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ethib77's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting book, it was a peak into the lives of some of the most celebrated people in their respective fields.
jrobinw's review against another edition
3.0
I first heard about Gardner's book while reading another book. Gardner was often quoted in the book Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives (0046442072434)by Louise Desalvo. Because of her references I found myself excited about ordering Creating Minds as the next read.
Gardner's book is an important book as he looks at the lives of seven great creators within the Modern Period and their similarities and differences. It is however a very different approach from Desalvo's book. At first I was disappointed because I expected writing more in the vein of Desalvo's. Gardner's approach was analytical rather than writing to encourage personal exploration. Once getting past that (and understanding Gardner's focus on the theory of Multiple Intelligences) I could appreciate it from an educator's point of view.
His summaries of the creators Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi was phenomenal. While I understand his premise, I'm not sure I agree with his conclusions. Perhaps this was because my original hope was to use the book to inspire my own creative mind. As a reader who is 50 years of age, his conclusions came across rather discouraging since he focuses on successful creators making contributions in their twenties.
Gardner's book is an important book as he looks at the lives of seven great creators within the Modern Period and their similarities and differences. It is however a very different approach from Desalvo's book. At first I was disappointed because I expected writing more in the vein of Desalvo's. Gardner's approach was analytical rather than writing to encourage personal exploration. Once getting past that (and understanding Gardner's focus on the theory of Multiple Intelligences) I could appreciate it from an educator's point of view.
His summaries of the creators Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi was phenomenal. While I understand his premise, I'm not sure I agree with his conclusions. Perhaps this was because my original hope was to use the book to inspire my own creative mind. As a reader who is 50 years of age, his conclusions came across rather discouraging since he focuses on successful creators making contributions in their twenties.
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