The topic sentence of this book is "We see human civilization as having risen to eminence among other species through political, scientific, and technological innnovation." This sets the tone for a humanistic course the the forms of creativity through history. For someone who comes from a technology background (read: geek), this book was an unexpected suprise. It gave a social context to the value system that the technologist depends on, and the legacy that supports the innovator of today.

I was inspired me over and over again. I kept on finding gems, and thinking "that's a creative way to get unstuck." For something that has so many references, it's balanced well with the discourse. I've got a reading list now, and a few biographies to read.

There was a spiritual quality to this book, grounded in history and human experience. In comes through in the sense of reflection, and the connection to great humanists through time.

A note of caution. The wordsmithing in this book is tight. While not a bad thing, that may lesson the appeal of this book for some. Also, the title doesn't exactly reasonate, since the theme of "grace" is never dealt with, and while Creativity is one of the great natures, it seems a stretch.

Had I not met the author in person, I would have never considered reading this book; Now, I wonder if it would be possible to take a class from him.

If you are looking for an exceptional find, this is one.

This book is a study of creativity in the social and ethical contexts, and of creativity as a result of innovation. It can also be used as a guide book for leading a life promoting innovation through creativity.

The book has three distinct but closely related parts: The Creative Mind, The Ethics of Creativity and The Politics of Innovation, explaining how the building blocks of creativity - inspiration, imagination, sense of beauty, integrity, persistence, vision and learning - all lead to innovation. While one could use this as a resource for inspiration and as a guidebook for practicing and promoting creativity in everyday life, the author makes no efforts to sell the book as such. Instead, he has opted for a conversational style that aids critical reading, and inspires further thinking. This helps to frequently stop and think about the material, and to inquire the logic. The language is very crisp and to the point. The editing is very sharp. One could read the book just for the anecdotes, both historic and the contemporary ones, which are plentiful in the book. The notes at the end is really an annotated bibliography, which can also be very useful.

This is a great antidote for the current day world where success is often wrongly equated with "fast", "immediate", "creating powerpoint slides", ... and the likes; where, the examination of things is becoming increasingly superficial, and the critical evaluations are frequently regarded as a hindrance to "productivity", and where the incompetence is frequently promoted for the resulting political expediencies. Dr Grudin explains why some people despise the concept of "working the system" to your advantage, and why they often take routes that look more elaborate and longer. He explains what is it that some people who get paid for forty-hours but seem to be always at work, are seeking and what drives them to voluntarily opt for such practices of hardwork and dedication. He explains why some people seem to take so much interest in every project around them, and seem to bounce back to success and happiness, from every failure they encounter. And, finally, he convinces us how creative work, even at the modest levels, can be the key to happiness.

By not casting its title with something like "N-practices of super-creative people" or something akin to that, and instead giving it the current title, and thus choosing honesty and class over marketing, Dr Grudin has put to practice what he preaches in the book. But if that makes you not consider this book, it's your loss!

A great baedeker for people and organizations wanting to promote creativity, and through creativity, innovation.

Robert Grudin is one of my favorite writers, consistently presenting deep topics, such as the meaning of creativity and the dangers in liberalism that even liberals must eventually admit. He writes with a clarity and wit that is all to rare these days, and this is his best book.

Mr. Grudin has written a powerful, terse book that should be required reading for all who fashions themselves as lovers of reading, lovers of ideas, or lovers of conversation. I found myself devouring this book--I read it it two days, underlining, writing in the margins, wanting to dialogue with the words.

The scope of the book is vast. All freedoms and liberties, Mr. Grudin avers, exist within and because of dialogue. Dialogue means, simply, any exchange of meaning. From this starting point, any exchange of meaning is relevant and important.

What I found fascinating was Chapter 3, "The Liberty of Ideas." In it, he revives the word "copia" (abundance, plenty) as used by Cicero and Quintilian, and emphasizes how necessary multifarious perspectives are to healthy free-thinking. Linear, mono-thinking boxes and confines the thinker. But variations on a theme--and he uses Erasmus' "The Praise of Folly" as an example--can open up or free our thinking; he writes "copia can be not only a way of expressing things but also a way of discovering and seeing things."

For me, there were great discoveries in each chapter, and I highly endorse this book for this reason. It gives persective and balance in a world filled with extremes.

I plan to re-visit it frequently, as well as give out copies where I can to any that will be open to its wisdom and sanity. Let the dialogues continue.

(Now, I'm reading "The Praise of Folly." Who knows where all this will lead?)

A mixture of picturesque speech and metaphysical philosophy. Brief passages with the power to reveal a different perspective each time it is read. The emphasis changes with the readers state of mind like the hues of a kincaid change with the lighting.

Robert Grudin's "Time and the Art of Living" is about how we exist in time, and the role time plays in our lives, for better if we make productive use of it, or for worse if we ignore it. Not a self-help book, it is nonetheless a book that I come back to every several years, both for its accessible erudition and for its suggestions for giving shape to your life in time. Highly recommended.

I would like to take a slightly different tact in reviewing this title, and that is to describe the pertinent circumstances in which I re-read it. I came back to Grudin's beautiful little volume after finally making my way through Heidegger's "Being and Time". I struggled through the weightier tome, and believe that I mined several nuggets of wisdom from it, although I think for the most part the battle was not always worth the rewards. I may be an immature reader of Heidegger, but it's hard to justify the complete murder of prose and order even in the attempt to establish new (or perhaps just unpopular) views. Heidegger's ideas on space and time however whetted my appetite for further explorations (especially since he seemed to leave so many paths untread). "Time and the Art of Living" is not a dense philosophical treatise, but it manages to be profound for both it's poetic style, and refreshing observations. Where Being and Time remains unsatisfying in clarity for the philosopher, and partial and vague for the existential thinker, Time and Art is direct and compelling enough to change a life. It's mission is not the same, but it is all the more succesful for realizing what needs to be said about the time in our lives. Grudin celebrates clear goals and vision as our anchor in the time of the present. Such clarity and humanism when contrasted with many other explorations shines forth brightly.

(...). Imagine a combination of Candide and "Forrest Gump" except with a lucid and intelligent narrator/protagonist and you'll be close. Add in an author inspired by Rabelais and possessing a strong humanist spine and you can start to smack the taste in your mouth. Combine these with a lean over to one side and slightly to the back at the strained pop and contemporary culture references and you'll get its overall sense. The main nuisance was the faintly antiseptic feeling of one who wants to write about being in the mud, but hasn't ever quite dipped in. Many will find it a riot, others who have led a riotous life will find it charming, but not ever quite "there". It's provocative and fantastic as it aspires to much while never standing still, like many ambitious books, waving its hands in your face demanding: "I am an important book!" This novel wants to entertain, and does copiously, but may evoke chuckles and smirks when it aspires for comedic gasps and release.

Robert Grudin is both a prolific and intelligent writer. Most of his work rquires careful reading and thought, a more cerebral approach. In The Most Amazing Thing, Grudin reached a new level as an author. Every reader wishes the implied intimacy associated with the notion that this book was written for him or her. Few writers, of course, ever achieve this intimacy with the reader. I believed that Grudin was writing this book to and for me and further that many other readers will believe the same. Great writers, like Mark Twain, routinely write or wrote on this level. This appears to be a new Grudin and one that I hope will continue to serve us tasty morsels. I recemmned this book to anyone since it seems to communicate feelings of fun without any effort by the reader.

This book immediately captures your attention and makes you smile. The hero is just so darned likable. I thought it was going to be the story of how the initial grabber resolves itself, but no such predictability here. It soon becomes clear that this is as much saga as story, as much fable as fiction, and the odyssey just won't stop. It's a ripping good yarn that works on myriad levels. I recommend it with enthusiasm to anyone needing an escape, an excuse, a hero, a redemption, a purpose, or a good laugh.

I read the reviews for the book and decided that it looked interesting and decided to read it. After reading the book in a day, the least that can be said is that it is an amusing book. Even if you are not yet an official member of academia and are just a lowly student, it is very easy to see how some of what is going on in the book also happens in real life. I daresay it also happens in other professions, but I don't have the experience to back that statement up.

Though the book is very fun to read, some of the themes could have been better developed. For example, the idea that by destroying all of Adam Snell's work would eliminate him from history could have been taken a lot further. PFITZ by Andrew Crumey plays with many similar ideas concerning the creation of a character and the possibility of being forgotten with the elimination of one's work, and PFITZ is better in that respect. Also, the reasoning behind the attacks by Underwood is fairly lame.

Even though the book is not perfect it still has many good qualities and if you're looking for a book to enjoy during the beautiful spring weather, you won't be disappointed with this one.

After 20 years in academia, BOOK exloded the political nuances of my experience into raucous humor. I laughed til I couldn't laugh any more and I have given away multiple copies, including one to a University president.

It will be a sad day when this novel goes out of print. (Read Book and you'll understand.) The satire is specific to English departments, but anyone who hates pretension or who has dealt with the inside politics of higher education will really savor it. The writing is clever and inventive, a pleasure to read from the very first page.