Your Intelligence Makeover: An Easy Way to Learn All You Need to Know

by Edward F. Droge Jr.

Have you ever wished you could give your mind an upgrade, just as you can give one to your computer, car, kitchen, or wardrobe? Or that you could remember all-important phone numbers or shopping lists without fumbling with multiple slips of paper? Or speed-read or do lightning-fast everyday math calculations? Or that you could be a Renaissance man or woman and dazzle your friends at dinner with your mastery of dates and facts, artists and albums, presidents and policies? Now there is a way to give yourself this intellectual attention and improvement: With Your Intelligence Makeover you'll enjoy a makeover that is more than just skin deep.

With this book's three-week master plan, you'll learn the skills you need to nip and tuck your own knowledge -- you'll double or triple your reading speed and dramatically improve your memory. Then you'll have access to a wide body of information to kick it up a notch and rise to a higher intellectual plane. Whether you want to start a new career, complete your education, brush up your cultural literacy, increase your knowledge of a favorite subject, or simply chat up friends, family, and associates with a fascinating array of anecdotes, you can use the easy-to-learn secrets of education specialist Dr. Edward F. Droge, Jr., to launch new chapters in your own life.

A former New York City police officer who went to Yale in his thirties as an undergraduate and then on to Harvard to earn a master's and a doctorate, Dr. Droge reveals the "Super Tools," which he developed to fuel his own success, to help you create your unique, personalized makeover plan. Take the entertaining self-assessment quizzes to find the areas in which you need to brush up and then use the Super Tools to immerse yourself in virtually any subject. Filled with mind-expanding sidebars and a vast reservoir of resources for learning in multiple subject areas (including History, Literature, Grammar, Math, Art, Science, Sports, Music, and much more), Your Intelligence Makeover promises to put you on the right track to tapping the limitless power of your intelligence for satisfaction and gain.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Melissa Yael Winston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateurish. I bought this book in August 2006, started it shortly after and promptly lost interest in it about 20 pages in. Because I like to torture myself, I left it on my shelf for three years with those good intentions we hear so much about. Then, this month I took the plunge and read it. The best thing about it is that now that it's read, I don't have to force myself to read it.

This book starts out with an interesting look at the nature of intelligence, including a discussion Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. (And for those, just read his book, Frames of Mind, for the real deal.) Because I see a lot of cynicism about gathering knowledge for the sake of gathering knowledge ("nerd" is a significantly worse insult than "idiot" in a lot of circles), the book was refreshing in that respect. And then you get into the actual "makeover," which turned out to be the exact wrong angle to take. A "3-week plan" breaks down as a week learning speed reading techniques (a dubious skill in most contexts), a week learning silly memory-enhancement techniques and a week reading stale speaking and writing tips. Ever cognizant that life is finite, allow me to say that I did not spend three weeks on this plan.

What ultimately earns the book the two stars I did give it was the second half, which is a good list of resources for learning history, art, religion, nature, sports and other subjects. Because I have a curiosity for a lot of subjects, I kept a list of the resources that jumped out at me and am excited to get started on some of those. So, if I were recommending this book, I'd say start at the beginning, read until page 28 and then skip to p. 135. The part in the middle, which is supposed to be the meat of the sandwich, is not worth it.

[Patrick Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It has everything. The first half deals with “an easy way to learn”. And the second half deals with “all you need to know”.

The most important part for me so far is how to read faster and how to comprehend better. I did what it told me to do and my reading speed doubled in less than a week. And better yet, I understand what I just read. This is exactly what I wanted.

But that’s just the reading part. The part on memory offers great techniques and in just the short time I have gotten into it, I have been able to master about 10 new ways to remember things.

The idea is that in part one you learn methods to improve your learning skills and in part two you get subject areas to use those skills. You can pick and choose your subjects. What do you want to learn about – history, music, psychology, sports, math, science? You name it, and there’s probably a section on it. Then there are lots of resources if you want to get really deep into any particular area like websites, books and articles.

This is a book that’s going to get a lot of wear in my house. I see myself and my family going back to it again and again.

A big thumbs up for this one.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag. Some good bits, but it extends from basic writing to having you read the Western Canon's list, without much to get you going, in fact, there are a lot of lists, Nobel, National Book, Pulitzer, so it's hardly "curated". Nor does it have the personal touch in Priceless Gift or College of One or the practical aspects of How to Read a Book or How to Read a Page. And it is not all that comprehensive. Don't bother to look for economics, sociology, anthropology or philosophy. In other areas, some good books, sites, and places to visits are noted, so it's not all bad, but I can't recommend it.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was okay the second time around. I agree with other readers that have reviewed this book. It's amateurish.