Nov 4, 2008 Posted by booktiger on Nov 4, 2008 in Business, Requested Reviews | 0 comments

My Brain, My Future – Michael Durr

I was asked to review this book by the author, and received it in the post several months ago now. I started it almost straight away, but with other books pressing including my reading group books, I put it down for a while. I have since finished it, and have been considering my review for a little while now.

The basic premise of the book is that in order for the readers (in this case, members of the American population) to resist falling by the economic wayside in times of crisis, intellectual and economic growth in other countries and massive change, they need to learn how to think differently. This book stands as a ‘how to’ describing how this is to be achieved. With an emphasis on critical thinking, balancing emotion and logic and using creativity, the book provides a road map for the American public to improve their thinking and remain at the forefront of the world.

My own feeling about this latter statement aside, I thought the ideas were good. I am all for people thinking more critically and rationally. Unfortunately though I found the book got bogged down a little in theory which made it difficult to engage with and remain alert throughout. I do feel I might have been helped by a few more real world examples. To be fair, that could have been me rather than the book. I went through a phase of reading every self-help type book I could get my hands on until (ironically enough) I began to think a bit more critically about them and rapidly realised that many were saying the same things over and over and despite having read thousands and thousands of words, I wasn’t any further forward than I had been before I started. This book isn’t a self-help book per se – it is more a business help book with a sheen of psychology throughout, but perhaps my barriers against the model were stronger than I thought.

Also, each page is adorned with several little clip-art photos which were amusing at best, and somewhat naff at worst. I found them distracting in a way they shouldn’t have been and think the book would have done better without them. It made it look less professional, and considering the experience and professionalism of the author, it was sad that this was the effect. Also, the book could have done with some editing. Yes, I am a stickler for spelling and grammar, and one of my pet peeves is where people use the word ‘loose’ when they actually mean ‘lose’. I spotted this (and other errors) several times.

Nevertheless, I did come out of it with some good insight into thinking and some good ideas which could be applied in my every day life. I am in complete accord with the author – I think everyone could benefit from improving their way of thinking, no matter what country they are in or what profession, and to that end, this book was spot on.

ISBN: 0-7414-4367-8
Publisher: Infinity Publishing.com
Date: 2007
Date Finished: 17th October 2008
Pages: 254