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on December 9, 2016
In Tools of Titans, Tim grabbed some of the best of his podcast and moved it into print. But the content is missing real structure and is mixed with silly nonsense that is meant to be funny but misses the mark such as favorite spirit animals and his useless billboard question. There are some golden nuggets in here and they are worth going after, I just had to work a little harder than I wanted. It was worth the price especially after 200+free episodes of the podcast which I enjoy every week.
on December 12, 2016
Tim's previous books are incredible and you should buy them all. Those books show incredible mission, clarity, and voice.
This book suffers from the expectations of his previous work--Tim is honest about presenting "Tools of Titans" as sort of a glimpse of his journals/notes from his life's work, but this book loses nearly everything we've come to expect.
First, due to the content (it's a compendium of quips/quotes/summations from past work and in particular, his podcasts) there's no sense of mission and the book feels scattered. Yes, you can sort of pick this up book and it reads like a reference digest, but Tim's voice fades and it feels without purpose. It's WebMD with a clouded personality...it's a bit like a bound website without the hyperlinking.
Next, keeping Tim's literary voice at the fringe makes the book far less interesting. His personality is buried, his sense of adventure and joyous curiosity isn't apparent, so we care less about the character and the journey. His books have always succeeded on those terms--he's made us excited about his life and why he does what he does, but here his character is almost non-existent.
Finally, although I don't think it's the case, the book doesn't seem challenging for Tim. I don't think he phoned it in, and I know trying to make sense of a lifetime's worth of notes (tools!) was incredibly challenging, but there's a part of me as a reader that expected much more channeled insight. He's shown he's capable of completely rethinking a problem or a lifestyle or a way of doing things, and this book isn't like that at all.
If you've read all of Tim's stuff and listened to a fair amount of his podcasts, this book is going to seem like familiar territory. Nice to have some of the best nuggets all in one spot, but I don't buy his books out of convenience. If you're new to Tim Ferris, this is probably a decent starting point.
This book suffers from the expectations of his previous work--Tim is honest about presenting "Tools of Titans" as sort of a glimpse of his journals/notes from his life's work, but this book loses nearly everything we've come to expect.
First, due to the content (it's a compendium of quips/quotes/summations from past work and in particular, his podcasts) there's no sense of mission and the book feels scattered. Yes, you can sort of pick this up book and it reads like a reference digest, but Tim's voice fades and it feels without purpose. It's WebMD with a clouded personality...it's a bit like a bound website without the hyperlinking.
Next, keeping Tim's literary voice at the fringe makes the book far less interesting. His personality is buried, his sense of adventure and joyous curiosity isn't apparent, so we care less about the character and the journey. His books have always succeeded on those terms--he's made us excited about his life and why he does what he does, but here his character is almost non-existent.
Finally, although I don't think it's the case, the book doesn't seem challenging for Tim. I don't think he phoned it in, and I know trying to make sense of a lifetime's worth of notes (tools!) was incredibly challenging, but there's a part of me as a reader that expected much more channeled insight. He's shown he's capable of completely rethinking a problem or a lifestyle or a way of doing things, and this book isn't like that at all.
If you've read all of Tim's stuff and listened to a fair amount of his podcasts, this book is going to seem like familiar territory. Nice to have some of the best nuggets all in one spot, but I don't buy his books out of convenience. If you're new to Tim Ferris, this is probably a decent starting point.
on December 8, 2016
Update!
So I wrote the first part of the review at the end of the Health section. I've since gotten into the Wealth section and things have been better. It feels as though there's more actual insight and information being shared rather than just personal quirks. For me, the section on Derek Sivers alone made Tools of Titans worth the read. So if I get nothing more out of the book, I'd still be happy with.
With that said, there are still moments that feel kind of thin, just like what I talked about in the initial review. And the Health section isn't without merits or great tips. It just left me feeling like there was way more meaningful information that could have been included but wasn't.
I'll continue to update!
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I'm currently 1/3rd through the book and I have to say that it's been a weird experience.
On the one hand, I do feel like I've gotten a lot of health insights that I wouldn't have otherwise known about.
But some of these "chapters" are just absurd.
In one, the conversation is with Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist and director of a cognitive science lab. You think you're about to receive some interesting information from someone who knows a lot about neuroscience and cognition. No.
There are six parts to this chapter. The first is called "Behind the Scenes" and is about 60 words total and details a bet Adam has with a friend about Virtual Reality. "Adam is bullish and Kevin is bearish." We're then told the bet is over a bottle of whiskey you can only get in Japan. That's the entirety of that part.
The second part is called "Humans use only 10% of their brains? Not quite." That's two sentences from Adam who just says we use all of it and it's complex.
Part 3 is "How he hires for coveted spots in his lab." Less than 100 words. Boils down to connection and being interested in what excites the person, not their resume.
Part 4 is "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." This is the longest part. Two paragraphs. The first paragraph explains Adam hosts a part once a month for 40-80 friends. He likes rye whiskey. The second paragraph is Adam talking about rye whiskey.
Part 5 is "Favorite documentary" and is Adam giving one quote about Cosmos.
Part 6 is "Advice to your 30-year old self?" and that's be fearless and do research other people think is risky.
I've written in this review about as much as there is in the chapter about renowned neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley. If I were to tell you one neuroscientific thing from Adam then I would have provided you more information on Adam's main area of expertise than Tools of Titans does.
Beyond that, there are times where Tim references something and then says, and I quote, "YouTube is your friend." That's the method of explanation. Which, on the one hand, yes. It probably is quicker for me to YouTube it than for him to try and describe it. But it also makes the book feel superficial rather than giving you the "tools of titans".
I still have a decent amount of the book left. So maybe there will be a lot of revelatory sections and information. But I can't help but feel there were a lot of corners cut. The counter to that is that some will argue it's purposefully brief in order to become more "koan" like, something you have to think on and meditate on. "The Adam Gazzaley section may seem simple but there's a lot you can extrapolate from it." Maybe. But it also seems like there's too much that's left off the table that would be more beneficial than the riddles put forth.
So I wrote the first part of the review at the end of the Health section. I've since gotten into the Wealth section and things have been better. It feels as though there's more actual insight and information being shared rather than just personal quirks. For me, the section on Derek Sivers alone made Tools of Titans worth the read. So if I get nothing more out of the book, I'd still be happy with.
With that said, there are still moments that feel kind of thin, just like what I talked about in the initial review. And the Health section isn't without merits or great tips. It just left me feeling like there was way more meaningful information that could have been included but wasn't.
I'll continue to update!
------
I'm currently 1/3rd through the book and I have to say that it's been a weird experience.
On the one hand, I do feel like I've gotten a lot of health insights that I wouldn't have otherwise known about.
But some of these "chapters" are just absurd.
In one, the conversation is with Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist and director of a cognitive science lab. You think you're about to receive some interesting information from someone who knows a lot about neuroscience and cognition. No.
There are six parts to this chapter. The first is called "Behind the Scenes" and is about 60 words total and details a bet Adam has with a friend about Virtual Reality. "Adam is bullish and Kevin is bearish." We're then told the bet is over a bottle of whiskey you can only get in Japan. That's the entirety of that part.
The second part is called "Humans use only 10% of their brains? Not quite." That's two sentences from Adam who just says we use all of it and it's complex.
Part 3 is "How he hires for coveted spots in his lab." Less than 100 words. Boils down to connection and being interested in what excites the person, not their resume.
Part 4 is "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." This is the longest part. Two paragraphs. The first paragraph explains Adam hosts a part once a month for 40-80 friends. He likes rye whiskey. The second paragraph is Adam talking about rye whiskey.
Part 5 is "Favorite documentary" and is Adam giving one quote about Cosmos.
Part 6 is "Advice to your 30-year old self?" and that's be fearless and do research other people think is risky.
I've written in this review about as much as there is in the chapter about renowned neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley. If I were to tell you one neuroscientific thing from Adam then I would have provided you more information on Adam's main area of expertise than Tools of Titans does.
Beyond that, there are times where Tim references something and then says, and I quote, "YouTube is your friend." That's the method of explanation. Which, on the one hand, yes. It probably is quicker for me to YouTube it than for him to try and describe it. But it also makes the book feel superficial rather than giving you the "tools of titans".
I still have a decent amount of the book left. So maybe there will be a lot of revelatory sections and information. But I can't help but feel there were a lot of corners cut. The counter to that is that some will argue it's purposefully brief in order to become more "koan" like, something you have to think on and meditate on. "The Adam Gazzaley section may seem simple but there's a lot you can extrapolate from it." Maybe. But it also seems like there's too much that's left off the table that would be more beneficial than the riddles put forth.
on December 9, 2016
The best thing I can say about Tim Ferriss is that he's introduced me to an incredible group of people that have changed my life. These people are world class performers that look at their skills, the world, and their lives in deeply contemplative, humble, and surprising ways.
And that's how you should read this book. Look at it as a phone book of introductions to Titans.
