With contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of expert contributors, this is the first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius, a topic that endlessly provokes and fascinates.

• The first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius with contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of experts
• Covers the origins, characteristics, careers, and consequences of genius with a focus on cognitive science, individual differences, life-span development, and social context
• Explores individual genius, creators, leaders, and performers as diverse as Queen Elizabeth I, Simón Bolívar, Mohandas Gandhi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, John William Coltrane, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Martha Graham.
• Utilizes a variety of approaches—from genetics, neuroscience, and longitudinal studies to psychometric tests, interviews, and case studies—to provide a comprehensive treatment of the subject

Dean Keith Simonton is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. His research concerns various aspects of genius, creativity, leadership, talent, and aesthetics. Simonton’s numerous honors include the William James Book Award, the Sir Francis Galton Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Creativity, the Rudolf Arnheim Award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychology and the Arts, the SPSP Theoretical Innovation Prize, the George A. Miller Outstanding Article Award, and three Mensa Awards for Excellence in Research. He has produced more than 460 publications, including more than a dozen books. His most recent books include The Social Science of Cinema (2014), Great Flicks: Scientific Studies of Cinematic Creativity and Aesthetics (2011), and Genius 101 (2009).