"...Streznewski is alone in addressing, for the general reader, what happens to those gifted kids after high school. Writer-educator Streznewski interviewed a highly diverse collection of 100 gifted adults to see what her own gifted children--and her students--would face in the "real world." The author chose many interviewees according to informal criteria for giftedness that she developed as a teacher: curiosity and energy, speed, sensitivity, heightened perception, sophistication and humor, and some acceptance of the reality that one is "different."

After defining giftedness, Streznewski examines old and new research on the nature of intelligence and other gifts and explores ways gifted people hide their talents. Other topics include special challenges within families, at school, as young adults, and in seeking challenging work; the plight of gifted dropouts and criminals; and how giftedness affects relationships, roles available to women, and the capacity of seniors to continue to contribute. Thanks to Streznewski's generous quotations from her interviewees, it is an involving study." From Booklist Review.