| | |  | Health & Personal Care | Home » » 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot (Borzoi Books) | | | | | | | Description: | | A psychologist and best-selling author gives us a myth-busting response to the self-help movement, with tips and tricks to improve your life that come straight from the scientific community.
Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy motivation, damage relationships, and reduce creativity: the opposite of everything it promises. Now, in 59 Seconds, he fights back, bringing together the diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy.
From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting the new science of “rapid change” and, with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be effortlessly incorporated into your everyday life. Or, as he likes to say: “Think a little, change a lot.” | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780307273406
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Richard Wiseman | | Hardcover:
| 336 pages | | Publisher:
| Knopf | | Publication Date:
| December 29, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0307273407 | | Package Length:
| 7.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 29 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Short Cuts to a Better Life, with Some CaveatsAug 23, 2010
Richard Wiseman took the trouble to glean from hundreds of research articles easy-to-apply tools and techniques to help the reader improve in various areas of life, from relationships, to creativity, to decision making and more. For the most part I think that his advice is valid and rings true as I have read a good number of these suggestions elsewhere. For example, the appropriate way to praise children is heavily documented in Carol Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success and Robert Cialdini covers in depth proven techniques of persuasion in Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials).
I have doubts about the validity of some of the studies, however. Take Wiseman's section on the relationship between index and ring finger length and masculinity. This may be an indication of a general tendency in that area but my recent reading of two other works - Wrong: Why experts* keep failing us--and how to know when not to trust them *Scientists, finance wizards, doctors, relationship gurus, celebrity CEOs, ... consultants, health officials and more and The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong - make me wonder about a) the validity of the study and b) in particular how the interplay of genetics and environment is accounted for in the results of this particular finding. Finally, there is also the recent backlash against the WEIRD phenomenon in social science studies where the majority of these studies are conducted on a unique population--Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic-- and usually college students at that. How does their experience transfer to the larger population? Another example is the notion that a potted plant on my desk will make me more creative. Will this work for the long run or just until I get tired of seeing the same plant and frustrated with taking care of it?
These criticisms aside, this book does offer many tips that should help readers improve in many aspects of their lives. I plan to re-read the book to have these techniques at my disposal.
 LOVED THIS BOOKAug 17, 2010
Having read more self help books than I feel comfortable admitting to, the accountant in me has breathed a sigh of relief to have found this book. Examining scientific evidence surrounding such nebulous concepts as happiness and motivation along with lowering your cholesterol levels and improving your fitness levels, the author has done us all a great favour and saved us a fortune in attempts to find happiness and success. Many thanks to him for painstakingly doing his homework and putting it on paper. This book is worth many times its price in what it will save me. A true God-send.
 I expected a little more.Jul 27, 2010
A little simplistic. I bought this book because "Overeater's Anonymous" recommended it but I found very little that is useful along that line. It is an interesting collection of quick experiments to boost mood.
0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Charging $4 more for the Kindle version than the paperback?Jul 25, 2010
I don't get it. Are you trying to make me regret getting a kindle? Just have something against trees?
Here's the paperback: 59 Seconds: Improve Your Life in Under a Minute (Vintage)
Buy that, and then find a pirated copy for your kindle.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Good book despite the obscure titleJul 19, 2010
You'll have to read the author's explanation at the beginning for why this book is rather obscurely titled. Nevertheless, the basic idea is very good: as we all know, there is a lot of junk to be found in the "self-help" section of bookstores. Which is too bad, considering that psychological and cognitive science research is advancing steadily and discovering all sorts of things that work (or don't work) when it comes to modifying human behavior and improve our lives. Wiseman takes on obviously pertinent topics, such as happiness (whatever that is), persuasion, motivation, creativity, attraction, relationships (obviously), stress, decision making, parenting and personality. In each case he goes back to the primary literature and presents the reader with what actually works, as opposed to what self-appointed self-help gurus tell you works (often without a trace of evidence, seemingly pulling notions our of their behind). The Mozart effect to turn your child into a genius by simply listening to music? Sorry, doesn't work. Releasing stress by kicking and screaming? Bad idea, it only makes you more angry. Playing hard to get on dates? Counterproductive. And so on and so forth. It's an invaluable book full of actually useful advice, even though at times it reads a bit too much like a list. If you can, catch the author give a live talk, it will be both informative and entertaining.
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