I've read that for every human living, there are 40 from the past. So out of close to 300 billion humans throughout history, the tallest who ever lived was born in 1918 in Alton, Illinois, about 15 minutes from my home. I've always been fascinated by Robert Wadlow, a young man who was universally liked and admired, a quiet, gentle man who grew to an unprecedented 8'11" before dying in 1940 at 22 of a foot infection.

Going beyond a mere portrayal of Robert's physicality, the author shows us a modest, friendly young man who was locked into a body that never stopped growing (probably a pituitary tumor that nowadays would have been surgically cured), and caused him hardships that most were unaware of. It was not an easy life, but Robert approached obstacles presented by the physical world, his own body, and other people with unwavering good cheer and kindness to others.

He was Alton's ambassador and favorite son, and only partly due to his height. Whenever out-of-town guests visit, I always make a point of taking them to see the life-size bronze statue of Robert Wadlow, and tell them what I know of his story. Thanks to this book (the author was able to interview Robert's younger brother and several townspeople who knew him) it will now be a better-told story. ( )

For anyone fascinated with the story of Robert Wadlow, world's tallest man, this is a must read as it's the only book length treatment of him besides a book written by his father fifty years ago. Brannan is the newspaper editor of Alton, the town where Wadlow lived and in preparing the book, he interviewed lots of people who knew Wadlow in the 1920s and 1930s, including his brother. Most of them would now be dead, and so there will never be another chance to get so close to Wadlow's life. Unfortunately, Brannan treats his subject much too reverentially. He never pulls at any of the threads of conflict and discord. He doesn't tread on any toes, ask any difficult questions of Wadlow's parents or his life and death. We don't hear the other side of the story of the doctor they sued for defamation. The doctor's comments were relatively mild and the parents' response seems out of proportion. Similarly, what were they doing putting Robert in a circus? It was the Depression, but let's hear the arguments for and against. Nor does Brannan give enough sense of what it would have been like to be Wadlow - a couple of sentences touch on the difficulties of romance, but he doesn't pursue it. The narrative is structured with little punch and there are no references for his sources. It's an earnest book, a labour of love one senses, and I'm thankful he wrote it; I just can't help wishing it was better.