Creativity Books

Everything came in a reasonable amount of time and it was described exactly as I received it.

I am a communication graduate student, so I've read a lot of organization communication texts and readers. I've read my Weick, my Mumby, my Deetz, my Jablin, my Putnam & my Poole. While I would never suggest that anyone ever forgo reading primary sources, who can argue that sometimes we just lack the time to read everything we would like to? That is where this book comes in.

This Eisenberg & Goodall book is not just an average review of the major concepts, themes and theories in organizational communication. It covers the concepts of org comm in more detail than most texts do. The authors also are very aware of the changes and challenges to organizations in the contemporary world, and included excellent chapters on globalization, outsourcing, etc.

Finally, Eisenberg & Goodall wrote this text interactively. It is the most dialogical of all the org comm texts I've read. This stimulates not just the memorization of fact, but deep-rooted thinking and contemplation.

If you do not know where to start when you look at the expansive landscape of organizational communication, this is THE place to start. After a thorough reflective reading of Eisenberg and Goodall, you will definately have a firm foundation to read the primary sources you want.

I am a graphic design professional and the daily application, negotiation and consideration of 'communication' in all of its forms impacts my work, and this is mostly referring to the communication that occurs between people and societies, over and above that of 'designed communication' through the products of a graphic design project. I commenced a Masters Degree in Organisational and Professional Communication, and found that this text was far superior to everything I was presented in the degree... this book crystalises every pivotal concept, in clear, accessible, and credible language... but most of all bridges the gap between academia and actual practice. I'm so thrilled with this book. It's like a bible to everything that matters... understanding more about the nature of human beings and relationships in all aspects of modern life. I would recommend this book to literally anyone.

Although first published in 1982, this book may be more important to today's readers as the passage of time has resulted in a shifting importance to this book's content. Along with serving as an insightful contribution to folkloristic analysis, the book has now become a major resource for understanding the social history of the blues. In this respect, Evans' analysis provides a good way to understand and appreciate both historical and contemporary blues music. Evans' interviews with blues musicians from the 1960s and 70s, in particular, provide irreplaceable resources for learning about well-recognized blues players like Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Tommy Johnson as well as lesser-known, but still important, figures such as Mager Johnson, Willis Taylor, and Mott Willis, and Fiddlin' Joe Martin. The focus on Drew, MS gives this study a good example of a community with a thriving local tradition, where many of the previously-mentioned musicians played, and it provides an especially strong way to understand the development of the blues tradition in the Delta. Evans' careful transcriptions of a variety of blues songs and sharp analysis of tunes and lyrics further contribute to an understanding of the music within the context of a once-vibrant local blues tradition. The book culminates in a extensive analysis of the development and diffusion of the tune "Big Road Blues." This chapter includes thorough transcriptions that show how the song has been played by a number of musicians. It is especially interesting and worthwhile to listen to some of the recordings that Evans mentions (and that he, himself, even produced) while reading about the players who created the various performances of the tunes.

In the interest of fairness, I'm giving this book five stars, though I admit that I am not totally qualified to rate this book in its' totality. I say that because, I have no knowledge of reading music and much of BIG ROAD BLUES by David Evans is designed to teach blues music as well as entertain readers.

The book was certainly entertaining giving rich and colorful history of blues pioneers and the Mississippi delta small towns where blues found its roots. As for the music part of it, it was way over my non-music playing head, but I am certain guitar artists and aspiring blues musicians would benefit greatly from its lessons.

Even without a music background, simply as a lover of blues music, I found this book very readable and informative. The book is laden with brief biographies of obscure blues musicians largely forgotten by all by the most devout blues fans, as well as pictures that lend character to the book. This is a book I believe any blues lover would enjoy reading.

Everything I have seen by or edited by David Evans has impressed me with his thoroughness, his seriousness, and his respect for tradition. This is no exception. Books about the blues are often written by people who know little or nothing about the Blues, or worse, by people who have just enough misinformation, stereotypes, and wrong attitudes to make their book a threat to knowledge about the Blues.

David Evans is a serious student of the Blues. He has spent decades in Mississippi and other parts of the South interviewing, getting to know, studying, and playing with real Bluesmen, living in the blues environment, and learning the entire gamut of musical culture that Africans brought to this country. His study is from the standpoint of a trained folklorist and musicologist, not a mere enthusiast.

