Knotted Tongues: Stuttering in History and the Quest for a Cure

If you are a stutterer, or you have an interest in speech pathology and desire to learn more about stuttering, this book is an interesting place to start. Now, granted, it is not an easy read for the layperson, and it certainly does not discuss issues of indivudal stuttering concepts, but if you want a history, if you want to read about different strategies welcomed in the past, and if you want to learn a little about those famous people who have endured through many uncomfortable situations of “tongue-tied-ness,” grab a copy of this book!

Keep in mind though, that if you’re looking to learn about the causes and therapies and in-depth experiences with stuttering, this book will not fulfill that venue. This is a book on history and the interesting and absurd methods of “curing” the stutter that were utilized. At any rate, if you are a stutterer and you want to see that you’re not alone, please pick up a copy of this book. )
Rating: 4 / 5

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This book looks at the history of stuttering and its treatment from long ago to the present. As someone who stuttering I appreciated the author’s thoroughness in researching the treatment processes used in the past and comparing them to the present.
Rating: 4 / 5

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This book is a fairly interesting history of stuttering. Benson Bobrick takes a look at historical figures who have stuttered, a list which includes Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Moses, and the Greek speaker Demosthenes. Knotted Tongues is a look at how stuttering was perceived throughout history and how stuttering has been treated.

The part of this book that I found the most fascinating was the time it spent examining how stuttering was treated over time. What I didn’t expect was how cringe-inducing this would be. There were some methods that involved the chewing of various substances, as well as other that involved speaking with a mouth full of pebbles. The cringe-worthy methods involved scalding the tongue, and burning around the throat and head (the reasons had to do with what these doctors thought about the causes of stuttering). As painful as these sound, the most brutal method of treatment was a surgery that cuts part of the tongue away. Mind you, this was done before anesthetics. There is a fairly graphic description of this surgery in the book.

Knotted Tongues is not a book about how to best treat stuttering, nor does it go into detail about the variety of modern (and much more humane) treatments available today. This is a history of stuttering. It is easily readable, and does not go into the level of technical detail that you would find in Starkweather’s “Stuttering”. While someone who stutters may have more interest in this book, I think that anyone would find this interesting, if only to see the various methods of treatment and how stutterers have been viewed throughout history. Good book.
Rating: 4 / 5

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It seems to be an axiom in my field of speech pathology that most speech/language therapists are able to deal with the mechanics of speech and language well enough but can’t communicate effectively. Most speakers and writers in the field are unbearable communicators who wouldn’t recognize an interesting sentence (rather than a nerve deadening dose of academic jargon) if it leapt up and bit them on their private parts (I would like to use a more colorful term but this is a family site).
Thankfully, Bobrick knows how to write quite well. This is a fascinating (and highly readable) survey of stuttering in history. It should be on the shelf of everyone who works with stutterers.
Rating: 5 / 5

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Bobrick, a stutterer himself, writes a fascinating historical overview of both the famous stutterers in history (Greek orator Demosthenes, Winston Churchill, Nai Bevan) and reviews the “cures” on offer through the ages. I am similarly afflicted and found the book fascinating. My good friend Jon bought it for me after a low point in my life when I did jury service. My oath took the best part of 25 minutes and my fellow jurors elected me foreman. The verdict was real edge-of-your-seat stuff.
Rating: 5 / 5

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