Fabrizio

Entertaining and interesting, but not instructive

Reviewed: 10-13-15

The format of this book is very interesting and the variety of the questions posed makes for a very entertaining piece of work which may also serve as first inspiration for a child or a teenager to engage in a scientific career.
Too bad the answers never serve as a start to actually go a dig deeper in the methods of scientific research.
You can learn about scientific research from this book as much as you can learn about It security watching Mr. Robot.
Surely the audiobook format penalizes the work of the author, a renowned Web cartoonist.
The performance of Wil Wheaton is very good!

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1 person found this helpful

Very good career tips book.

Reviewed: 09-07-15

Apart from the last 2 chapters, one inspirational(about career success =~ happiness, maybe something that needs to be explained in the USA) and the other mostly an ad space, the book is a real little gem, consistently providing actionable and updated tips about all aspects of the career journey in all of its chapters.
The audiobook version has a very high quality audio and narration.

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2 people found this helpful

Practically nothing is said

Reviewed: 09-01-15

This book has maybe 1, max 2, concepts worth remembering.
Everything else is padding, scientifically inaccurate, boring, almost offensively pointless padding.
Maybe read at a young age it may have a bigger impact, maybe even a positive one, but for busy adult people any summary of the book will do.

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1 person found this helpful

Great science-based resource for parents

Reviewed: 08-17-15

If you, like me, would only listen to science-backed argumentations and you also are going through the emotional rollercoaster of expecting a child, I really cannot recommend this book enough.
Getting ready to tackle all sleep-related problems thanks to the expert suggestions of a sleep clinic professional is priceless, especially when as it is usual, you are surrounded by many people giving you unsolicited, trivial and unscientific advice.

This narration is just a bit too slow, but it is clear and free of any major errors.

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5 people found this helpful

This is a must for all environmentalists!

Reviewed: 07-30-15

This is a book that deserves to be a staple on the shelves of all those calling themselves environmentalists, especially in the USA apparently.
I personally was born with an innate affection for the city life, but having explained in detail why living in the city is, and will be for the time being, the most logic AND "human" choice, and not by some journalist but by a scholar, is one of the great pleasures in life.
The book also opened a bunch of new ways of thinking about the city and introduced me to many new concepts.

Not recommended to hardcore NIMBYs, people who put anything, including animals, before the value of human life and welfare.

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2 people found this helpful

Ruined only at the end

Reviewed: 07-08-15

Opposite to the impression of many pointing at the terms used in this book as boring, I am someone who finds business jargon more clear and concise than layman's talk in certain domains.
I still have to apply the whole system, but even reflecting on the basic principles and tools presented in the book is definitely worth the listen.
The only low point of the book is at the very end when Allen starts talking about teleology, Ying and yang, dualism and a bunch of other mumbo-jumbo that really doesn't fit with the rest of the book which I would define unique in its actionability.

Narration is clear and consistent, editing is perfect, but everything is a little slower then it could've been and monotonous, even in the few funny remarks interspersed in the book.

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1 person found this helpful

A surprisingly scientific feel-good book

Reviewed: 06-24-15

After reading other titles where the scientific studies are cherry-picked and reinterpreted by the writer to fit his intended message, I was pleasantly surprised to listen to a title where inspiring accounts and the mini-biographies all have a scientific focus.

The performance tone is a too monotonous.

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1 person found this helpful

Potentially life-changing.

Reviewed: 06-08-15

I cannot say this for myself, since I am since long a fan of Freakonomics and interested in behavioral economics, but to those who are looking for something that could really change their lives for the best, this is absolutely a must.
Clear, actionable and with the right tempo and digressions.

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12 people found this helpful

Really enlightening analysis of a classic

Reviewed: 05-27-15

I thought no more could be said and learnt from what is one of my favorite books.
Instead this exclusively academic approach proves to be engaging and enlightening since the very beginning.
The exposition is well tempo-ed and clear.
Highly recommended!

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Really pointless. Flaws in the audio too.

Reviewed: 05-17-15

The book contains the badly organized thoughts of a trader who started playing with computers and only later read that what he was doing had a certain scientific relevance, rarely considered by traders like him. And he must have felt like the prophet because that's how he exposes in most of the book, introducing anonymous characters and, worst of all if you're looking for a scientific book, his own terminology for concepts that already have one.
This book is the last straw: I will never again buy books about scientific concepts that are not written by a scientist.
Regarding the audio editing, the division in chapters of the audio doesn't follow that of the book, although extremely long (almost awkward) pauses have been left between the (too many) chapters and paragraphs of the book, making the listening frustrating.

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6 people found this helpful