The Power of Habit

April 30, 2012
Duhigg explores how habits influence individual, societal, and organizational experience and describes the social and psychological factors that create, maintain, and break habits, using a series of reinforcing anecdotes to bring his point home. Mike Chamberlain narrates this audio edition in a congenial, welcoming voice. This judgment-free approach is effective as Duhigg’s findings will likely cause listeners to reflect on their own habits—both good and bad. Most important, Chamberlain’s tone captures the mood of the book as it shifts from engaging and curious anecdotes to more academic studies, and his pacing maintains listener interest throughout. The only aspect of Chamberlain’s performance that could be improved is his rendering of quotations: sometimes his reading of quotes misses the mark and sounds inauthentic or overly dramatic. However, this is only a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent performance. Random House hardcover.

October 1, 2011

Cue, routine, reward: that's how habits are formed. Duhigg, a George Polk Award-winning business reporter for the New York Times, relies on scientific research, classroom experiences, and business case studies to explain how habits are acquired, how they can be changed, and how changing just one can radically remake your life. Lots of media interest from places like the Today show, plus rights to 15 countries; it may sound like just another self-help title, but this one is looking big.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012

According to Duhigg (investigative reporter, New York Times), if people can understand how behaviors became habits, they can restructure those patterns in more constructive ways. He presents information on habit formation and change from academic studies, interviews with scientists and executives, and research conducted in dozens of companies. Three sections deal with the neurology of habit formation in individuals, the habits of successful companies and organizations, and the habits of societies and tough ethical issues. Duhigg offers a fascinating analysis for the college-educated reader. [See Prepub Alert, 9/11/11.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2011
According to this instructional text for readers habituated to unhelpful ways, changing those bad habits for good habits isn't rocket science--it's brain science. New York Times investigative reporter Duhigg demonstrates how automatic behavior, good or bad, can grow from a repeated decision that gets lodged in the basal ganglia. The result is a fixed loop of cue, routine and reward. Animal trainers are already familiar with this information. For improvement, the trick is to keep the cue and reward, but change the routine. The belief that acquiring a new "keystone habit" can really be achieved is necessary, and that's why support groups, like AA, are valuable. To clarify his points, Duhigg offers some simplistic diagrams with many cautionary stories of surgeons, baristas, gamblers, sex addicts and football coaches, as well as the selling of toothpaste, aluminum and room deodorizers. Along with tales of paragons of corporate management, we learn how supermarkets are arranged, how Target stores target consumers, how Marin Luther King Jr. managed the Montgomery bus boycott and how Rick Warren organized his monumental Saddleback Church. Even with such varied exemplars, the skilled narrative remains accessible. Unlike other exhortations with titles that promise empowerment, this admonitory entry is supported by interviews, neurological studies and empirical histories. Copious notes and a "Reader's Guide to Using These Ideas" are appended. For self-help seekers, a more convincing book than most.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)