If you know all the answers, why ask the question

For a layman this book has some very interesting ideas & the need to incorporate local/multi disciplinary & multi cultural approaches to solving problems & implementing solutions.
That said, I really got the feeling that the author has a very high opinion of herself and this maybe down to the narration.
I felt emphasis was given to views that others may not share as if it was the only view. The change in tone & volume was annoying at best & patronizing at worse.
To some extent, it seems all the world's problems wouldn't exist if only we had listened to Gillian Tett earlier and this leads me to my review (and perhaps a cynical view):
it seems that a lot of the people asking the questions think they also know the answers - and if you could just enlighten us on the solution to VUCA in stead of patronising us like a school teacher, helping us discover our own solutions.
That said, I am glad I listened to the book because there are some very interesting ideas.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Interesting content, delivery not great

There were interesting ideas in the book, but I found the narrator rather off-putting. Every sentence had several heavily stressed words, which made listening rather stressful. The content was a bit repetitive too.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Maddening narrator but v nteresting

Very annoying narrator, but very interesting book not all of it news, but fascinating nonetheless

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Deep insights and well crafted book.

Deep insights and well crafted book. I like the stories that were used to illustrate the points. Wealth of experiences shared by Gillian Tett.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Slightly disappointed, but brilliant in places

The book's main message is that we cannot ignore culture and diversity in whatever field of activity. Also we can no loger presume that western perspectives, democracy and capitalism are inherently preferable to others. That's well explained. How anthropology's perspectives and methods can be helpful is very interesting.
However, long chapters on how to understand and manipulate consumers and faith in 'moral money' are very questionable.
The narration is over emphasized at times and not always necessarily. I hated it at first, but must admit it makes listening much easier than flatter rendition.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Great listen if you're not looking for the science

Although I'm not a professional in anthropology, I think the book lacks substance. It's just a collection of memories in different fields and walks of life. The author tries to connect them with the field of anthropology, but it does not feel rigorous or scientific at all.
However, the performance of the reader is astonishing. She knows when to stress some parts and adapts her intonation magnificently.
All this makes it a great listen, but only if you're not here for the theory behind it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Book worth reading but be prepared to grit your teeth through the performance

I want to mention the performance first. At first I thought the reader was excellent. She reads slowly with a lot of expression. Then I began to enjoy her narration less. Her slow reading and emphasis started to feel insulting or to express values which I did not share.

Take for example her sarcastic emphasis on doctors helping with the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone as “experts”. The sarcasm arises because they weren’t taking anthropology into account. (Now, it may be that the sarcastic quotes around the word expert also exists in Tett’s book, in which case the reader is faithfully reproducing that emphasis, in which case the actual blame lies with the author .) But even if the doctors were not culturally sensitive, they are still experts in improving people’s health. So I found this sort of emphasis grating.

The reader would be ideal for reading books designed to fuel outrage. Or poetry readings. But perhaps less so factual books. If you feel the need to try to make the statement that the area of a circle is pi times r squared sound like a diatribe, maybe change your genre?

The book is quite good, and the content is not challenging at all, with one big idea per chapter. It did get me thinking about the parallels between the behaviour of us supposedly highly educated people in the West and the perhaps less well educated Sierra Leonians. We are not so different. Having said that, the author may be suggesting at times that there is no such thing as objective truth. That is sheer folly.

The book is worth reading.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

Excellent wide ranging and important

This is a fabulous book for anyone interested in a more evidence and research-based view of our world. Anyone who likes to see beyond the usual assumptions and rhetoric that plagues our social media, news and social ‘chatter’ will find this a useful, informative and fascinating read. Wholly recommended.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

I am recommending this to everyone !

I really believe the ideas in this book are kind of crucially important to become widely known.
It’s also a really entertaining and ‘easy’ listen. Thanks so much.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Fantastically insightful and beautifully timely

Anthropology’s power to generate deep understandings of complex human issues, and to recommend workable solutions, comes of age in this tremendous book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful