Customer Reviews

The Nature of Creative Development

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The detailed analysis of both well-known and lesser- known individuals' creative thought processes is interesting and thought provoking. Examples are drawn from diverse fields from biology to art to literature and social science. Select individuals are followed throughout the book with emphasis on different facets of creativity and how their discoveries relate to each. I particularly enjoyed the live interviews with current researchers; their explanations of how they had become interested in their chosen fields and what factors lead to their contributions. My favorite was Susan Ferguson, a literary scholar, who combined an interest in literature with linguistics and anthropology. Her thought processes, discoveries, and creativity are traced through various chapters in the text. The exhaustive scope and depth of the research into the underlying motivations of those studied is impressive and when combined with the author's own theories of creativity generate a note worthy work.

This impressive book is an attempt by the author to identify the elements which contribute to creativity in a wide range of diverse fields. His tracing the development of specific individuals from Virginia Woolf to Albert Einstein makes for fascinating reading whether or not one agrees with all of his premises.

This book provides insights into the interests and motivations of a wide group of individuals - most historical and some based on personal interviews by the author. The diversity of subjects tackled cover art to literature to science and business. The extent of the research required to substantiate the conclusions reached by the author is truly impressive.

Ronald Purser, Professor at San Francisco State University, writes: "The material presented by Feinstein offers a unique and rich perspective on creative development. The Nature of Creative Development is a highly valuable contribution to the field of creativity...."

Doris Wallace, codeveloper of the evolving systems approach to creativity with Howard Gruber, writes: "The Nature of Creative Development provides a wide-ranging and detailed theoretical framework for exploring and describing... creative work. Through his study of creative individuals, Feinstein preserves the essential uniqueness of the individual while formulating constructs that can be applied generally."

This book features richly detailed information on contemporary and historical creative figures. The book is surely one of a kind.