In the Little World: A True Story of Dwarfs, Love, and Trouble

I took this book out of the library at my college, thinking that, at best, it'd be a "big person goes to visit the world of Little People" kind of thing. Objective. Curious.It was anything but. I was fascinated by how the author begins by being repulsed by and fascinated with the people he meets, and then begins to think of them as real people, sharing in their triumphs and hurts - while still realizing that there is, and will always be, a barrier there that he cannot cross, and doesn't want to.It is a brutally honest book in all its parts, and I consider it to be one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

I could not put this book down. I read it from cover to cover and went back continuously to re-read certain parts. This book is so truthful and so stirring in its very truthfulness. I have never known a dwarf, but have come to believe that they need a greater strength just to get through each day than the rest of us "normal-sized" people. So many of them have such pain to deal with -- I can't imagine. And yet, they are just people like the rest of us. A truly amazing work. Unforgettable.

I recently read where someone compared the book "Choke" by Chuck Palahniuck as the answer/bookend to his own "Fight Club." But it isn't, "In the Little World" is. It is a small (pun intended) but parallel universe where the occupants fight everyday crisis based on identity and personal worth based on an unfair social judgement system. A system that the author John Richardson investigates endlessly/obsessively even to find out how and when our personal image hardwiring started. John Richardson takes us on a journey unveiling a world most of us have ever experinced but are incredibly interested in. Given only small hints in the media (The Howard Stern show)that Dwarfs lead normal lives like we "normals" do, full of dysfunction, real emotions and intellect this book will make you think twice about staring or not staring at some one with disabilities that are what society consider disfiguring or ugly. By the end of the book you will feel like you have read something revolutionary and likewise feel revolutionary. More humananity,shame,and dignity than one book deserves. I read the book in one setting, it almost seemed like fiction, fast and exciting. Like others surely will, they will fall in love with "Andrea" and hope for "Andrea's" e-mail address so they too can share in her communications and vast wisdom.

I am a person of normal stature, however, I am also only 5ft tall. :) Aside from height, there are many ways in which any reader would be able to relate to the author as well as his subjects. Richardson's research about the history and word origin of dwarfs & little people make the book even more enjoyable, focusing only on the eyebrow-raising tidbits of information while foregoing the usual boring background stuff. What starts off as a thorough account of his participation in the Little People of America convention becomes a book of how intertwined his life became to learn about what it means to be different. His honesty and willingness to share the behind-the-scenes conversations and fights made for a very raw, intriguing, and dramatic story.