This book centers on a study of the Blues traditions of the Drew, Mississippi area and takes the song "Big Road Blues" identified with Drew musician Tommy Johnson and recorded in 1930 by the Mississippi Sheiks as "Stop and Listen" as the center of that study. Along the way, Evans provides a history of the development of the blues and a history of the development of analysis and study of the blues up to the point of publication of his book as well as a final chapter with suggestions and questions that his study poses to the general methodology of Folklore.

Evans gives a very good picture of how the Blues tradition was passed won in the Drew Area. This is important because the Drew area included significant Delta Blusicians like Charlie Patton, Son House, and tangentially Robert Johnson and Howling Wolf. He distinctly describes the education and sharing of blues men and women, and through his study of Big Road Blues/Stop and Listen, he gives a picture of what defines a blues despite the characteristic shift of lyrics between different players. Moreover, instead of providing the usual air-headed summary of well-known blusicians, Evans gives a picture of the role in transmission and development and playing of many grass roots blues singers who were never recorded and rarely performed outside of Drew and the surrounding area.

There is a lot to be learned here. The text is well-noted and has a great bibliography. There are pictures of almost every blusician that Evans mentions, mostly taken by Evans, his wife, or his research assitant. They are many lyrics. All of this is done with care and clarity.

Another thing that I like about Evans is his accuracy and modesty. Too many folklorists assert the final truth of what are their own conjectures or inqueries. Too many writing about music insist that whatever their small bit of survey suggests is the gospel truth for the whole world of blues or music as a whole. Evans is guarded, concrete, and modest in his conclusions. He never tries to assert a relevance for his conclusions beyond the area of study. Instead, he calls for more studies like his own to capture other local traditions and other aspects of the blues.

One note: This book was originally published in 1982. I would suspect that in the original publication it was in a larger trade hardback format. Here the text seems to be shrunk to fit it into the paper back format. As such the type could be a little bit larger and more work could have been done to reproduce the photos more clearly. Moreover, remember that when Evans speaks about "today" or "recently," he is speaking in 1982.

We need more studies like this one. Anyone serious about the blues should buy this book, read this book, and study it. It is unfortunate that the companion album is no longer available on CD

In anticipating the future, three things generally fascinate & intrigue me, & they are: Change, Complexity & Competition. Hence, I am always seeking better understanding - & appreciation - of these critical areas of concern.

In the search of books & resources, I have come across many excellent authors or masters. I have already featured a few in my earlier posts.

In this post, I would like to review one original, thought provoking book, written with warm, passion & clarity as well as mastery of content.

Actually, I had read `Breakpoint & Beyond' during the mid-nineties, when it was first published. At that time, I had just embarked on a journey to play a better game in the second half of my life.

Oftentimes, I have returned to the book to read certain earmarked pages.

In a nut shell, it weaved a compelling story about change by focusing a new & penetrating lens on the master teacher of change, Mother Nature herself. The authors asserted that understanding the invisible forces of natural change would uncover the hidden patterns that could unlock our potential as individuals & organisations.

The authors also showed that natural growth was characterised by long periods of stability, punctuated by "breakpoints" - bursts of explosive change & showed how we could take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that would arise during these exciting periods.

Amidst the somewhat lofty rhetoric - the book was rather heavy to read - I would like to single out one principle from the book - the Principle of Future Pull.

According to the authors, every single cell in a tree, in a caterpillar, or in a human being would grow & develop not based on its history but by being pulled toward in its internal picture of the possible future. That future was inscribed in the DNA, the genes that reside in the nucleus of every cell. That way, every part of the system could pull together toward the common future.

In human terms, this would translate into living with a powerful vision of the future. A compelling vision could pull individuals & organisations to their desired future.

Let me share some of the authors' ideas of doing it.

Know your purpose & vision:

Purpose can be defined as how an individual & organisation makes the world a better place. A vision is a compelling image or picture o the purpose having been achieved.

The book gave this example: Landing a man on the moon in a decade was the vision that President John Kennedy held out as an inspiring magnet pulling an entire nation to develop the technological capability for manned space flights.

Purpose & vision are as important for individuals as they are for organisations.

A compelling purpose energises life. Without a compelling purpose, we live life as a fairly haphazard experience, being easily swayed by the latest fad, temporary pressures, or the most recent advice on what others think we ought to be doing with our lives.

Commit to achieve your vision & purpose:

When an organisation lacks a compelling purpose, its people cannot helped but be uninspired. The book gave an example of the late Anita Roddick & the Body Shop, whose concerns for the environment & the people still infuse the enterprise.

