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How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked
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Narrated by:
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Marguerite Gavin
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By:
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Marcia Biederman
About this listen
The best-known educator of the 20th century was a scammer in cashmere. "The most famous reading teacher in the world," as television hosts introduced her, Evelyn Wood had little classroom experience, no degrees in reading instruction, and a background that included a collaboration with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, a nation spooked by Sputnik and panicked by paperwork eagerly embraced her promises of a speed-reading revolution.
Journalists, lawmakers, and two US presidents lent credibility to Wood's claims of turbocharging reading speeds. A royal-born Wood grad said she'd polished off Moby Dick in three hours; a senator swore he finished one book per lunchtime. Fudging test results and squelching critics, Wood's popularity endured even as science proved that her system taught only skimming, with disastrous effects on comprehension. As apps and online courses attempt to spark a speed-reading revival, this engaging look at Wood's rise from missionary to marketer exposes the pitfalls of wishful thinking.
©2019 Marcia Biederman (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Far too much of the book evolves around her time in Germany, I find this irrelevant to Evelyn Wood and Reading Dynamics. I personally think this could have been drastically reduced. There are also undertones of criticism with her personal religious beliefs which again are besides the point, is this an Evelyn Wood biography or a book on her speed reading courses/businesses? From the title of the book I would presume the latter.
I found the extensive research on the history of Reading Dynamics and leaning how certain books I’ve owned slot into the history of speed reading fascinating. However, I thought this could have been tackled from different view points such as interviews with previous Evelyn Wood graduates and their experiences. It seems far too often the author seeks to discredit any achievement and can only back it up with (a professor at this university said this). I just felt the argument was one sided.
My uncle’s father used to speed read regularly with his daughter and then they would have in depth conversations about the books topic (so I have been told) however there are quite a few (that are pointed out in the book) dismissals of the effectiveness of speed reading. Personally I’m not sure either way there are papers which contradict the teaching but then I know people who it has helped. I personally believe that the claims of Reading Dynamics are perhaps exaggerated but can help to an extent.
Finally it reminds me of that quote (made by someone that I cannot remember) that it’s difficult to debate someone that is dead.
Interesting but rather bloated and one sided
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