Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon

"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes is required reading in American schools. It is the only science fiction story whose author has won two awards: first for a short story and then for a novel with the same title, character, and plot. Thirty-three-year-old Charlie Gordon is mentally retarded. Yet he has a job, friends, and an overwhelming desire to learn. He agrees to take part in a dangerous scientific experiment in the hopes of becoming intelligent. This fantastic story possesses astonishing psychological power and provokes reflection on universal questions of morality: do we have the right to experiment on each other, what results might this lead to, and what price are we willing to pay to become "the smartest?" And what about loneliness? Daniel Keyes provides a definitive answer to questions raised by Mikhail Bulgakov in "Heart of a Dog" and George London in "Martin Eden."