Subtitle: .. and how it will change your life!
Authors: Tony Buzan with Jennifer Goddard & Jorge Castañeda

Proactive Press (June 2012)
Personal Development

Stars: ★★★★★

Summary: The Most Important Graph in the World unleashes powerful truths about our memory and how we learn and behave. Discover how you can use this knowledge to deliver presentations and speeches with real impact, make your PR and marketing resonate, raise your social and emotional IQ, develop your creativity and intelligence, maximize your time, and create a more meaningful, memorable life.

CONFESSION: I was a skeptic when I agreed to review this book. I’m wary of books that claim their information is the most important or will do a long list of things to better your life. However it also sounded interesting and the graph intrigued me as a math lover.

Here’s a better look at that graph (if you don’t like math, don’t run screaming, it’s much more simple than it looks and doesn’t involve much math at all in fact.)

I’ve been finished this book for some time but have been struggling with how to review this book properly. I want to explain how I feel about the book without giving away too much as well as convince the average reader that this book IS for them and not just for business professionals or mathematicians (remember the graph isn’t mathematical!)

I think it would be easiest for me to go the point form route.

Thoughts about The Most Important Graph in the World

• The book is FULL of insightful information just waiting to be absorbed.
• Absorption takes some time. You will need to read this book with no distractions (so not while kids are running around) and read slowly. Perhaps even reread certain parts.
• There were a few parts that seemed a bit confusing. If after reading a second time I still wasn’t sure I understood, I moved on and don’t feel I missed any big points.
• The book CAN change your life, but only if you implement the MIG (most important graph.)
• The graph, while quite possibly the most important graph in the world, is actually called the Recall During Learning graph and is about how we learn.
• I am going to print out the graph and make notes to remind myself about each point until I have it memorized more. I suggest you do this too.
• I found the graph relevant to all areas of my life, personal (time management, parenting, home life), business, blogging too.
• Each of the images on the graph stands for an effect on our memory/behaviour.
• For example the Primacy Effect shows that we remember the information at the beginning of a learning experience.
• The Association effect shows that we remember whatever is linked or connected, especially to ourselves and our own worlds (in other worlds, what we associate with ourselves, what is relevant to us. )
• The Von Restorff Effect shows that we remember anything which is outstanding, different or unique. (sticks out)
• There are 7 effects total, I’ve only listed 3 above.
• After a brief explanation of how our world works and what each effect is called, a chapter is devoted to making sure you understand what the effect means and how to use it to your advantage.
• The book is in COLOUR! You don’t see that too often but it makes a big difference. The illustrations are in colour and the edges of the pages are colour-coded depending on the chapter/topic.
• I don’t often re-read books but I will be re-reading this one as I implement it’s ideas.
• I was WRONG about this book. It’s amazing!

The website for The Most Important Graph in the World has resources and information including a book excerpt.

About the Author:

Tony Buzan is the inventor of Mind Mapping and he has helped many people around the world unlock their creativity, improve their memory and boost their thinking skills.

He has written over 100 books on the brain and thinking translated into 33 languages in over 150 countries.  Tony is the founder of the World Memory Championships, World Speed Reading Championships and the Brain Trust Charity and in 2008 won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Creativity Assocation (ACA.)

Connect with him on twitter at @tony_buzan

You can read about the other two authors.

*I received product from a company or PR agency for evaluation purposes. All review are honest.