While the big picture is evocative, the details about psychology are often mistaken
596521
The book and the basic ideas are very intriguing and evocative. Nevertheless, I am troubled that when the author ventures into territory that I have knowledge about, he is often off the mark and/or mistaken.  He writes that he agrees with Neisser that the field of psychology is not ready to tackle the topic of consciousness and furthermore contends that the field of physics is.  This is an ignorant position: psychology has been trying to come to grips with the topic of consciousness since a least James in the 19th century.  There are volumes dedicated to the psychology and biopsychology of consciousness.  Perhaps Goswami should read some of them enough to understand that, for example, the superior colliculi are located in the midbrain (not the hindbrain, as Goswami has stated).  His errors would be more forgivable if he was more humble.
502537
Elsewhere USA tells a sociological story about how American society has evolved in recent decades, initially using as its device the comparison of the imaginary types "1959 man" with "2009 man."  At the start of the book, meeting the imaginary types, I found the book a bit annoying--the description of "2009 man" seemed to me a caricature of a very particular version of modern American life: the self-important, well-educated New Yorker who has a hard time understanding that any life of value could be lived away from New York.  To my reading pleasure, and maybe to the detriment of any coherent organization for the whole book, however the importance of that charicature gradually went away as the book progressed.  Instead, it became a thought-provoking and fun to read series of riffs drawing from sociology to analyze modern life.  The book gradually demonstrates the usefulness of the sociological imagination as a lens for making sense of our social world--riffs about why we've come to accept sitting through advertising to get to watch movies in a theater, or why personal crime rates have gone down as inequality has risen, or how the idea of growing work insecurity is a myth (the book notes at several points, perhaps with a degree of psychological insecurity, that we are more likely to lose a marriage than a job).

As a social scientist myself (though not a sociologist), I didn't always agree with the interpretations offered in Elsewhere USA but I did appreciate the book's attempt to offer an accessible but educated interpretation of modern life.  The idea of a book that attempts a contemporary version of "The Organization Man" or "The Lonely Crowd" is a worthy endeavor.  It is, however, important to be aware that this books interpretations are just that--attempts to understand rather than definitive conclusions.  There is, in fact, a helpful reminder of that fact in a footnote very early in the book when market de-regulation is held up as a stabilizing force because in a globalized economy risk is so widely distributed there is little economic risk--an interpretation that seems ludicrous amidst the 'great recession' of 2009 brought on (at least in part) by reckless de-regulation.  But to the credit of "Elsewhere USA" each interpretation offered in the book is emphasized as only part of the explanation.  The social world is damn complicated, a simple fact that some find frustrating and I find fascinating.  That is also a fact that makes me appreciate this book as a series of well-crafted riffs spun into a thought provoking narrative--even if most of the individual lives I'm familiar with bear little resemblence to that of the wealthy Manhattanite caricatured here as somehow representing an epoch.
1276858
The enneagram system is somewhat diffuse and speculative, not strictly under the aegis of science. Still, Helen Palmer's book draws on observations, and respects the need for careful context in terms of observing a number of interactions involving specified types.
This book is more a rumination on her observations, rather than a focused scientific treatise.  It supplies an overall picture of the enneagram system, and also provides accounts of "pairwise" interactions with respect to "love", or intimacy, and "work", or function in a hierarchy.
In addition, as she emphasizes, there are spiritual elements related to the enneagram.  However, her discourse is mainly focused on the word associations, the language, that can be brought to bear on each type.
She respects the number mysticism that is carried like a ball and chain by the afficionados of the enneagram.  I thought she did a rather clever job of preserving the mystical basis of the enneagram in the triangular fraction 1/3, and respecting the decimal expansion of 1/7 (through discussions of stress and security points).  Whether or not one is susceptible to number mysticism, one appreciates the dualism in stress and security positions.  She also discusses the wing structure somewhat. I find that the number mysticism, the "vocabulary" associations of the types, the subtypes, the stress and security points, and the wings give a piquant flavor to the enneagram system and supplies the wonderful "dynamics" of the enneagram as a psychological system.  In addition, there is no question that one does observe, in one's own life, people who display very clear instances of the reductionist categories of the nine types.  (I would, however, strongly caution against believing that "typing" a person can necessarily be done easily.  In fact, I notice substantial ambiguity, even with respect to the tests to help one pin down one's type.)
As a popular account, I was impressed, but, like other reviewers, I noted a certain unevenness in the overall detailing of the portrait she gives of the enneagram.  However, despite this unevenness, I can recommend this book as supplying an interesting viewpoint on the enneagram, at least from a psychological perspective, and one that is somewhat complementary and not strictly equivalent to that of Riso and Hudson.
2281689
By showing the actual process, this book does a good job of presenting how the investigation of the most common mental representation of the separate self can be deconstructed.  Many modern views in psychology hint at the fact that the sense of self is a mental construct, but avoid going on to encourage deconstruction.  Through the process presented in the Gateless Gatecrashes, one may find there comes a clearer view of "what is", of actual reality, without that conventional projection.  But this is not full Awakening, or Realization, and it is a mistake and misleading to suggest one is "done" at the end of the process presented in the book.  Other subtler "identities" can and do present themselves.  And the methodology presented here does not recognize this and continue the process.  Nor does it assist with the critical recognition of the sense of awareness, or "Presence" which begins to become more evident as personal identities and beliefs fall away.
2875880
Even though this book is well-written and organized, the facts within it may appear somewhat intellectual, which makes it vital for readers to browse through the lines a second time before the full meanings can sink into one's head. However, it teaches you how to use your intuitive senses to analyse things and gain a more in-depth perception of matters. Such a book will probably appeal to psychologists and readers who are interested in scientific facts.
3911719
Summary:
Although somewhat supplanted by the more extended analysis of Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow," "The Invisible Gorilla" covers a range of mental processing errors in detail, shares a few data sets and anecdotes all its own, and is generally an excellent introduction to behavioral psychology for those intimidating by the size of Kahneman's text.