Abundance is Mother Nature's state:

Abundance comes to those who have the courage to follow their dreams. This brings not only material abundance but connection with the opportunities that are vital to the full expression of one's talents.

Today thousands of people are doing what they love to do in the most unlikely occupations & making an excellent living.

No one with a compelling purpose & a great vision knows exactly how it will be achieved. You have to be willing to follow an unknown path, allowing the road to take you where it will. Surprise, serendipity, uncertainty, & the unexpected are guaranteed on the way to the future.

Make the world a better place by living according to shared values:

Values are often thought of as soft stuff of an organisation, something that goes on a bronze plaque in the lobby. Somehow the values get separated from how the business really runs. Inevitable, employee & customer s know it.

The purpose & values are the heart of the vision that will pull organisations into their future. These ingredients provide the essential elements of successful self-creation: the picture of that future whole. It is the internal guidance system, the DNA that allows everything to work together. The purpose, vision & values furnish the internal reference point for making choices & connections in a complex & rapidly changing world. They endow the individual & organisation with direction to be pulled into the future.

With a little bit of hindsight, I am very glad I had made full use of many of the authors' ideas in my own life.

If you are concerned about your own personal change & renewal, you must read this book. It will help you to think about your life -& to stay vital all your life.

An extremely important book. Packed with the best insights from our greatest minds. Revamps many firmly held beliefs regarding the principals of 'Change'. Especially powerful information for leaders, teachers, and business people.

Many books tell us things are changing, but this is best one I've read that explores change itself. Change happens constantly, yet the "rules" underlying change are poorly understood. Land and Jarman meet this challenge with examples from the sciences, business, and individual lives.
A central point of this book is that all systems go through distinct phases of change. These phases are visible in rocks and relationships; they govern the behavior of crystals and families and galaxies. Each phase has its own rules for success. This book maps out the phases of change, teaches you how to tell "where the system is", and most importantly, how to adopt strategies that work in the current set of rules.
A must-read for executive leadership, this book has been indispensible in helping organizations understand and implement the process of transformative change.

G. Michael Campbell notes a shocking statistic in the opening pages of his book: Americans fear public speaking more than death. One reason that so many professionals dread making presentations is that they have not been trained in the basics. The best public speakers use techniques that can be taught and learned, and Campbell presents many of the most important of these methods here. We from getAbstract strongly recommend this book to any novice public speakers, as well as to presentation veterans who are sure to pick up a new trick or two.

All of us in business have wished at some time or the other for a "shield" that would stop holes from being shot into the ideas we present. In this book, Mike Campbell offers an easy-to-read and easy-to-follow guide to ensure "bullet-proof presentations." He discusses all aspects of planning and preparing for a presentation including what types of visual aids-from old-fashioned flipcharts to computer-generated media - might enhance the story being told. He explains how to build the body of a speech and choose the right strategy for delivery to guarantee a presentation has not only substance but also style. There are tips and advice for everyone here - no matter their rung on the corporate ladder or how often they present. The "blueprint" for presentation preparation is a handy tool that should be used again and again and the "consider this" illustrations and anecdotes keep the reading stimulating and interesting!

There is an old saying in sales: "You have to sell the sizzle along with the steak." Most presentation books (and I have read dozens) sell a lot of sizzle and very little meat. Bulletproof Presentations is the best book I have read on business presentations, because it focuses as much on how to develop your content as on the mechanics of the presentation. For example, the concept of an overriding theme is critical to ensuring that your message gets remembered. Campbell's stories and examples show that he is an expert on delivering professional presentations to a business audience, and I believe anyone following his advice can aspire to the same level. I strongly recommend this book.

Don't waste another minute. You are thinking about buying this book because something inside of you is screaming for you to make a change, to move out of the "chaos". I was there not too long ago and after reading this book, I decided to do something about it.

"Capitalizing on Career Chaos" by Helen Harkness was the match that sparked a new reality for me. Along with prayer, I decided to utilize the things I learned from this book and start a new career. One poignant moment in the book is the "Formula of Change: C = P > F. It states that "change happens only when pain is greater than fear". After learning this, I realized that the pain of a unfulfilling career was overcoming the fear of stepping out on faith. It wasn't my limitations that were holding me back from true success; it was my fear of the unknown. I'm sure you understand what I am saying, because you're there right now, but this book is chock-full of stories and activities to spark your future life. As the book states, "Look inward, outward, forward, and beyond - and take creative control of your career!" Definitely a great read!

