first woman ever to dunk in a professional basketball game, Lisa Leslie is considered one of the greatest players in the history of women’s basketball. Now in her own words, she points the spotlight onto her remarkable life off the court, where being a confident champion was not always simple.
As a child growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Lisa was timid, awkward, and over six feet tall in the sixth grade. Opponents challenged her, and she struggled to overcome self-imposed fears and limitations. But as her interest in basketball grew, she toughened both her game and her resolve. She also learned she could retain her femininity and throw a few elbows too.

Still there was a nagging notion that girls–even tall girls and especially pretty ones – could not play well. At the same time, Lisa’s home life, though loving, was unstable. Lisa never knew her father. Her mother worked as a traveling truck-driver to support the family, leaving Lisa to shuffle between relatives. Lisa’s beloved older sister seemed only to torment her, harbor hidden jealousies, and would later go on to steal her identity and almost ruin her finances. And as a young woman, it would take two broken engagements before Lisa finally found the love of her life.

Yet overcoming tremendous doubts are what paved the way to Lisa’s greatest achievements–scoring 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game; signing with Wilhelmina Models and appearing in Vogue magazine; and of course traveling the world and winning championship after championship…after championship.

Today, Lisa is a beautiful, poised, assertive, six-foot-five-inch basketball powerhouse. Her elegance and charm have made her a favorite with fans, the fashion world, and even Hollywood. With hard-won candor and self-assurance, Lisa Leslie shares her empowering story about finding grace under pressure, balancing a life of contradiction without losing yourself, and exceeding expectations–including your own–by playing like a girl.