- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Reissue edition (28 Feb 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140109862
- ISBN-13: 978-0140109863
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,193,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well, dear reader. You are in for a real treat if you choose to read this book. I have read zillions of books on creativity, but NOTHING comes close to Shekerjian's gem. I could go on and on about how wonderful it is, but you have better things to do - e.g. buying this book for example. Read it. Delight in it. And pass it on. You will not be disappointed.
Format:Paperback
Being creative can take many shapes and forms. Find what works for you. This book offers many strategies that work have worked for accomplished people. Certain under-lying principals commonly used by creative people are illuminated. i enjoyed the book and recommended it to my teenage child. regards to all....
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
an investigation of the creative mind
21 Aug 2000
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author of this book tracked down and interviewed 40 recipients of the McArthur "genius award." This award is a cash grant given to creative people in many different fields; it enables them to work on, or not work on, whatever they please and not have to worry about money.
There was much about the creative process in this book that was new to me. Reading interviews with people who use the process every day is a lot different than reading about creativity in a "how to be creative" book. You get more of a sense of the range of ways people produce outstanding work. Shekerjian introduces us to people who are not only in the arts, but also science, teaching, ecology and conservation, political science, social services, and other fields. Many of these people are extremely quirky, and there's a lesson in that: trying to be like others, and be liked, is not the way to uncover your potential.
Shekerjian's prose is conversational and easy to read. However, at times I found it to be overly flowery and thus distracting. There were many involved descriptions of interview settings, which seemed superfluous. I found myself doing a lot of skimming to get to the core subject matter. On the whole, though, it's a well-written book, by an author who is clearly in love with her subject matter.
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
The How is in the Doing
29 Nov 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"How are creative people able to look at the same thing as everybody else but see something different?" Denise Shekerjian relying on interviews with forty MacArthur Foundation Fellowship winners tries to answer this in "Uncommon Genius." The Fellows, all having demonstrated creative genius across a variety of pursuits, provide a glimpse inside their own experience with the creative process.
"All were driven, remarkably resilient, adept at creating an environment that suited their needs, skilled at honoring their own peculiar talents instead of lusting after an illusion of self, capable of knowing when to follow their instincts, and above all, magnificent risk-takers, and unafraid to run ahead of the great popular tide."
This is a great read for both those who have already embraced their creative potential as well as for those who have not. Shekerjian surfaces the common threads of attitudes and behaviors that foster creativity. Creatives can use this book to build on the "why" of their creativity with confidence.
For those interested in developing their creative potential, the book eliminates the mystery and lays out the "how" of being creative. But to be successful, one needs to make an "act of faith" in the "act of doing." Shekerjian's "doing" includes:
1. Find your talent.
2. Commit to it and make it shine
3. Don't be afraid of risk. Or even failure, which if seen in its proper light, brings insight and opportunity.
4. Find courage by looking to something stronger and better than your puny vulnerable self.
5. No lusting after quick resolutions. Relax. Stay loose.
6. Get to know yourself; understand your needs and the specific conditions you favor.
7. Respect, too, your culture. We can't, any of us, escape the twenty-first century. It's tucked up around our collective chin as snugly and as firmly as the bedsheet.
8. Then, finally, break free from the seductive pull of book learning and research and the million other preparatory steps that could delay the entire span of a life and immerse yourself in the doing.
"Uncommon Genius' is written in an easy, engaging style. I had a difficult time putting the book down. And I will be unable to lend my copy out...as I have ruined it for others with my many notations, and highlights.
"All were driven, remarkably resilient, adept at creating an environment that suited their needs, skilled at honoring their own peculiar talents instead of lusting after an illusion of self, capable of knowing when to follow their instincts, and above all, magnificent risk-takers, and unafraid to run ahead of the great popular tide."
This is a great read for both those who have already embraced their creative potential as well as for those who have not. Shekerjian surfaces the common threads of attitudes and behaviors that foster creativity. Creatives can use this book to build on the "why" of their creativity with confidence.
For those interested in developing their creative potential, the book eliminates the mystery and lays out the "how" of being creative. But to be successful, one needs to make an "act of faith" in the "act of doing." Shekerjian's "doing" includes:
1. Find your talent.
2. Commit to it and make it shine
3. Don't be afraid of risk. Or even failure, which if seen in its proper light, brings insight and opportunity.
4. Find courage by looking to something stronger and better than your puny vulnerable self.
5. No lusting after quick resolutions. Relax. Stay loose.
6. Get to know yourself; understand your needs and the specific conditions you favor.
7. Respect, too, your culture. We can't, any of us, escape the twenty-first century. It's tucked up around our collective chin as snugly and as firmly as the bedsheet.
8. Then, finally, break free from the seductive pull of book learning and research and the million other preparatory steps that could delay the entire span of a life and immerse yourself in the doing.
"Uncommon Genius' is written in an easy, engaging style. I had a difficult time putting the book down. And I will be unable to lend my copy out...as I have ruined it for others with my many notations, and highlights.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
learn about the creative process
9 Nov 1998
Format:Paperback
Being creative can take many shapes and forms. Find what works for you. This book offers many strategies that work have worked for accomplished people. Certain under-lying principals commonly used by creative people are illuminated. i enjoyed the book and recommended it to my teenage child. regards to all....
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