The Art of Critical Thinking: How To Build The Sharpest Reasoning Possible For Yourself

by Christopher Hayes, Patrick Magana

If you find yourself wanting to know more about critical thinking strategies, you’ve found the perfect solution. This workbook is for the individual who wants to think clearly and organized - for the person who wants to make the best decisions for themselves. Critical thinking is a mindset more than a technique. It allows us to unlock our intellectual independence and gives us wisdom and authority. The process of thinking critically allows improvement in our quality of life through rational and unbiased evaluation. With a plethora of actionable techniques, this guide will provide you with the steps to easily integrate critical thinking into your life. The Critical Thinking Academy disseminates critical thinking skills to executives and students. In their 2019 article, Benefits of Critical Thinking , they explain that, “critical thinking is not natural to us. It is an acquired skill that requires conscious and cognitive effort. These skills can be applied to any situation in life that calls for reflection, analysis, and planning. It is imperative for good academic performance and career progression.” This workbook … and much, much more! It’s time to accept and take personal responsibility for your thinking. Remember, learning how to think critically is a gradual process, but one that allows clear problem-solving skills.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

93 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jamie Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Odd, Untutored Book on Critical Thinking

I found this to be an odd little book. I found the writing style to be both simplistic and awkward. Critical thinking is a high-level process, and any books about the topic need to approach it in that way as well. This book did not meet that standard. It almost felt to me like it was written by a high school junior or senior or an early college-age student on the topic, where they didn't really quite understand what they were writing about but were trying to fudge their way through it. I find myself wondering if a ghostwriter wrote this particular book from outside the US. If the topic of critical thinking interests you, I recommend looking elsewhere.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It begins so good in the first few pages, but ends up pretty flat as it mixes up common sense with rational thinking and critical thinking. It is the "critical" prefix that should be the important differentiation, but here he makes the "thinking" part the important thing. If it kept at the critical thinking part, and went from there it could have been something, but it is too simple and too "follow these steps to become a better critical thinker", and then uses so many pages to tell us why critical thinking is important in different vocations.

It's not a total waste, but this is not the book you want on critical thinking.

[Laurence Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially worthwhile but flawed.

For me there was a lot of confirmation bias here. The writers were really often teaching granny to suck eggs, or as someone else might say, 'state the bleedin' obvious'. But a lot of the text was useful in clarifying how to think about thinking and how to improve the process. It was spoiled by poor grammar on occasions or possibly poor transcription from book to kindle. In conclusion though a worthwhile read.

[Anupriya Gupta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just okay

This book deals with the importance of critical thinking more than actually the “how” part.
It lacks the concrete framework or a step by step guide for the beginners to start critical thinking process.
Many chapters in the book are devoted on generic benefits on thinking critically for different professions which makes it a repetitive read and not really useful for someone looking for concrete actions.

[Madalin MD Deaconescu · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a waste of money from multiple reasons:
1. The size of the writing is incredibly big, as any other book that wants to appear bigger on the shelf.
2. The notes and citations throughout the book are absolutely demeaning.
3. The ideas in the book are too repetitive, some of them are simply truisms. I think 30% of the books is made just by the words ‘critical thinking’. Super bad, this is not worthy of any shelf. 0 stars.

[sairaghava_k · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple quick read. Interesting title. In my view this will remind oneself to be on right track and free your mind from clutter. It gives you a perspective on the process involved in making good decisions, and why it is required for everyone to think critically. Also, talks about how employers, professionals, and workforces apply critical thinking every day.

Note: There are some typos in the book.

[Andreea Orțan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like this one.
I feel like I didn’t acutally learn anything. It mostly tells you why critical thinking is good practice and useful and some questions you can ask yourself in some particular situations.
I picked it up only because the subiect is interesting and it was a free book on Apple books but I wouldn’t recommend it.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half-thought-out ideas and weak, badly explained examples, some of which aren't even appropriate or illustrative.

Basically it consists of the old 5 W's technique - Who, What, Where, Why... and hoW but - but there's little development of this other than some professional and personal life examples - and very high-level examples at that.

[zhang li · Rating 4 out of 5]

a mindset guide

Essentially, critical thinking can be applied in every aspect of life, with main steps like formalizing the question, collecting info and make decision, and asking for feedback, as well as continuous self-reflect and adjustment.
A small book with main techniques already presented in the 1st half, while the 2nd elaborates with a number of in-life examples

[Gloriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though a quick read, the book is poorly written and redundant. Contrary to the title, the “guide” lacks depth, and is merely focused on why critical thinking is important, and not on how to build the foundation of the skill. The confusing writing style distracts from the content, even though the subject matter doesn’t go beyond obvious common knowledge.

[Tushar Mathur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lack this skill and it was the first time a book make me realise it. Language in the book is overly simple and mostly feels repeated as someone was trying to reiterate same thing or most obvious things again and again.

[lexie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing definitely gave me some clarification on the things I needed help with.

This was one of the first books I chose & it definitely helped with a lot. I would recommend that you take the time to read and understand what the author is explaining

[Diego Coppa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lectura rápida y con información útil

Comencé a leerlo sin demasiada expectativa pero me lleve una gran sorpresa ya que es un libro ágil, con consejos prácticos y casos reales. Muy aplicable a la vida y a los negocios.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good freebie

This was a nice reminder of the basic concepts of critical thinking linked with daily examples and ideas of keeping a diary, pondering a problem a day and other steps are offered toward more logical thinking and creating clarity. Not bad for a freebie.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.

This is one of those books that I found very helpful for the daily routine and work. It has some good tips to improve the way you think and analise the situations that maybe need more thinking that you thought.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was clear and straight to the point. They had made some good points for me to consider as well. An easy read.

If you're struggling to understand the importance of critical thinking, here's a light book to help with that.

[Teng Vicente]

Rubbish

Reads like an elementary writing assignment. No valid, scientific process presented to achieving the goal presented by the book. All that’s written are hogwash common sense ideas dragged into 10 or more pages.

[Alvaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written and too repetitive. I could take some ideas from this book though...

[Michael Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Consists of well rounded, thoughtful approach to logical reasoning.
A good read! A must for your library! Critical thinking for the young and older minds.

[Tim Cirhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ideas

Simple, digestible, and doable advice to sharpen critical thinking skills and improve your life. Thank you for the many suggestions.

[Doris Siu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to get a general outline on critical thinking and how to improve the process.

[Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

If you want to improve your thinking and develop yourself as a critical thinker then this book is a necessary read.

[Octavian Van Rooyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I enjoyed reading this book. Very practical and lists items you can make use of in every day life. Good for people starting out their critical thinking journey.

[Suren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and focuses more on giving the importance of critical thinking than how to become one.

[abbitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love critical thinking

[Daniel Allgäuer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terribly simplistic, incredibly repetitive, and has horrifying grammar. Not sure how this book made it into print. It offers little, if any, real insight into critical thinking, mostly just repeating that critical thinking is important.