What do the pioneer of natural sciences Henry Cavendish have in common with the movie 'The Rain Man'? Silicon Valley with the sanctuary of Sister Victorine? Nazi Germany with the anti-vaccination movement? Psychologist Lorna Wing with a community of science fiction fans?
For Steve Silberman, one of the most important representatives of investigative journalism of our time, they are all pieces of the mosaic called Autism.

It all started when the journalist realized that many prominent members of the technological innovation elite in California have children on the autism spectrum.
"I am a special education teacher," an unknown person told him in a café. "Do you understand what is happening? We have an autism epidemic in Silicon Valley. Something terrible is happening to our children!"
At first glance, the observation seemed correct: for decades, autism diagnoses did not exceed five per ten thousand children - today, it is estimated that one in 58 children has a form of autism.
However, this says more about diagnostic criteria than about the neurological condition of the children.

Seeking answers, Silberman began to study the history of autism, and what started as an article in Wired magazine turned into a life's work and a book that decrypts one of the greatest mysteries of human nature.

In "Neurotribes," Silberman connects the dots and uncovers the truth behind prejudice, documenting the lives lost in the cracks of a constantly changing system, the theories, the actions, the targeted research, and the coincidences.

Above all, he investigates the greatest and most mysterious coincidence: how two Austrian scientists - pediatrician Hans Asperger and psychologist Leo Kanner - simultaneously arrived at the same conclusions, giving the first definition of autism, one in the US and the other in Austria. Their story - and the role played in their research by the deadly ideology of Nazi Germany - is just one part of this fascinating narrative that examines autism from all sides: historical, scientific, social, the perspective of autistic individuals, and the perspective of mass culture.

From unknown cases to "childhood psychosis" diagnoses, theories about "refrigerator mothers," and modern perceptions of the autistic spectrum, Silberman practically composes the manifesto of "neurodiversity," fundamentally changing the way we perceive the neurological diversity of humanity.