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By Shankar Vedantam
Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
First, you may wonder what made me look twice at this book. I read a “Science” editorial in the June 7, 2010, Newsweek, by Sharon Begley called, “The hidden brain: What scientists can learn from ‘nothing,” and enjoyed the article and thought Vedantam could shed additional light and substance on the subject.
Second, you may wonder at the outset, what credentials does Vedantam have for writing a book like this? According to the back flyleaf, he “is a national correspondent and columnist for The Washington Post and a 2009-2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.”
About his educational background, I found this at Wikipedia.com zzzzzzzzzzzzzz; “Vedantam has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from India, and master's degree in journalism from Stanford University. Prior to his Washington Post employment, he worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Knight-Ridder's Washington Bureau, and New York Newsday.”
Verdantam was born in Bangalore, India, in 1969, and Wiikipedia also states: “Shankar Vedantam's articles touch on a wide range of subjects, most of them with links to current events. In his column in the Washington Post he routinely explores the overt and covert influences that shape people's attitudes to the world around them. His interests also include the role of science and religion in everyday life, and the effects of religious faith on health. In his articles he has explored the interplay between neuroscience and spirituality.”
For this 270-page book, there are nine pages of notes — 249 citations.
Well, Sharon Begley’s Newsweek essay was just the tip of the iceberg. That is, she is talking about the mind at rest. Verdantam, actually discusses some of the forces at play when the mind is at rest: “hidden cognitive mechanisms.” Basically, what he disputes is the fact that “human behavior [is] the product of knowledge and conscious intention.”
Verdantam’s entire book, replete with numerous stories, explains the “unconscious forces that [act] on people without their awareness or consent” (p. 6).
He writes about the stories he uses: “The selection of stories in this book is mine and mine alone. To the extent they are wrong, misleading, or simplistic, the responsibilities lies solely with me. To the extent that they are revealing and insightful—and not merely interesting—the credit mostly belongs to the hundreds of researchers whose work I have cited” (p. 7).
What is the hidden brain? “The ‘hidden brain’ was shorthand for a range of influences that manipulated us without our awareness. Some aspects of the hidden brain had to do with the pervasive problem of mental shortcuts or heuristics, others were related to errors in the way memory and attention worked. Some dealt with social dynamics and relationships. What was common to them all was that we were unaware of their influence” (p. 7).
Some of the subjects Verdantam uses to portray the effects of the hidden brain include the brain at work and at play, the brain displayed in mental disorders, in the life cycle of bias (the infant’s stare and racist seniors), the role it plays in gender and privilege, disasters and the lure of conformity, as well as in terrorism and extremism, the death penalty, politics and race, and in genocide.
If you accept his premise (which I do), then some of the experiences he discusses become a bit long and tedious, even though the book is well written and interesting. The content of the book is 255 pages in length, and, for the most part, I feel Verdantam has chosen good examples that are engaging.
Pistol Pete "Pete,” of Houston, Texas, wrote this four-out-of-five star review at Amazon.com: “I thought this book was brilliant. Every chapter tackles different subjects and studies that try to explain how the subconscious works. I was very happy with the amount of research, especially scientific studies, that were detailed in the book. There are a lot of anecdotal stories as well, which are also necessary to illustrate the points.
“I found the book persuasive and interesting. How does our group affect our thinking? How does race come into politics through our subconscious? What motivates terrorists? There are many great questions that the author raises and his research into the subconscious helps answer many of the questions. I highly recommend this book to all readers interested in psychology.”
I would probably award the book three out of five stars. Although interesting and well-written and supported, as I noted above, once you accept the author’s premise — as I did before I began reading the book — then it becomes quite long. I’m not suggesting it is common sense, I am simply saying that it is not a premise that I question nor is it one that I would pursue (or have an interest in reading) in any depth.
This book is available at Amazon.com: The hidden brain: How our unconscious minds elect presidents, control markets, wage wars, and save our lives
By Lee Kravitz
Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
The plot is a simple one. Kravitz was fired from a high-profile job. Instead of trying to find a new job, he took a year off to re-connect with the people who mattered most to him in his life — those he had not spent time with or cared much about as he rose in the ranks and devoted his time to his job.
If you’re looking for a moral, it, too, is a simple one. We all have unfinished business in our lives. That unfinished business tends to weigh us down, burden us with guilt, and hold us back. Clearing up that unfinished business frees us, unburdens us, and as S. Lipson, a reviewer wrote: “. . . release[s us]] of regret and stress.” That “thankfulness, love, [and] admiration,” this reviewer says, adds “deeper meaning and understanding of . . . friends and family,” and, too, “[enhances one’s] character, personality, and spirituality.” I thought these were very good insights.
Another reviewer at Amazon.com, Tiela A. Garnett, wrote a very short five-star review:
“A wonderful, entertaining book, written from the heart, about one man's courageous and loving path to tying up the loose ends of his life. An inspiring story and a good read.”