Helen Harkness' Capitalizing On Career Chaos: Bringing Creativity And Purpose To Your Life And Work advocates two basic steps and shows how to achieve them: looking inward to connect with real needs, then looking outward to match core instincts and talents to workplace realities. Chapters cover the basics of how to redesign a career by pinpointing important strengths and using them appropriately.

Dr. Harkness' wealth of experience in her field is manifest in her writing. Not only is she an educator, unlike most arm chair authors writing about what they've studied in a lab, Dr. Harkness writes about reality as she is LIVING the experiment or should one say, the adventure. Like the friend, aunt, mom or mentor you never had, she clearly shows you how to shed the preconcieved, society proclaimed notions of what success is supposed to be and learn how to become yourself in the work force. For anyone looking for a way out of a dead end job, be warned, there are no easy or quick fixes and Dr. Harkness is very clear about that. But you do have options and knowing what they are can be the key to an extraordinary new chapter in your life. "Chaos" is a great first step to getting a do over.

This is a gem of a book. In it, Dr. Kolodny gives us an opportunity to listen and to think with her as she tracks the elusive process of creativity and the many ways it can be hindered. In clear and rich detail she shares with us the breadth of her experience as both a therapist and a poet,and she shows us that there are so many ways to understand and open up these blocks. In this slim volume there is an abundance. It is thoughtful and generous book. Enjoy! Emily S. Brewer, M.D.

The Captive Muse is a fresh and remarkable look at the creative process and its inhibition -- the nightmarish experience known as writer's or creative block. Susan Kolodny, a psychologist by profession and a poet by avocation, analyzes the various causes of creative block and explores ways by which artists might free themselves and release their creative powers. She addresses prevailing attitudes of the general public and some mental health professionals -- both of which frequently consider art and the making of art to be superfluous activities at best, and symptoms of mental illness at worst -- and in clear, graceful prose guides the reader through the many hazards littering the artist's path. The book is profound and meaningful and triggered all kinds of insights for this reader. A must for anyone engaged in the making of art, and a powerful tool those whose art is a life lived thoughtfully and well.

This is a gem of a book. In it, Dr. Kolodny gives us an opportunity to listen and think with her as she tracks the elusive process of creativity and the many ways it can be hindered. In clear and rich detail she shares with us the breadth of her experience as both a therapist and a poet, and she shows us that there are so many ways to understand and open up these blocks. In this slim volume there is an abundance. It is a thoughtful and generous book. Enjoy!

Emily S. Brewer,M.D.

We use this in a ladies group bible study and have had some great discussion. I think that you will get so much more from this book in a group setting, but it would be great for personal study as well. For many of the questions, we use it as an opportunity to find Bible verses that go along with the subject and we share these when we meet together.

I think the author has done a great job of making a book for those who have been Christians for a long time as well as a book that will not overwhelm new Christians.

Very well-written. Not a boring, rote-memorization work-book, but provocative and evocative. It calls on participants to interact with the Biblical texts.
Highly recommended!

As a licensed marriage and family therapist, it is my responsibility to train new therapists just entering the mental health field. To decrease their anxiety, they often seek specific interventions (tools) they can use to be helpful in their work. These "tools" are necessary, but even more important is developing a deeper level of understanding of an overall model of treatment. It is this overall model that gives understanding of which intervention to use and why. For the disciple of Christ, the 3-2-1 paradigm, introduced in Complete in Christ, does just that with the scriptures. 3-2-1 guides the student to the deeper level of understanding of God's word. Regarding this deeper level, Michael challenges the disciple of Christ to "consider the importance of owning a set of core convictions." It is an excellent combination of teaching very practical "tools" that further the Christian's effectiveness to serve others as well as providing global truths that increase their awareness of God's love and plan for mankind. Complete in Christ facilitates a disciple of Christ to be complete in serving Him.

Darrin M. Whittaker, MFT

A thoughtful and thorough step-by-step method of self-discovery to develop one's creative potential while being truthful with yourself. A book everyone can connect with no matter what creative endeavors are pursued.

This book speaks to anyone who wants to unleash their creativity, but isn't sure where to begin. After reading "Connecting to Creativity" I felt encouraged to cultivate my own desires with tangible meaningful tools. The authors provide simple guidelines and inspirations in a clear concise manner. I've shared this book with many friends and family members who have used it for gardening, writing, home decorating, and even teaching.

