The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential (Paperback)

by Tony Buzan (Author), Barry Buzan (Author) "This chapter takes you on a Concorde-flight overview of the latest bio-physiological and neurophysiological research into that amazing bio-computer-the human brain..." (more)
Key Phrases: cortical skills, architecture plate, linear notes, Mind Map, Radiant Thinking, Basic Ordering Ideas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This idea-rich, relentlessly upbeat manual proffers graphic images as an aid to unlock creative thinking or clarify emotions. Drawing loosely on brain research, learning theory and information science, English business consultant/TV personality Tony Buzan (Use Both Sides of Your Brain) and his brother Barry, a professor of international studies, first outline "radiant thinking," a method designed to enhance one's associative, nonlinear thought processes. Next they explain how to create "mind maps"-colorful, structured, drawings, cartoonish or complex-as a tool to overcome mental blocks, organize ideas, brainstorm, strengthen one's memory and imagination, and make meetings more productive. Despite its inflated claims and cluttered presentation, this unusual how-to, replete with exercises, quizzes, dramatic color photos of patterns in nature, and sample mind maps, will challenge and stimulate the open-minded.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The potential of the human mind is absolutely phenomenal, and Tony Buzan is one of the world's leading experts on how people can maximize their brainpower. Now, in his most comprehensive book yet on the topic, Buzan reveals exciting new ways to improve one's memory, concentration, creativity, ability to learn, and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Plume (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452273226
• ISBN-13: 978-0452273221
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,163 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #21 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Memory Improvement
  #43 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Cognitive

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

353 of 361 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Does It Work? Do You Use It? Is It Helpful?, June 10, 2001

By A Customer

The majority of the reviews seem to focus on the reviewer's feelings: towards the author, his previous works, "it was too simple," "too complicated," "repetitive," and so on. However, if you're not familiar with mind-maps (which are creative techniques used to organize thoughts, identify key ideas, link themes, and remember more effectively, while using the both sides of the brain), you might think of it as a gimmicky New-Agey concept without practical applications. In other words, not useful, interesting but not useful. I'd just like to give personal endorsement. I've used mind maps for about twenty years to organize engineering projects at work, remember books I've read, identify daily goals, learn chess opening ideas, outline papers I'm writing, and identify the important from the trivial. This book does have flaws in that Buzan has already written it in his earlier works, and the title suggests to more impressive results than can be delivered ("maximize your brain's potential"). You won't become a genius, you will still have to work at thinking, you'll just have an additional tool to help you. Mind maps are fun, easy-to-use, useful ways to organize and retain information and generate ideas. Linear notes just don't jog the memory. It's still amazing to me how a hastily drawn mind map on an article, book, movie, lecture - a map I'll scribble with stupid little drawings and doodles and throw away days later - can help me remember so much years later !! It works. I use it. It helps.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Full Use of Your Brain, especially Visual Cortex, May 20, 2002

By	Noppadon Kamol "Noppadon Kamol" - See all my reviews

"..half of the human brain is devoted directly or indirectly to vision.." said Professor Mriganka Sur of MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
--------------------------------
In this book, Tony Buzan convincingly argues for the importance of Mind Mapping--a method of recording and organizaing information based on the nature of human brains. After reading this book and experimenting with Mind Mapping myself, I do believe that our usual writing system does not enable our brains to function effectively and Mind Mapping is a major improvement over it.

Mind Mapping is based on a few basic principles summarized as follows:
* Represent concepts with keywords
* Make associations
* Organize into hierarchy
* Visualize concepts using images
* Stimulate your brain with colors and symbols
* Order and emphasize according to importance

The major benefits from the use of Mind Maps are:
* Images, colors, and associations stimulates creative thinking.
* Mind Mapping forces you to think actively about the things you learn.
* Efficiency in making/taking notes.
* Learning is simply more fun!

The latter part of the book suggests many uses of Mind Maps: writing a personal diary, sharing stories within a family, thinking, teaching, making notes, presenting a lecture, and collaborating in a professional environment. For example, Boeing created a 25-foot long Mind Map summarizing an aircraft engineering manual, which helped save millions of dollars worth of staff time.

Tony's writing is lucid and the presentation of the book is excellent. I found the colorful examples given throughout the book especially inspiring and useful. The only complaints I have would be frequent repetition of information and sometimes excessive claims of the power of our brains without solid scientific proofs. These will however likely to have positive impacts on the readers, that is, help them think more positively about their own capability and strengthening the message that the book wants to deliver. So you can think of them as features or defects depending on your personal preferences.

Given the amount and complexity of information we need to deal with in the modern world, Mind Mapping is a very valuable tool everyone needs to possess. The benefits far outweigh the cost of learning it.

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What a shame!, August 17, 2000

By	Chris Elvin (Kanagawa, Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Mind Map Book tells us how to use radiant thinking to maximize our untapped potential. Presented clearly and colorfully, in linear manner, we are guided through the process of making our own mind-maps so that we can improve our memory, concentration and creativity in planning and structuring our thoughts. Do you need to buy the book? Basically - no. When I was a student, some twenty years ago, I remember meeting a very keen proponent of mind maps in the laundry, and what I learned from him in twenty minutes was enough. Also, there are enough traveling professors in this world who are just aching to tell you how much you can do with an addled brain and set of colored felt-tips that buying this book is really not worth your while. What is good about the book, is that it does tell you clearly and methodically how to create mind maps of good design. What is bad about the book is the relentless sales pitch. Virtually everything spiral or fractal that occurs in nature gets a full color plate, and there are lists of doodles from the famous that you can test your intelligence as to who the creator was (hardly mind maps). Finally, there is a long list of merchandise that mind map fans can buy if they are so inclined. You can even send a donation of at least $10 to the author so that you can aid him in building his money-making centers! Come on Tony. The only radial thinking that you're doing is in the numbers that spiral around your head every time you go to the bank.