A Technique for Producing Ideas (McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic)

A short book like this deserves a short review. This book is less about technique and more about procedure. Young's most important point is that new ideas come about through making connections with other disparate ones. Apart from that the book reads more like an ad man's notebook and is very dated. Historically interesting but of limited use.

Very few books I've read are so direct and simple. The author gives away his secrets in this book, he says that he is not scared to do so because - as with many things - very few people are actually dedicated and disciplined enough to follow through (I'm paraphrasing).

It gives you the principles and methods in a 1 hour read, whether you get ideas and the quality of your ideas all depend on you.

Great, great, great book.

......that's all it takes to learn how to come up with new & creative ideas, time after time. As Young says, the idea & the technique itself are so plain & logically simple that you may even miss it; despite the fact that the book is only some 48 pages long. It's easy to read & in your haste to learn "the secret" you may finish the book too quickly. Some thoughtful reading is required, so please don't dismiss the book because of its apparent brevity.

The fact that the book has survived successfully for over 40 years in print is testament to Young unique (but not new) teaching.

Although Young does not refer to it, I am reminded of many writers & books that go into great detail explaining the "science of the mind" & the wonderful way the brain [or mind] works & how it can be used to spawn new ideas & create solutions to problems. Sometimes referred to Mental Science, its philosophy & teachings go back thousands of years & weren't fully recognised until around the time of the 1900's.

If after reading this you wish to develop & research this technique further, I would highly recommend Emmet Fox's "Power Through Constructive Thinking".

Although it is not a very new book (about 50 years old), its significant, simplified, and disciplined way for innovative thinking is just as effective and valuable as the day it was first published. I am sure you will fall in love with the book so much that it will take an hour to read. Enjoy reading!