The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking [Paperback]

Chuck W. Clayton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0595437087 | ISBN-13: 978-0595437085 0

Would you like to:

 Make great decisions?
 Be a savvy consumer?
 Take charge of your life?
 Learn to be more organized?
 Free up time to have more fun?
 Discover your multiple intelligences?
 Create an exciting future for yourself?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you have selected the right book!
This book is a practical guide to teach you critical thinking skills. You will learn concepts, methods, and resources to make informed decisions, complete tasks quickly and effectively, shop smarter and create a fun life for yourself!

Critical thinking is the ability to make and carry out informed decisions. It involves efficiently utilizing your lifetime knowledge, experience, common sense, reasoning, intuition, feelings and confidence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chuck Clayton is a professional mechanical engineer and business problem solver. He has a BSME from Michigan Tech University and a MBA from Pepperdine University. Chuck is also a Certified Six-Sigma expert.

Chuck lives in Tucson Arizona. He enjoys traveling, dancing Argentine Tango and active sports. Please see: www.chuckclayton.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595437087
• ISBN-13: 978-0595437085
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Use your common sense, don't buy this, July 29, 2009

By 

Oliver Hayes (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking (Paperback)

I bought this book in the hope of learning some helpful critical thinking skills. With all the 5 star reviews I was sure it would be a worthwhile investment. Instead what I got was 150 pages of vague, unexplained, simplified, repetitive, and irrelevant advice. A book of this type should educate and give new insights including detailed examples and exercises. But unfortunately it teaches nothing new.

The author chooses not to elaborate on much of his advice - it's like a self help book that just says "be more confident". Some of the recommendations are laughable, for example in 'how to investigate', he dedicates a full chapter to recommending research, using a library, internet, etc. And in purchasing a car one should compare price, affordability, reliability, value for money. The advice is unnecessary as it is already PAINFULLY OBVIOUS! This is a common annoyance with this book. I yawned and frowned my way through to the end. It's such an amateur effort, with half the space taken up by needless cartoons, and so many spelling and grammar mistakes that it was thoroughly laughable. I could understand how a child aged 10 might get some use out of it, but for intelligent adults out there do not buy this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Common Sense Guide to Common Sense, November 11, 2008

By 

Elliot Malach "The Unknown Surfer" (Galveston, Tx) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking (Paperback)

This book is a guide to decision making for solving business and personal problems. Basically, it is what you always knew but were to lazy to implement.

One of the best parts is the numerous quotes sprinkled throughout the chapters. One that caught my attention was by Lou Holtz, "When all is said and done, more is said than done!" Pretty good coming from a football coach.

Usually this type of book is based solely on analytical thought. It was a nice touch for the author to go for a holistic approach - both right and left brains functions. It allows for intuition and subconscious involvement, so you are not denying yourself full power in the process.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to critical thinking, August 17, 2008

By 

Jack B. Brown Jr. (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking (Paperback)

I have read several of Mr. Clayton's books, and I think this is the best. This book is an introductory book to critical thinking and can be read by just about any age group. It can be used to introduce someone to the practices of critical thinking, or, as for myself, a wonderful refresher course that could be read over a weekend. Mr. Clayton has also provided an excellent summary and worksheets in the appendix that make the book an easy reference when I want to apply critical thinking to a new idea. I also signed up on his website to get regular updates through a newsletter. I believe after reading this book, people should look into DeBono's 6 hats thinking methods and collective intelligence methods as a comparison to group think. Overall, a very good book and great resrouce.