Book description
John Wilson did more than anyone else to prevent and cure
blindness, and help blind people, throughout the world between the
1940s and his death in 1999. In addition, he made a significant
contribution to the cause of disabled people in general. His
achievements deserve comparison with those of other charismatic
figures such as Helen Keller and Albert Schweitzer. A man of action
and unflagging energy, with exceptional determination, imagination and
compassion, and analytical and organizational ability, he changed
millions of people's lives for the better by developing systems and
techniques for preventing and curing blindness, and by spurring on the
process by which blind people have come to be able to play a full,
active and creative role in society. His story is a moving one.
Blinded himself in a school experiment in 1931 at the age of twelve,
he went on to read law at Oxford. After joining the National Institute
for the Blind as an administrator, he took part in 1946-7 in an epic
government-sponsored tour of the African and Middle Eastern
territories in what was then the British Empire that lasted nine
months, studying the intractable problems of blindness there. It led
to the formation of what was to become the Royal Commonwealth Society
for the Blind, now known as Sight Savers International. In the wake of
his sustained campaigns for the cure and prevention of blindness,
above all in Africa and the Indian sub-continent, underpinned by the
indomitable support of his wife Jean, John Wilson became a leading
activist and mentor for blind and disabled people both at the UN and
world-wide; and he was to found further important institutions such as
the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and Impact,
which focusses on the universal challenge of avoidable disability. He
was an enthusiastic globe-trotter, a powerful orator, a much-loved
member of his family and a highly respected friend and colleague of
large numbers of people with whom he worked across the continents.
This inspiring tale of how one remarkable man travelled the world and
transformed countless lives will have a strong appeal to the general
public. It will also be of direct interest to people involved in
charities and other institutions, particularly those concerned with
blindness and disability. Meticulously researched, it is primarily
based on John Wilson's Braille diaries and his other papers, the
records at Sight Savers and interviews in many different countries
with people who knew him. Lord Colin Low, chairman, Royal National
Institute of the Blind: 'I have just finished reading Blindness and
the Visionary and felt I must write and tell you how enthralling I
found it...[it is] an absolutely splendid addition to the literature
on blindness, in every way worthy of its subject.' Ramachanda
Pararajasegaram, consultant to World Health Organization, in
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Review: '...the
story, related with sensitivity and objectivity, of a unique
personality destined...to become a globally renowned voice, rendering
a clarion call to action, against avoidable disablement...I have had
immense enjoyment reading this book, which has deepened my
understanding even better of the humanity behind John Wilson. I feel
re-inspired, re-enthused and re-energized to help carry out what we
have collaboratively pledged to do...No reader would fail to be
inspired by this book on [his] life and work, so expertly put together
by John Coles...' New Beacon: 'John Wilson was once described on a
Desert Island Discs interview as 'one of life's doers'. He was a
towering figure on the international scene, whose inspiring leadership
of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind, the International
Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and the Impact Foundation
affected the lives of millions...This comprehensive new biography by
the non-executive chairman of Sight Savers International...sheds a
wealth of new light on his remarkable life.' Ba
