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krumanda's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the thorough breakdown of the topic from many angles. I listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed Hari's narration of his work. I highly recommend this book.
keithammann's review
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
A lot of people seem to believe that Stolen Focus is meant to be a self-help book. I don't think that's what it's trying to do. Rather, its goal is to point out all the forces that are arrayed against us in a battle for our attention, and the ways in which they undermine our ability to maintain focus. As he points out at the end, this problem isn't one we can fix ourselves simply through force of will. As with climate change, it's going to take much more than individual effort to solve—it's going to take significant changes in public policy. Because of that, I think the complaints that he "brought politics into it" miss the point. Allowing this rampant hijacking of our attention was a political choice, and it will take political choices to stop it.
I'd give this book a higher rating, except that Hari's bad habit of starting interview quotations in the middle of sentences is aggravatingly sloppy, and he overrelies on cliffhanger-style transitions. A heavier editing hand would have done this book a lot of good.
I'd give this book a higher rating, except that Hari's bad habit of starting interview quotations in the middle of sentences is aggravatingly sloppy, and he overrelies on cliffhanger-style transitions. A heavier editing hand would have done this book a lot of good.