upstreet author publishes Nerds book

Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them (Penguin, 2007), by David Anderegg, PhD, is now available in bookstores, and online from Amazon.com. Anderegg, a Lenox, MA, family psychotherapist who teaches psychology at Bennington College, also writes fiction under the pseudonym “Ed Anthony.” His short stories have appeared in The Berkshire Review and in upstreet number one (“Dejeuner Sur L’Herb,” p. 189) and number two (“Heretics,” p. 11). He was nominated by upstreet’s editors for a 2007 Pushcart Prize.

Nerds is a lively, thought-provoking book that focuses on how anti-intellectualism is bad for our children and our country. It asks why children are so terrified to be called “nerds,” and what this anti-intellectualism costs both our children and our society. In his book, Anderegg examines why science and engineering have become socially poisonous disciplines, why adults ignore the derision of “nerdy” kids, and what we can do to prepare our children to succeed in an increasingly high-tech world. Using education research, psychological theory, and interviews with both nerdy and non-nerdy kids, Nerds argues that we need to change our society’s anti-intellectual attitudes and prepare rising generations to compete in the global marketplace.

David Anderegg was born and grew up in Wisconsin, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and received his PhD in psychology from Clark University, Worcester, MA. He and his wife, Kelley DeLorenzo, have two grown-up children: Francesca, a doctoral student in violin at Juilliard, and Peter Lorenzo, a cellist in the Phoenix Symphony. For more information about Anderegg and his work, including selected book reviews and “The Last Nerd Self-Test You’ll Ever Need,” visit the author’s website.