Thoughts and Observations:
-This book offers a reflective, self-analytical presentation of human mental processing errors with the goal of alleviating public overconfidence in their own mental abilities
-The authors place an important emphasis on the limits of behavior studies, and the often risky business of publishing studies that are misinterpreted by the media
-Great 'human interest' choice of topics: cell phones in cars, the spurning of a concert violinist
-A little too much gloating over the ubiquity of their own experiment's success (the gorilla experiment)
-Head-nods to Levitt and Tversky (research partner of Kahneman); Kahneman himself does not seem to be mentioned...
-Some overlap with Hallinan, "Why We Make Mistakes," in their analysis of film continuity errors and script supervisors
-Long analysis of memory: its focus and limits
-Analysis of confidence is probably the best and most important part of the book, and even has some funny stabs at self-help literature
-Analysis of causation errors is the portion of the book now most thoroughly outdated by Kahneman
-Unfair stabs at Gladwell throughout the book: their frequently caricature his theses, which are generally very ambivalent and self-aware; they wrongly make Gladwell look smug/simplistic
-Analysis of 'mental transfer' and video games was for me (a former gamer) *fascinating* -- it's what I'll likely remember from this book a year from now, if nothing else
-I'm also a walker/hiker so I'm glad to hear that studies confirm this is a mental boon
-Excellent summary scenario that ties together all errors covered
4462853
Not necessarily 100% accurate, but deeply moving
4453707
The conclusions of Davidson's research when combined with the conclusions of David Eagleman's book "Incognito: the Hidden Life of the Brain" produce implications that are at once both powerful and disturbing because of their potential for being misrepresented and therefore being abused. Davidson says that memes--cultural inheritances that are passed from generation to generation through learning as compared to genes which are biologically inherited--actually affect the the epigentics--the selection of which inherited genes are expressed--within an individual.  Eagleman questions whether or not our experience of free will is an illusion; in other words our non-conscious biological selves have a much greater influence on how we live our lives than either most people realize or as reflected either in the American criminal justice system which focuses on punishment as a deterrent to anti-social acts and not on effective rehabilitation within the prisons, or as reflected in government policies toward children's health and education.

