Mark Manson knows how to write a catchy title, maybe from his long experience writing blog articles. This is the second book of his that I’ve read, and I’m not sure I liked it as much as the first. This book is all about how humans (extrapolated from Americans?) think according to what the author calls the “feeling brain” and the “thinking brain”.
He writes in a very amusing style and does a great job of breaking down very complex topics into easy to consume pieces. Immanuel Kant’s ideas on enlightenment? No problem – in just a few pages he gives a clear summary of where Kant is coming from and where others went as well.
While I enjoyed the book overall, I thought that maybe the best target for this book is people who are struggling with mood swings, depression or facing uphill challenges in their lives right now. This is the kind of encouragement that could really help people steady their minds and deal with issues much bigger than what typical self-help books deal with.
At the end there is an eye-opening section on developments in artificial intelligence, and the way it is written makes it sound like big changes are right around the corner. I’m not sure if I believe it is coming quite that soon, but it was exciting to read. This might be a direction I read more of in the near future.
Next I’m reading City of Thieves, by David Benioff.