In each section, "Healthy", "Wealthy", and "Wise", you'll get questions to ask yourself and a path to head down. You won't necessarily get the full plan, but you'll get the questions and the direction to go.
Again, this is not a manual, but a phone book and a map. Use it accordingly to your advantage.
And that's how you should read this book. Look at it as a phone book of introductions to Titans.
In each section, "Healthy", "Wealthy", and "Wise", you'll get questions to ask yourself and a path to head down. You won't necessarily get the full plan, but you'll get the questions and the direction to go.
Again, this is not a manual, but a phone book and a map. Use it accordingly to your advantage.
on February 4, 2017
I have listened to the vast majority of the Tim Ferriss Show podcasts that form the basis for much of this book, and I can't react to the book as if I haven't done that, so in some sense this review may not be fair. But the book is simply not nearly as useful or interesting as the podcasts. The problem is that even as the author has distilled what he thinks are (and what may be) the most important ideas or examples from each person profiled, without the context provided by the often hours-long interviews, those tidbits are not generally very compelling or convincing. The few pages devoted to each person are not adequate for a standalone book. I an not at all saying there is nothing useful here--there are many useful things, but I think that they are presented in a fairly disjointed way that is going to discourage a lot of people from pursuing them.
Of course, it takes hundreds of hours to listen to the podcasts, and only a relatively few hours to read the book, so that is an advantage, but I would suggest that if people find something that interests them in the book, they then look to see if there are any podcasts related to that person and listen to those. Ferriss does an excellent job as an interviewer, and I think that the more in-depth discussion of the lives and ideas of the various interviewees is is much more likely to provide folks the impetus to actually adopt some of the good ideas that are presented than is the book.
Of course, it takes hundreds of hours to listen to the podcasts, and only a relatively few hours to read the book, so that is an advantage, but I would suggest that if people find something that interests them in the book, they then look to see if there are any podcasts related to that person and listen to those. Ferriss does an excellent job as an interviewer, and I think that the more in-depth discussion of the lives and ideas of the various interviewees is is much more likely to provide folks the impetus to actually adopt some of the good ideas that are presented than is the book.
on January 25, 2017
I bought the book thinking that it would be a compilation of recipes/explanations of techniques/tools for different areas (health, business, relationships, ...), organized in a way that I could use it as a reference book, as promised in the introduction.
Nothing further from the truth. It is impossible to find anything in the book because more than 50% of the book are summaries of interviews, and the chapters are named after the specific interviewee. The advice (the tools he promises) is contained in the answers, and there are no references to the specific advice, because the answers are not indexed in any way. For example, if you want to find advice about self-discipline, you would have to read interviews hoping to find a useful answer.
Also, this book has 5 stars (as of 01/25/2017). Seriously?. Any useful review rates it with no more that 3 stars and it has 5?. This all looks like a huge marketing campaign to me.
P.S: I don't hate Timothy Ferris, but this has been a huge disappointment for me.
Nothing further from the truth. It is impossible to find anything in the book because more than 50% of the book are summaries of interviews, and the chapters are named after the specific interviewee. The advice (the tools he promises) is contained in the answers, and there are no references to the specific advice, because the answers are not indexed in any way. For example, if you want to find advice about self-discipline, you would have to read interviews hoping to find a useful answer.
Also, this book has 5 stars (as of 01/25/2017). Seriously?. Any useful review rates it with no more that 3 stars and it has 5?. This all looks like a huge marketing campaign to me.
P.S: I don't hate Timothy Ferris, but this has been a huge disappointment for me.
on April 16, 2017
Rubbish book. Literally excerpts from his podcasts. It is just random quotes and tangents. I'm a huge fan of tim but this book is garbage
on December 17, 2016
I am a huge Tim Ferris fan. I think he's changed my life for the better in a number of ways. Having said that, I know his oursourcing methods, and it is apparent he had a computer program make transcripts of his podcasts and then paid an intern to tidy it up a tiny bit and then published the badly organized materials as a book. His books are generally very well written, but I am very, very underwhelmed by this tome. A complete waste of money. Buy the 4 Hour Work Week or any of his other books. This one is not worth it. His others are fantastic.
on January 5, 2017
I've listened to Tim's podcast since the beginning and have always been a fan of his other books. When I heard he distilled the countless hours of insights from his guests into a book I pre-ordered immediately. I've now read this BEAST of a book cover to cover and must say its Tim's best work. The personal stories as well as excerpts from guests make this worthwhile to anyone. I have countless notes and to-dos coming out of reading this book and recommend anyone looking to better their lives to pick this up and read it immediately.