This book offers a clear, concise, step-by-step process to help the reader unlock and express their creative spirit. It helped motivate me to unveil the creativity I knew I had within me using simple steps - I would highly recommend it if you are a person who has dreamed of creating, yet didn't have the "wherewithall" to start!

I can only echo the other positive reviews on this page. The essays in CSE are superb: acutely insightful and beautifully written. Like another reviewer, before I encountered CSE I, too, had known of Doctorow but never read him. I am very pleased to have begun exploring this author's oeuvre with his own reflections on literature and the literary craft. Though I also have yet to read several of the works that Doctorow discusses in CSE, I nonetheless very much enjoyed learning about them and have added them all to my burgeoning list of future reads. Anyone who loves literature will take great pleasure in reading CSE.

"A writer who is not writing is a madman". That's Kafka--one of his letters, I think. Is it the one where he cancelled plans for a country holiday with friends because when a writer is creating, "he must hold onto his desk with his teeth"?

E.L. Doctorow understands. He writes in the introduction to his essays,"A novel or play has its origins in the peculiar excitement of the writer's mind. These are powerfully-felt, even inspired, responses to what may be the faintest or fleeting of stimuli--an image, the sound of a voice, a kind of light, a word or phrase, a bar of music."

Doctorow knows how fleeting inspiration is, and he seeks it from the inspired because he also knows just how damn hard it is to get it right. That's why these essays are so nourishing. He includes Harpo Marx and Einstein in this collection. With Harpo taking words and communicating silence, and Einstein thinking frantically against the limits of age, you'll see why.

His essay on Kafka's Amerika [The Man Who Disappeared] is worth the price of the book. Kleist he approaches more obliquely: where is the glorious dramatist who knew women's hearts so well (Penthesilea, The Broken Pitcher)? Later, he muses over Huck Finn, positing that he was Twain's match, a character wholly beyond Twain's ability, a giant metaphor deserving more than the plot Twain gave him. T.S. Eliot said much the same of Hamlet.

Where Doctorow loves (Kafka, Melville, Marx), he writes movingly, even nakedly. Where his mind is tickled, he is a fierce intellect, more than able to communicate the convergence of time, inspiration, culture, failure--and genius.

I picked this up at the library, having known of Doctorow's work for years, but never reading it.
These are gathered essays, all regarding the artistic process, E.L.'s own imagination and a critical analysis of particular works.
All of the works and workers are classics. The Bible, Poe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, a terrific imagining of Melville's experience writing Moby Dick, Tom Sawyer + Huck Finn as unfulfilled projects, Arrowsmith, F. Scott, an excellent piece comparing Malraux's L'Espoir and Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls, John Dos Passos' U.S.A., why Harpo Marx stands out among his brothers, the German poet/playwright von Kleist (who I now will look out for), a nice short bit on Arthur Miller, how Kafka's first novel Amerika could be written by a guy who'd never been there, W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants (another writer and book I learned about), a great piece on Einstein's imaginative ability, and a closing essay on The Bomb, the furtive genius that created it and the brilliance it destroyed.
The Bible, poets, gigantic classics, silent comedians, scientists and mass destruction...All are created. Creationists are all mortal, but their creations are immortal.
Doctorow's impressive expertise and reverence for each of his subjects makes for terrific reading, and an education.

all of Ernest Holmes books are >Excellent<

Everyone should read them

R.D.R.

A wonderful book on positive thinking in your life.

Creative Mind was the first book Ernest Holmes wrote. It was published in 1919. But by 1998 when I was Editor of Science of Mind magazine this wonderful little book was out of print and almost impossible to find. We reprinted it with a Forward by Catherine Ponder, an author of many inspiring books and a great fan of Ernest Holmes. Creative Mind is one of my favorite books because it gave me goosebumps when I first opened it and I knew it touched a deep truth within my soul. The first sentence of the introduction is the hook that draws you into your new and exciting possibilities: "The hand of eternal progress is brushing the cobwebs from the corridors of time and is again revealing to the human race the mysteries of being." I love secrets revealed...and this seemed to be the biggest, best secret of all. I do read Creative Mind again and again and I think you will too. Elaine Maginn sonne, Ph.D., Author of 5 books, including Legends of the Stones.