A Whack On the Side of the Head
Author: Roger Von Oech
List Price: $15.99
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ISBN: 0446674559
Publisher: Warner Business (01 December, 1998)
Sales Rank: 5,801
Average Customer Rating: 4.34 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Insightful!
A Whack on the Side of the Head is a book that deserves some time. If you rush this book, you will miss much of its value. Roger von Oech uses a combination of explanation, puzzles, and irreverent artwork in his treatise on creative thinking. People who consider themselves creative will instantly take to this book. People who don't feel they are creative may be a little intimidated by the format of the book, but if they can buckle down and force themselves to give it a chance, they stand to gain the most from the book. Reading this book can help you reawaken the imaginative thinking process most people abandoned in their childhood. We from getAbstract recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more creative; it will be as useful for a high school student as it is for an advertising executive or a software programmer.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Classic book on creativity
I remember first reading this book at some point in the mid-1980's when I borrowed it from the local library. It seemed like a fun, quick read with the big fonts and plentiful cartoon-like drawings. I borrowed it again a few times after that, and went on to read A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, also by von Oech. A few years later when I was in university and had a bit more money I came across it in the university bookstore and picked up a copy for myself immediately. In the 10 years since, I've reread the book numerous times, and would confidently put it in my list of top-10 business books of all time.For someone like myself who probably has the adult version of ADD (I rarely finish any book before picking up at least two or three other ones), this is one of the few books that I can come back to time and again. I have von Oech's other books, and tools such as the card decks, but still find the original work to be the best and most inspiring. Now working in a corporate marketing group, I use the tools in leading group discussions, and routinely give copies to coworkers and friends to force them to challenge their way of thinking.
Some of the people I've lead in workshops have commented that the "whacks" are simply a collection of others' ideas, common knowledge and cliches. Maybe. But von Oech does a wonderful job of bringing them together and presenting them in a manner that is concise, entertaining, and as a result highly effective.
If you're interested in creativity, innovation, "disruption", trying to overcome writer's block, or just trying to "think outside of the bun" I strongly suggest that you give this book a read.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Whack me! Kick Me! For wasting my money
Please I deserve it for buying both of his books at the same time and wasting still more money. Very disappointed to say the least. Simplistic. He repeats concepts over and over. Might be good for a junior high or high school class.
There are many more books along this line you'd do better to buy. Similar Products
Creative Whack Pack
Expect the Unexpected or You Won't Find It: A Creativity Tool Based on the Ancient Wisdom of Heraclitus
Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius
Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity)
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