This is a collection of essays and research on our understanding of creativity written at a scholarly level. Each chapter has key points for the reader to remember, which is helpful and a lot less dry than just researching and reading. There is a wealth of evidence indicating the lack of creativity in the classroom is having a detrimental effect on students and teachers. Change needs to happen in our education system, a change that encourages creative thinking. This book contains evidence that backs up the importance of creativity and innovation, in the classroom and beyond. I received an ARC through Library Thing in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Warning: Heavy academese ahead.

Yes, this book is knee-deep in citations, references, and studies. Almost all the authors are academics, and it shows. Taking a wild guess (because I don’t feel like doing the actual counting), I’d say 15 to 20% of the pages are taken up with “additional readings” and “references”. In addition, because there are separate writers for each chapter, – each writer wanting to make sure they have the laid out the appropriate concepts and have used correct references (academically protecting themselves) – there are redundancies. (I mean, how many times can your read the same definition – with the same reference – for the word “creativity”?)

And, with all that being said, I am about to rave about this book. Because, in the midst of all this hifalutin stuff is some really good, solid, interesting information on the ideas of creativity and innovation. No, not every chapter is good. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to say half of them were really worth my reading. But the ones that were worth reading were really worth reading. (Anecdotal proof: I dog-eared well over 25 pages.)

I was hooked at the first chapter by Gayle T. Dow– something as seemingly simple as defining creativity. Based on the numerous citations later in the book (remember those redundancies I talked about), this may be basic information everyone studying creativity knows, but I found fascinating insights, including some new approaches and concepts I’m going to have to use in the creativity training I conduct.

In fact, that may be the best compliment I can give the book – it has made me think about some of my approaches, and will definitely make me change my slide deck.

A couple of other chapters that deserve more than honorable mention. Daniel H. Cropley provides great insights into the work being done around defining and measuring novel solutions (a concept that combines creativity and innovation into one package). And Magdalena G. Grohman and Heather T. Snyder have very useful information on motivation, mindset, and passion in creativity. But the one that blew me away the most was Ricard Madden’s discussion of creativity in business. Now, Mr. Madden is not an academic – he is a business person. So, it makes sense this would resonate the most with me. But it was more than a piece of fluff thrown in to appease part of the market. The chapter is well researched while bringing real-world examples into the discussion.

Every person is going to go into this book with their own needs. The chapters that worked for me may not work for others. And the ones that will interest others were ones I probably skimmed through. (For example, while I had some limited interest in building creativity into school curriculums, it wasn’t enough to make it worth trying too hard on those particular chapters.)

So, if you have any interest in creativity – in how it works, in how to help instill it in others, in its role in helping things get better – you are bound to find something within this book that will help. ( )

The synopsis states that "creativity and innovation are frequently mentioned as key 21st-century skills for career and life success." This is why I wanted to read a copy. It also states that it will provide a comprehensive but highly readable overview of exciting and important topics; however, I did not see the book as readable but more academically scholar-driven for college students. The subtitle does state: theory, research and practice but was hoping for practical insight not just theories from past scholars, philosophers, etc.

There were some things I gathered from the book:
6 components of a creative power needs to possess: (1) motivation, (2) intelligence, (3) knowledge, (4) personality, (5) thinking style, and (6) nurturing environment

4 G's: Growth, Gain, Guidance, and Giving.
3 T's: Technology, talent, and tolerance

There were various models introduced and examined on the subject of creativity.

"Some innovations and scientists have identified "analogy" as a source of their breakthrough ideas/innovations (page 103)."

The main thing I enjoyed were the "key take aways" per each chapter which usually you expect at the end like a summary of the chapter(s).

Library Thing contest win and gave an honest review. ( )

This collection of invited essays provides a wide-ranging overview of relevant research on creativity and innovation. With a lifetime of teaching and more than 300 publications to his credit, Editor Jonathan Plucker Ph.D. is well qualified to conceive, design, and integrate this book. He invited experts carefully chosen from his extensive network of colleagues to write each of the 14 chapters and 7 hot topics addressed in the book.

The several definitions of creativity explored highlight the themes of novelty and usefulness within a social context. The authors go on to discuss the Big-C creativity of Beethoven, Einstein, and Picasso, along with the little-c creativity of a mother who makes up games and songs to entertain her child. With these definitions, the book supports the thesis that everyone is creative and has the capability to be creative.

Here are some new and useful insights we learn from the book:

+ Children with imaginary friends are more creative.
+ Intrinsic motivation is important for creativity, and it requires feeling autonomous and competent.
+ Being weird or different just to be weird or different is not creative.
+ Successful male creative artists have more sexual partners than less successful ones.
+ There is no one brain region where creativity occurs.
+ Chief among the cognitive personality traits connected to creative thought and behavior is “openness to experience.”
+ Bipolar disorder is found in many highly creative writers, musicians, artists, and poets.
+ Creativity can be developed.
+ Albert Maslow observed that: “A first rate soup is more creative than a second rate painting.”
+ Creativity is central to corporate and personal success because it is at the heart of storytelling.
+ The measured creativity of a school student is a more accurate predictor of future career success that his or her measured intelligence.
+ Functional diversity has been shown to influence team creativity.
+ Moderate levels of task conflict were most strongly related to team creativity.
+ One way to think about creativity is a blend between originality and conformity to task constraints.
+ In schools creative behaviors can be easily labeled “misbehaviors.”
+ Creative leisure may represent a peak experience in both leisure and creativity.

The book presents clear, valid, and coherent arguments based on relevant and reliable evidence in a clear exposition that delivers a broad-ranging and sober treatment of the topic. The book is enhanced by identifying key take-aways at the start of each chapter, an attractive design, and abundant references.

Overall the book provides an up-to-date survey of research on creativity topics. ( )

When I got this book, I expected a chaptered non-fiction book. What I got instead was a collection of academic papers. The pieces aren't overly difficult to read. However, many of them have lots of citations so it also doesn't feel like a leisurely read.

The good thing about this book is that it's easy to read in pieces. You'll also get something out of it if you only read a few pages, as that's how long an article is. Each chapter has a "Key Take Away" before it, that allows readers to get a brief idea of what the article will be about. I found it a great resource in choosing what chapters I wanted to read first.

Overall, this is an interesting book for those looking to go deeper into the field of creativity, but it takes time to completely digest the information. ( )