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bootman's review
5.0
This was one of the most interesting books that I’ve read in quite some time. Klotz is a professor who one day noticed our tendency to add when we want to make something better. He shares the story about how when he noticed this, he started doing a bunch of research to see if it’s true, and it was. When someone wants to improve a structure, they typically add something. If we want to improve something we’re writing, we usually add to it. In this book, Klotz uses his research to present strong arguments about how we should get in the habit of thinking about how subtraction can and should be our go-to. After laying out the research and his arguments, he then dives into some real-world issues we face due to our need for adding and abundance such climate change as well as our mental health. There are books out there about the benefits of minimalism, but this book is something different and totally unique. As I read it, I just kept saying to myself, “How have I never noticed this?!” So, get this book, and change the way you tackle problems.
gianouts's review
2.0
This book could have been significantly shorter to get the simple concept across and still have sufficient examples, which is ironic given the subject. I ended up abandoning it since it just seemed too repetitive to me. 2.5/5 (but I couldn't bring myself to round it up)
yanulya's review
3.0
The central thesis of this book is really fascinating -- how as humans we so often prioritize solutions to problems that involve adding things, to the point where we almost entirely overlook solutions that involve subtraction. There are some interesting studies and examples backing it up. However the book does fall into to the traps of many books like this: a) meandering off topic, to the point where you occasionally wonder whether a chapter is even connected to the thesis or just happens to contain pet research of a colleague that he wanted to shoehorn in; b) some of the examples are really a stretch; c) it's very repetitive, both with certain examples and with particular points. (E.g. he's so concerned that he'll be misinterpreted as saying that subtraction is always BETTER than addition, rather than his actual point which is that subtraction should at least be considered, that he beats this dead horse until even his original point feels slightly watered down. Which is too bad because it's a point worth making full force). As several others have pointed out, all of these are somewhat ironic given he has a whole chapter on how hard it is to edit & shorten things. All that said, despite those critiques I did think it was well worth the read, and I think (and hope!) it'll actually help expand my own problem solving a bit. I just would've, well, subtracted a little more