Loy Machedo's Book Review - Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney

Lately, I've been struggling with my weight loss program -- especially the so called detox dieting phase of it. For someone like me notoriously known for having a Devil's Pit in his stomach, resisting gastronomical tendencies is reminiscent of the camel passing through the eye of a needle. While I genuinely marvel at those models gyrating themselves half-naked in those before and after photographs on weight-loss product advertisements -- I seriously pondered on the universal thought -- How is it they could go through the famine of deprivation, soak themselves dripping wet in its torture, and successfully come out through its dark unending valley so transformed and so happy!?!

So that is why, when I read the title, I, with no pun intended, decided to gobble the book as quickly as possible.

On the cover, you will see endorsements by Best Selling Authors like Steven Pinker (How the Mind Works & The Blank Slate), Stephen J. Dubner (Freakonomics & Super Freakonomics), Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational), David Allen (Getting Things Done), Daniel Gilbert (Stumbling on Happiness) and added to it, recommendations from The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast and Kirkus Reviews -- after which your expectation levels lead you favorably titled as being positively prejudiced towards it.

What I loved about this book:
1. The author managed to give a concept like Willpower a psychological, scientific and measurable definition through the means of experimentation, unbiased data collection, observations and explanation.
2. The personal anecdotes of Singer Eric Clapton, Politician Eliot Spitzer, Writer Anthony Trollope, American illusionist and endurance artist David Blaine, Controversial Singer Amanda 'Fucking' Palmer, Comedian & Showman Drew Carrey and Super-Brand & Television Host Oprah Winfrey (including the mysterious success of AA) --were indeed eye-opening.
3. The truly amazing experiments conducted to monitor and prove how willpower increases or decreases by external factors was Mind-Boggling.
4. The simplicity of the language used to communicate the ideas and the irresistible manner in which the information was presented was superb.
5. Last if not the least -- the summary towards the end to encapsulate all the necessary information made this book a great take-away.

Is there anything I could have suggested to make this book better?
I don't think so.
The book to me was an absolute treasure and a worth-while investment.

Overall Summary
A truly informative book, Amazing Stories & Anecdotes, Very Intriguing and Interest Laced Style of Writing -- A Must Read for anyone who wants to learn something new. 

Overall Ratings
9.5 out of 10

Loy Machedo
loymachedo.com | loymachedo.tv