Together these two books set the stage for cultural wars of immense intensity depending on the scientific objectivity with which the issues will be approached.  Personally, based on the shifts I perceive in the American political system moving us toward an "us verses them" xenophobic mentality, I fear that as a society we are edging toward the same type of group identities that gave rise to the Nazi movement. How ironic that I suspect both of these researchers were raised Jewish.

Of course both authors advocate the rational use of their research to create just and healthy societies. That presupposes, however, a political system that incorporates science into its policies and is willing to fund the necessary changes to improve the quality of life for future generations. This is perhaps a catch 22 outside the scope of either book, but is also the underlying, encompassing issue that is implicitly addressed through the readers by how they live their lives.

Additionally, I want to comment on the surprisingly author-focused nature of the book.  I feel these personal anecdotes of self-justification seemed completely out of character relative to the scientific content of the book and therefore detract from its authority. Perhaps the co-author encouraged Davidson to broaden the book's appeal; or more disturbing would be that she moderated his ego. In either case while a personal history might be useful in the introductory chapters, being constantly brought back to his private battles is the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five.
869143
The nuanced narrative of the book with its vague imageries and uncertain recollections makes the reader form his own conclusion of things. It reflects the complexity of human emotions showing the narrator fluctuating between acceptance and denial, struggling with his memories which he does not pretend not to embellish and also justifying away his behaviours when they compromise his principles. We see shades of our behaviours in him even while we condemn his fascist ideals.
580955
In Always Dreaming, David L. Rivinus presents, through massive amounts of study and careful thought, an analytical presentation upon a dense subject nearly impossible to universalize due to the paradox of its very nature. Human dreams are fascinating to me, and I wanted to read Always Dreaming because I loved the Christopher Nolan movie Inception, to which some of the concepts (as per my interpretation of them) in Always Dreaming may hint at the outlandish nature of the movie being closer to fact than fiction. Always Dreaming seeks to provide a dreamer with relevance, both literal and metaphorical through the careful sorting of their own dreams, as well as attempting to decipher the meaning of external events and real-life experiences, as many dreams are the echoes of poignant wishes and buried aspirations, bundled up in quizzical packages. I do question the pragmatism of following ones bliss but I enjoyed the illustrations as Always Dreaming balances the tone of a technical textbook with the more relatable memoir writing of a personal quest for information.
3923938
Worth reading for sure, if only for some of the in-passing psychological commentary. Really accurate, and it touches on many practical issues most thinkers just decide to ignore (of the type, why are people not caring about what you say). He also anticipated issues (and solutions) of how technology would affect people's daily life and mental states before they were so obvious, having an unusually balanced take on the issue. All of this is mostly in the first half, the second half is centered more on hardcore philosophical points, and the author's concept of Quality. Those are ok, though I wish the connections to previous ideas were made clearer. Also, the explanation was somewhat mangled and confusing, this might be related to the psychological issues of the author.
817239
This is an anthology for scholars interested in cognitive psychology as applied to the study of religion.  It requires some familiarity with the field, and a few of the essays are very very dense.  Unlike most previous attempts to link psychology and religion or spirituality, this avoids personality theory and clinical counseling models, and focuses on the research in cognitive psych that has been done over the last few decades.  The application to religious studies depends on philosophical choices about methods, definitions and concepts.  Not all of these will make specialists in religious studies happy, since some seem to ignore developments in that field over the last several decades.  For a comparison, look to "Religion and Psychological Studies: Mapping the Terrain" edited by Parsons and Jonte-Pace, which is a quite different account of "the field."
My reason for giving "Religion in Mind" 3 stars is that I just do not know if this is the wave of the future for this area, or one more attempt to create a new scholarly field out of an intrinsically undisciplined set of interests and concerns.
245196
The book had some interesting insights and views of a world most of us don't even realize exist. It was a good book for painting a picture of how these things seem to happen vs. how they actually come about. Understanding the author is useful, but it somehow detracted from the story when he went into his CV often - even as I understood the need to add context. I have recommended this to a few friends and colleagues as it was an interesting, quick read.
2614459
While I thoroughly appreciate all the years and work that must have gone into writing this book, I felt there were some major things missing. It was ultimately very interesting and stimulating - but it was presented in a weird way.
Ronson seemed to be in all the right places in all the right times, receiving information most journalists would be lucky to get. Instead, he emphasized all the wrong parts - some sections I just didn't understand why they were included. Don't expect a documentation of how these extremists came to be or what they do - it is more of a highly empathetic journey into their daily lives and how they are "just like us".
2479672
This is a fascinating book, full of interesting stories about how various people have been able to live better lives by changing their brains--even cases that were once considered hopeless, like stroke victims.  The focus is "plasticity," the idea that the brain is constantly growing and changing, and that various techniques can make it change and grow in desired ways.

