| | |  | Guy Kawasaki | Home » » Uncommon Genius | | | | | | | Description: | | In the tradition of The Creative Process, here is an absorbing look at creativity sure to be a perennial seller. Everyone from the budding entrepreneur to the weekend writer is looking for a great idea. But where do they come from? Denise Shekerjian interviewed 40 winners of the coveted MacArthur Foundation Fellowships--the "genius awards"--to uncover how they work and how they sneak up on great ideas. And Denise demonstrates how individuals can harness the creative spark in their own lives. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780140109863
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Denise Shekerjian | | Paperback:
| 272 pages | | Publisher:
| Penguin (Non-Classics) | | Publication Date:
| February 01, 1991 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0140109862 | | Package Length:
| 7.7 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Not so much about creativityJan 20, 2009
I bought this book to be inspirited by the creative people. By their lives, by the way they think ....
I have not found enough inspiration in this book and read only half.
3 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 HERD MENTALITY.Jul 15, 2008
Wonderful book, but let me highlight a few of its political lessons that are glossed over in reviews.
If you invent a better mouse-trap the establishment will likely slap you silly and ruin you if it can. Read Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED to learn how they do it.
Most people havent had a creative thought since they figured life out at 13. (Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll is the correct answer). So society views innovators and creators as thieves, lucky, or twisted-freaks. Your friends and family would be okay with MY MOTHER THE CAR re-runs, 24/7. Your clever ideas give them headaches and make them nervous.
It's easier to get picked for an NFL team (or Miss America)than it is to sell a poem, painting, or pill that cures ugliness.
1 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A happy findDec 07, 2006
I found this book via a "happy coincidence" (luck??). Long story- I was in China in a shop having a long conversation with the shop-keepers son. He had an interesting looking book so I asked what it was. It was a book on "mind-mapping" which looked like it might be useful in my work, and for a book that I am currently writing (on Lean Manufacturing). It was in Chinese so I couldn't understand it but it raised my curiosity. When I got back to the States I looked up Tony Buzan at the library and as I often do when I find a subject I am interested in I look at the neighboring books. I found "Uncommon Genius" and thought it might it might be applicable to research I was doing for another book on "success." I started to read the book and from the very first page nearly every key point identified by Ms. Shekerjian matched my own hypothesis on the subject of creating a successful life (and late in the book she mentions having multiple projects going and how they often are intertwined- like in my case- and how going from one to the other helps to maintain resiliency). I will be quoting and referencing many of the topics in this book! The "secrets" are really here is you study this book you will see a definite pattern to success in any endeavor- not just creative (although any endeavor in life is really just a form of creation isn't it?).
As I was reading I was also struck by the "prose" used by Ms. Shekerjian. Sometimes it was stretched, but I was amazed at the talent for language and vocabulary! Lot's of adjectives. I think the talent would be well spent on writing a novel! Denise, if you read this and are interested in collaborating on a novel send me a note. I have several ideas! Thanks for your great gift in this book.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
The best book I've found on creativity - an easy, useful, insightful readJul 15, 2005
This is my favorite book on creativity. It does an excellent job diving into the subject and coming up with realistic and practical answers about the creative process. It sends a good message that there isn't magic in the creative process - that creativity comes most from hard work and dedication - something that anyone is capable of. Its also an easy quick read which increases its attractivness and usefullness by ehnancing the underlying message that creativity isn't complicated and available to anyone to achieve.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Very worthwhile! Relevant to artists, scholars, scientistsDec 10, 2004
Shekerjian tackles a tough topic and succeeds in bringing it down to earth. "Geniuses," or MacArthur Fellows, at any rate, are humanized here. They aren't struck by lightning, or born with great discoveries. They are hard workers and they have personality traits well-suited to creative endeavors.
For a creative spirit such as myself, I was very intersted to glean insights from Shekerjian and from the MacArthur Fellows she spoke with. By normalizing these people, Shekerjian shows (among other things) that a.) people of all kinds of backgrounds can produce "genius," b.) "geniuses" work very hard, c. geniuses are capable of pursuing their interests in the face of criticism, defeat, and setbacks, d.) genius is fostered by play, by cross-pollination, by persistence, and by "doing," e.) et cetera--there are many more insights in the book.
Shekerjian's prose is easy to read and well-organized. The reader doesn't have to work to figure out this book, and instead profits from the considerable work that the author put into translating "genius." She's done the legwork, had the conversations, and had to decipher what can seem like the ineffable.
I'm glad I read the book. I took home many lessons for my own creative work; lessons that will hopefully linger for a long while. I recommend this book to artists, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and political activists. Geniuses are more ordinary than we suspect and they have more to share than their creations--they can share with us the process of creation itself.
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