David Casker, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, wrote a review with which I totally agree as well: “Most of us in one way or another try to ‘do the right things’ in our lives. But we often become too busy, too distracted, too willing to procrastinate, too willing to accede to the increasingly intrusive demands of employers. In ‘...unfinished business...’ we have a very personal journal of one man's delightful, moving and healing reaction to being fired from his job [at Parade Magazine]. He turned what could have been no more than a very sour jolt in life into, in a sense, a journey into his past, to see if he could still make up for slights and omissions.
Anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal. And Mr. Kravitz has struck just the right chord between autobiography and reflection on one's life, spiritual growth and the inextricable connections with have with others whose lives have touched ours and vice versa.
An insightful but also entertaining exploration of how really GOOD it is not to let our basic humanity be co-opted, and when we do, how GREAT it is to work up the courage to make amends. Highly recommended.”
It’s a 209-page book and the ten stories are interesting and engaging.
This book is available at Amazon.com: Unfinished business: One man’s extraordinary year of trying to do the right things
By Robert Spector
Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
Let me begin by telling you what this book is not. First, it is not a history nor a background study of mom and pop stores. One reviewer at Amazon.com commented on precisely this aspect: “If you're looking for a book to give you some background, data and understanding of small businesses, how they operate and how they fit in and affect the US economy, unfortunately this is not it. It will not tell you, as its title suggests, how mom & pops are ‘surviving and thriving.’”
Second, it is not at all concise. Rather, it rambles a bit.
Third, it is not the least bit analytical. He has no interest in writing a rational, logical, or organized approach to the topic. He has, instead, put together a love story (or love stories) that reveal the passion, creativity, and tenacity small business owners demonstrate — in the Studs Terkel tradition — in order to survive.
One reviewer at Amazon.com, A. Westerman, writes, “Robert Spector has written a homage to the small, family-owned business -- the type rooted in the American psyche and as iconic as a Norman Rockwell illustration. Spector hopes to combat the notion that the family store is, much like The Saturday Evening Post, fading from the contemporary scene.
“The book, part memoir of the author's childhood at the family butchershop, part tribute to others family-owned businesses, Spector seeks to make the case that family shops aren't leaving the retail landscape. He does this with varying degrees of success: the profiles of business owners and their family members are heart-warming and interesting, but he also makes claims that are not supported by evidence. I can't say he's wrong when he talks about the unique characteristics family-owned businesses, such as old-fashioned values of hard work and community. Yet he doesn't have any other evidence but anecdotes to support him.”
This 291-page book includes five pages of notes, two-and-one-half pages of “selected bibliography,” and a 12-page index. However, the book is a series of stories (including his own at the family’s butcher shop in Perth Amboy, New Jersey) — anecdotal in nature — that tends to meander (a bit) as he pieces together a portrait of mom and pop stores in the U.S. today. I found it somewhat interesting but tedious.
This book is available at Amazon.com: The mom & pop store: How the unsung heroes of the American economy are surviving and thriving
Have a Little Faith: A True Story, by Mitch Albom
Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
This is, just as the front flyleaf suggests, “a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds—two men, two faiths, two communities—that will inspire readers everywhere.” There is no doubt about it: Albom tells a great story.
The book is a very short (249-pages in a 5" by 7" book) read, much like his Tuesdays With Morrie and in a similar style, mode, and approach. The book is engaging, entertaining, touching, and fully satisfying.
One reviewer at Amazon.com, Stephen T. Hopkins from Oak Park, Illinois, offers the best, short synopsis of the book: “Readers looking for a touching story about real people will enjoy Mitch Albom's latest book, Have a Little Faith. He presents the lives of two men from different backgrounds, different faiths, and different places. Albert Lewis was the rabbi from Album's hometown synagogue, and Henry Covington is an African American minister of a church in Detroit. What they share is hope and faith, and a love of God and people. These are inspiring lives that will lift the spirits of every reader.”
Another reviewer of the book, Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien, Illinois, writes at Amazon.com: “Mitch Albom, who hasn't been to a church since he was young, is moved by the deep faith of two very different men, an elderly and spirited rabbi who wants Mitch to give his eulogy when he dies, and an ex-con turned minister to the poor and homeless. The book is touching and entertaining and just might get us thinking about our faith and the place God has in our life.”
Anna Roberts Books, the author, reviewed the book at Amazon.com in this way:
“‘Have a Little Faith’ is a book I was so intrigued by that I couldn't put it down. It is such a heart breaking story, something you don't come across everyday.
“This book made me laugh and cry. There were times I didn't even realize the number of pages I had read. I was stirred by the sudden slam of a door, truthfully this book made me realize things I could relate to, as the author, Mitch Albom, pointed out so many things in life we know, but don't actually sit down and read.
“I can't believe the amazing journey Mitch Albom went through, it captured my heart and I am sure going to pick up another one of his books. I don't want to give anything away, you have to read the book yourself!!”
This is a book in which you will not be disappointed.
This book is available at Amazon.com: Have a little faith: A true story
