The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
by Steven Pressfield
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steven PressfieldEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN: 0446691437
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Book Review: Dull, trite, arrogant.
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is awful. It is written with a strong religious bias, making many of its points irrelevant if you don't share the authors' world view. The main obstacle in life, according to the author, is "resistance", as he labels it. It is basically a thing (literally something evil, opposed to God, according to the author) that keeps you from fulfilling your potential in life, be it writing books, losing weight or anything in-between. He has some valuable insights about what causes people to procrastinate or avoid difficult but rewarding enterprises, but nothing new if you're the least familiar with basic, popular literature on human psychology.
The author tries very hard to be zany, using crude language and violent metaphors. I suppose to some he might sound cool, but to me he comes off as a "hip" Ned Flanders.
At one point in the book he makes this gem of a statement:
"Attention Deficit Disorder, Seasonal Affect Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder. These aren't diseases, they're marketing ploys. Doctors didn't discover them, copywriters did. Marketing departments did. Drug companies did. Depression and anxiety may be real. But they can also be Resistance"
I understand his point. People will rationalize their lackluster performance by blaming dysfunction, circumstance or whatever's convenient, thus having an excuse to keep underperforming. But his wholesale dismissal of these problems is uninformed, unsubstantiated and to me, very offensive.
Last but not least, this book is very short at ~160 pages, which is fine, but there's only enough material in it to fill a book half that size! The book is comprised of "chapters" most often ranging between 1-5 pages. The end result is that many pages are filled only halfway, and some of them contain as little as 3-5 lines of text.
Admittedly, I did not finish the book, I put it down about halfway through. I've already wasted money on this piece of utter trash, I'm going to cut my losses and not waste any more time. I suggest you do the same. Do not buy this book.
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Summary of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
DO YOU:? dream about writing the Great American Novel?
? regret not finishing your paintings, poems, or screenplays?
? want to start a business or charity?
? wish you could start dieting or exercising today?
? hope to run a marathon someday?
If "yes," then you need.THE WAR OF ART
Now, in this powerful, straight-from-the-hip examination of the internal obstacles to success, bestselling author Steven Pressfield shows readers how to identify, defeat, and unlock the inner barriers to creativity. THE WAR OF ART is an inspirational, funny, well-aimed kick in the pants guaranteed to galvanize every would-be artist, visionary, or entrepreneur.
Steven Pressfield enjoys great international success as a bestselling novelist. But in order to reach the top he had to do a lot of work to fight the inner demons that told him he couldn't make it. THE WAR OF ART is his challenge to creative block, and his succinct, straight-from-the-hip style will help every reader unleash their personal ambitions, be they literary, artistic, or business-minded.
According to Pressfield, the internal obstacle to success is Resistance. Resistance is the difference between the life you lead and the life you want to lead, and can take many forms. Pressfield shows readers how to identify and defeat Resistance at every turn and challenges them to change their amateurish, unsuccessful habits into a professional attitude that can get the job done. Finally, Sun Tzu for the soul!
Inspirational, funny, and a great kick in the pants, THE WAR OF ART is the perfect book for anybody who had a goal circumvented by life and circumstance: which is to say, you and everybody you've ever met.
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