I just finished reading, "Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul", by Stuart Brown. I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately my expectations were not met.
You would think a book on play would be light-hearted. Instead, this was one of the most painful books I've ever read. The content was nonexistent. He simply references the work of biologists and then says that's enough to prove his ideas are legit.
The book contains all the overworked cliches, like the high-powered executive who can't relax, the overdriven parent who pushes their kids, etc. There is also lots of name-dropping, pointing out academic superstars and others. But as for original ideas in the book, there are none.
Brown keeps pointing out that you can learn the most about play by watching young children or animals. Yet he then proceeds with page after page of boring, low-caliber material. The book ends with the predictable ego trip: he plays a lot, his life is great, etc. Either a publisher convinced him he should write a book on play, or he convinced a publisher; this is regardless of the fact that he is not capable of doing so.
If I were to write a book on play, I would use playful elements like Big Letters and COLOR. Or even a photo:
(Photo from Flickr)
Play is supposed to be fun!