Doidge knows that the brain is not infinitely changeable.  Alas, he leaves the reader with little idea when it is and when it isn't.  There's a lot of good science here but I felt that the focus was too much on inspirational stories, stories that are not always representative.  Too much of it read like a press release for the various techniques and therapies.

The book is also an attempt to revivify psychoanalysis, which is, after all, about brain plasticity.  "Analysis" promised to change how one's brain worked, converting unhealthy ways to healthy ones.  Wildly popular in the middle of the last century, few psychologists take it very seriously today.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, was brilliant, creative, learned, and hard-working.  He was also full of himself--and by the time of his death, psychoanalysis had become a self-contained cult, cut off from the mainstream of science.  It was also rather unsuccessful in curing mental problems.  In his later years, the Master himself touted it less as a cure and more as a fascinating journey into self-understanding.  Thus the never-ending analysis that Woody Allen lovingly satirizes.

In two chapters, Doidge points out ways in which psychoanalytic principles are compatible with modern plasticity research.  He is himself a psychoanalytic therapist and in chapter 9 presents a long case history of a man who was cured by his brand of analysis.  I was impressed.

Recommended, with caveats, to just about anyone interested in how the brain works.
151584
The central claims of this monograph are that 1) our faculty to imagine and predict is faulty, and that 2) we, as human beings, are all too similar, despite our inclination to think otherwise. The combination of the two facts listed above naturally leads the author to assert the following: that in order to predict how we will feel in the future about events we contemplate taking place, we'll fare better in asking others who just experienced that event than in supplying ourselves with detailed information about the event.

As an example, one of the many case studies the author cites: "...volunteers ("reporters") ate a few potato chips and reported how much they enjoyed them. Next a new group of volunteers was fed pretzels, peanut butter cheese crackers, etc, which left them thoroughly stuffed and with little desire for salty snack foods. These stuffed volunteers were then asked to predict how much they would enjoy a particular food the next day. Some of these stuffed volunteers ("simulators") were told that the food they would eat next day was potato chips, and they were asked to use their imaginations to predict how they would feel after eating them. Other stuffed volunteers ("surrogators") were not told what the next day's food would be but were instead shown the report of one randomly selected reporter. Because surrogators didn't know what the next day's food would be, they couldn't use their imaginations to predict their future enjoyment of it and thus they had to rely on the reporter's report." The result was that the simulators enjoyed eating the potato chips much more than they would, while the surrogators more accurately predicted their response.

The book proceeds by examples, or more precisely, by explaining the results of case studies in psychology. The author's exposition is clear, and the sheer number of cases covered impressive. At times I felt that the author was trying too hard to sound witty, but apart from this minor irritation the book was fun to read and more importantly packed an abundance of observations to ponder over. I have learnt to question my judgment about my own future in particular.
4645403
Very perceptive about those who have brains that experience the world differently.