The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

List Price: $15.00 Discount Price: $8.00

Customer Reviews:

Great story; great lessons [Posted on 2008-07-17]
I aim to emulate a lot of the practices described in this book. It's a fast and entertaining read, but I plan to go back and take notes on some of the recommendation sections. I recommend it to anyone in pursuit of excellence or who needs to overcome a major obstacle.

Josh is on to something [Posted on 2008-07-24]
Josh is definitely on to something. The learning principles he outlines in this book are priceless. This book is thick with good ideas. I had to stop after many chapters to make sure I absorbed the information.

He is clearly well-read when it comes to philosophy and human psychology. And he relates his academic training to his careers in chess and Ti Chi in an illuminating way. The parallels between these seemingly unrelated disciplines are striking. Josh's writing helps you understand how his learning process can be applied to many fields of study.

This book is also very well written. Let me state that again because so few authors are as gifted as Josh: This book is very well written. I loved the vivid descriptions of his chess and Ti Chi battles.

After reading this book I look forward to hearing him speak someday.

The only negative I can think of is that this book may not be very accessible to people who are not already "learners". If you are not interested in learning and improving your ability to learn, this book may be inaccessible to you.

I've always enjoyed learning and honing my personal learning process, so I absolutely loved this book. This is the type of book that I will apply to my learning pursuits and then read again (probably in a year) to make sure I absorbed everything.

The Art of Skill Building [Posted on 2008-07-24]
"The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin, while largely autobiographical, contains some really priceless ideas on concept of skill mastery.

The book is an insider's look at what it takes to becoming world class in any field. The second part of the book, which talks about Josh's journey through the martial arts is particularly revealing in this regard. Focus, but also recuperation, are crucial elements... this is very well illustrated in the book, through examples from Josh's life.

Besides that, a lot of it is downright inspirational... I was particularly inspired by Josh's account of training through an arm injury to reach an ever greater level of success. A lesson to all of us who sit on the sidelines as soon as we get hurt a little.

I would have loved to hear perhaps a "metaphysical" perspective on the Art of Learning... does complete devotion to a skill lead to happiness, ultimately? Perhaps the subject of a later book!

Paul
paultheo2004@yahoo.ca

"Invest In Loss" [Posted on 2008-08-07]
"Invest in Loss" is probably the best line and best principle to take away from this book. Although it is a universal philosophical principle the author highlights it well and gives good examples of how it helped him in his training through Chess and Push Hands.

I'd also add that this is probably one of the few if only principles that support the title of the book. The invest in loss ideal is something I have incorporated into my own teaching and learning and recommend others interested in moving forward adopt this same principle, but you do not need this book to tell you how to do it.

I would have enjoyed more about Push Hands when the author made the leap to that section of the book. Even though there are 3 main parts, the book is essentially divided into two - chess, and push hands. Unfortunately the author missed the mark here as the push hands section spends a majority of the pages bringing up the authors chess experience and regurgitating the first half of the book rather than spending more time discussing his push hands training and experiences.

This book, simply put, is nothing but the author pandering to his own ego and not at all a book about learning or how to improve your learning. I made it to page 209 out of 262 and couldn't bring myself to finish another 50 pages of the same text reborn time and time again.

I recommend you pass this one up or you'll be investing in loss through your wallet!

An Excellent Role Model for Success [Posted on 2008-08-27]
Josh Waitzkin is absolutely incredible. He has done so much at such a young age. My wife (Jane) and my two children (Cranny and Keet) went to the 25th anniversary conference of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)([...]) . Josh spoke at this conference about how he has achieved the success he has achieved in both chess and martial arts. It was clear that his intellectual abilities are exceptional and he is capable of learning to skills quite quickly. The one thing I learned more than anything is that when one learns a new skill, it is important to take a part of that skill and master it. Once the part of the skill is mastered, the rest of the skill becomes that much easier to master. Many of us when we are learning new skills try to do too much at one time. This one piece of advice has helped me immensely. It has also helped me give advice to others including my children and clients. Josh's book outlines his journey towards the mastery of his passions. It is quite an amazing read and will be an inspiration to us all. I highly recommend telling Josh's story to your children or to the children you work with.

Steven E. Curtis, Ph.D.
Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges

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