The Secret Power of Middle Children: How Middleborns Can Harness Their Unexpected and RemarkableAbilities [Hardcover]

Catherine Salmon Ph.D. (Author), Katrin Schumann (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 4, 2011

This myth-busting book shows how "forgotten" middle children can-and do-rule the world.

In this counterintuitive book, psychologist Catherine Salmon and journalist Katrin Schumann combine science, history, and real-life stories to reveal for the first time that our perception of middle children is dead wrong.

Using unpublished and little-known research from evolutionary psychology, sociology, and communications, The Secret Power of Middle Children illustrates how adaptive strategies middleborns develop during childhood translate into stronger friendships, lasting marriages, successful careers, and effective parenting.

Over seventy million adult Americans are middle children, and forty percent of young American families have middle children. With constructive advice on how to maximize the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of being a middle child, Salmon and Schumann help middle children at any age (and their parents) use birth order as a strategy for success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Powerful advice … anchored in hard science and illuminated by vivid case examples.”

(-David M. Buss, author of Evolutionary Psychology )

“Entertaining and provocative.”

(-Frank J. Sulloway, author of Born to Rebel ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Catherine Salmon, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Redlands. She lives in Beaumont, California.

Katrin Schumann is a journalist, freelance editor, and mother of three. She lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hudson Street Press (August 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594630801
• ISBN-13: 978-1594630804
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but this whole field lacks scientific rigor November 21, 2011

By Gerald Holmes

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a middle in a large family and having middles of my own, this book explained much. To my surprise, it also illuminated my relationship with my firstborn wife. I had not read any books on birth order before this one, but had heard the various theories over the years. What this book did for me was make me glad I'm a middleborn. I'll take the package of strengths and weaknesses of the middleborn over the first-, last- or only-born any day. I'm equally glad I have some middles of my own for the same reasons. I also don't blame my parents for any of the "negative" consequences of being a middleborn. In the end, my birth order (among other things) created a set of circumstances that helped form who I am...and I like who I am. My birth order doesn't define me, but it helps explain me. I think the explanatory power of birth order would vary greatly among individuals.

My one criticism of any birth order work is that it's too easy to find famous people whose lives fit a particular mold. It reminds me of horoscopes somewhat. We can all pick a particular sign, then go find a famous person who exemplifies most of the traits of that sign. Doing so doesn't prove anything even though many uncritical minds think it does. While I enjoyed reading about how famous middles exemplified a particular middleborn trait, I couldn't help but think that this is a classic case of a "model searching for data" rather than "data searching for a model." The former is a cardinal sin in the scientific world, but it happens all the time, especially in the softer sciences like psychology. Could an equally powerful set of examples be selected that would argue against the author's hypotheses? Still Salmon seems to be aware of the bias inherent in this type of research and is careful not to overstate what the data tells us.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shedding New Light on Overlooked, Underestimated Middles October 1, 2011

By Kristina S. Perry

Format:Hardcover

If you are a middle child, have a middle child and/or are married to one like I am, you will definitely want to read this book! The authors shed new (and much needed light) on the amazing qualities middle children posses because of the virtue of their birth order, something I have always enjoyed analyzing being from a large family. As you read this book you'll realize how, more often than not, we subconsciously label people like the "baby" of the family or the "classic" middle children -- putting them in a box due to preconceived notions and stereotypes of how we think they are, or will, ultimately turn out. With my own daughter, who is a middle child, I've often found myself thinking things like "of course she's all about her friends, she gets no air time in this family" or "how do I give this child more attention when she is squeezed between two very dominant brothers?" What I love about this book is how it unveils the many benefits of being in the middle and highlights their many common, but sometimes hidden, impressive qualities and personality traits. It also helps parents recognize, appreciate, and think more positively about how to parent these often creative, independent diplomats and harness their "secret powers." The anecdotes of famous middle borns like the Dali Lama, Bill Gates and Magic Johnson are really interesting too.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening!!! October 29, 2011

By Stefan1

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Well worth it. Very well written, a lot of research has gone into the publication. As a middle child this book has struck a chord. Foremost it has given me a much greater understanding of my parents. Would highly recommend, not only for middle children but also for parents who may not quite understand why they treat their offspring so differently.