Customer Reviews

Deep Play

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I don't want to sound like a curmedgeon, but this book is, to put it mildly, way too self-indulgent. I too like to bike and think, "Wow, the world is a great place," but I truly didn't think anyone else would care. This is a self-indulgent recap of "neat things Diane Ackerman has done in her life" loosely tied together by this deep play idea she gets from Huizinga without ever citing the original source material. It's not that I didn't enjoy reading it -- I did. It reminds me of reading a diary or a travel-log of a friend's adventures. But, compared to her other works, this is fluff with too much of a focus on the author. If the author hadn't been well-known, this never would have been published.

I've enjoyed Ackerman's other books, but this one failed to engage me. It did seem like she stitched a bunch of diary pages together and sent it to her publisher. She's a beautiful poet, but this time her thoughts seemed scattered with only the most lackaidasical attempt on her part to synthesize them.

Usually, I enjoy her style, but I was especially distracted this time trying to keep the relationship between her personal anecdotes and the deep play theory straight.

I have to admit, though, the paperback version has one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen. It's sad when more effort appears to have gone into a book's design than its content, though.

Deep play (aka "Flow") is a valuable concept, but don't expect to find any intelligent exposition of it here. Instead, prepare for confusion as seemingly disparate phenomena -- rituals, hallucinations brought on by starvation, and Sunday morning reveries in the park -- are evinced as examples of "deep play". Just how and why these should be lumped together with creative flow is never adequately explained.

All in all, this is a rambling, entirely unsystematic and underresearched book, notwithstanding the author's credentials as a naturalist.* Worse still, as Wolfgang Pauli would say, it is "not even wrong". It has nothing to say, for page after page after page.

Well, not nothing exactly. As an indulgent exercise in vanity, it's worth a titter or two. The author, whose photo reveals a woman of a certain age in King Charles-style tresses, loses no opportunity to remind you the reader that she knows how to live. "I hate the fearful trimming of possibilities that age brings. If you lead a relatively narrow life, I suppose you never notice. But I've always been athletic"... etc etc. Mostly she goes on in this vein, larding up her exploits with new age musings that even I --liberal, female and eco-minded-- found eminently gagworthy. Reader be warned, though: a dark episode intrudes on page 100, as Ackerman takes NASA to task for having had the temerity to reject her for the Journalist in Space program. Her explanation: NASA feared she might say something "wise and profound."[!]

Whatever the case, don't hold your breath waiting for her to say it in this book.

*Serious readers of psychology would do better to consult Czikszentmihalyi's outstanding research on "Flow", while those interested in play in the natural world will adore Bernd Heinrich's Mind of the Raven.

Ackerman suggests humanity evolves as a result of "deep play," and her eponymous term for meditative, creative activity is described here both in cultural history and personal memoir. The writer explores a range of interests, from the role of the bicycle in the emancipation of nineteenth century women to the etymology of "play" itself-an earlier, near-opposite meaning of the word was much like "pledge." At its best, this is a guide toward her "exalted zone of transcendence over time."

Deep play, sounds fun doesn't it? Ackerman's most recent book Deep Play is at times enjoyable, in some ways compelling but if it had not been for her beautiful writing and the way she sprinkles surprising human insights throughout the book I could not recommend this book to others. Readers beware, while Diane Ackerman's writing is wonderful - in this publication and others I have read - this particular book tends to be a bit self indulgent at times. I went into the read with a willing mind prepared to further understand deep play. There were moments where I was pleasantly surprised, but mostly disappointed, as Ackerman delivers some great facts but seems all together too scattered in trying to tie them together.

Ackerman sells the need for a book on deep play right from the start telling the reader how our culture "thrives on play," how play is used by animals to survive, and "play is fundamental to evolution." She dives into the constructs of play talking about its rules, social norms, and making sweeping arguments about play as the center of what we call work, "let's make-believe we can shoot a rocket to the moon." Akerman's take on play is based on transcendent.

What I enjoy about Akerman is how she eloquently mixes truly interesting human insights, facts and observations giving the reader brain food to ponder. In one chapter she writes about her experience studying and swimming with dolphins. I could see myself swimming and playing in the water through her eyes. Her description of poetry, "it's a kind of catapult into another metaphysical county where one has longer conceptual arms" is magical. In still another section she dives into youth and the childhood artist almost begging the reader to try and find that inner child thus locating play. Perhaps most magical of all was her writing on horses both historically and their meaning to humans. In the way she describes horses and their link to human history, I would be not surprised if each and every reader feels the desire to go out and watch them or ride them.

Throughout reading this book, I caught myself wondering if I agreed with Ackerman on her definition of Deep Play or if even she agreed with it. Ackerman tends to put Deep Play in a category of the daring and risky. And while her examples hold up especially to adrenalin junkies she herself seems to deviate from this course in some of her examples of play.

Overall Akerman gives the reader a look into her life, smart insights on play and if you like Ackerman's writing and style she will not disappoint you in Deep Play. However, be ready for a slightly scattered and a tad self indulgent ride. Ackerman fails to deliver on the truly profound, instead tells a mini-autobiography of her various life adventures. If the adventures were staged correctly they could be a wonderful addition in and of themselves but in the setting of Deep Play I was more annoyed than mesmerized.

I found Deep Play to be a fairly quick read, and enjoyed it immensely. This was not a terribly esoteric read-I actually expected more "science" behind the human need for deep play. However, Ackerman's skill with the written word carries her through here, and the book was a delight regardless.

As a creative woman and professional writer, this is one of the best books I have read on creativity. It is about learning to find time for play-- something we are strongly discouraged to do as we grow up and become adults. Diane Ackerman teaches us to see that we do play, and encourages us to nurture that play. Play is a time of learning, and a time of relaxing and letting go. It is revitalizing, and allows us to refresh and find new insights, which ultimately leads us to become creative. Ackerman guides us through her personal experiences with examples that enlighten, delight and are enjoyable to read.

I always eagerly await the next Diane Ackerman book. This one doesn't disappoint. I will use it in my classes--it's a wonderful look at the way creativity works (or, rather: plays!) Fascinating details, stories layered in stories. Highly recommend.

After seeing the average of the reviews coming in at 3 stars, I felt a moral responsibility to lower it further. This Book is worse than no help; it merely masquerades as a guide to "play". Don't take my word for it: check the Backnotes before buying it and see if you don't agree. In addition to "Flow" by Csikszemtmihalyi, as another Reviewer pointed out, other books exist that are much better at helping you conduct a self-examination to discover what gives you joy. These include the books by Barbara Sher ("Wishcraft" is very good), Laurence Boldt's "How to Find the Work You Love", the old standby, "What Color is Your Parachute" by Richard Bolles, and a real sleeper of a book, "Getting Past OK: A Straightforward Guide to Having a Fantastic Life" by Richard Brodie.

Ackerman is like that great friend of yours that is always throwing interesting facts your way to inspire you. She is so smart and at the same time she is playful and fun. After reading any of her works, I always find myself looking at the world a little closer.
Enjoy this book- it should be on the shelf of every creative artist.