Favorite Creative Thinking Books

What are your favorite creative thinking books? Why?

Today is "Publication Day" for the 25th Anniversary Edition (fully revised, updated, and redesigned) of my book "A Whack on the Side of the Head." Naturally, I'm thrilled.

I got to thinking about my favorite creative thinking books. I've decided to list the ones that inspired me many years ago. So here goes (I'll limit myself to just five):

1. The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler. This is my very favorite "creative thinking" book. It came out in 1963, and I read it as a student in 1967. This is probably the best-written of all creativity books. Koestler, author of the landmark novel "Darkness At Noon," tackles the creative process with gusto. AOC is filled with great stories and anecdotes. Koestler coined the term "bi-sociation of matrices of thought" to describe the creative act, and he investigated it within the realms of science, humor, and art. I still read this book every couple years. Highly recommended.

2. Conceptual Blockbusting by Jim Adams. This book came out in the early 1970s (the edition I first read was published by the Stanford Alumni Association). Adams, an engineer and a practical academic, showed me just how interesting the creative process could be. It has a lot of classic "creativity" exercises in it. I was quite flattered when Adams wrote a blurb for the second edition of "Whack" in 1990.

3. Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono (1973) This book made me think hard and deep about just what the mind is doing when it's able to get off the beaten path. A real classic mind-stretcher.

4. Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution by Paul Watzlawick (1974) . Watzlawick was an Austrian born psychotherapist who founded the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto. Many great (off-beat) stories and examples to support his ideas about "creative reframing." This book still sells well.

5. Applied Imagination by Alex Osborne (from circa 1953, currently out of print, unfortunately). Osborne was the "O" in the famed (1940s-1970s) ad agency BBDO. Thus, he worked with real clients and was in the position of seeing efforts succeed and fail. He coined the term "brainstorming." He's also sometimes credited with originating the SCAMPER creative technique.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

You may notice that there are no books on this list that are later than the mid-1970s. There are two reasons for this.

First, I wanted to share with you the books that inspired me to go into business for myself as a creativity consultant in 1977.

And, second, I wanted to leave plenty of room for your favorites! (There have been many, many very good ones in the past thirty years.)

So once, again: What are your favorite creative thinking books? What would you recommend? Why?

Comments

[Paul Maloney]

I'm just getting my feet wet on creativity, but since your post refers to "inspiration" to energize the creative spirit, Ken Robinson's TED talk is what did it for me.

[Jim Ley]

First, I want to congratulate you on experiencing another Publishing Day!

My most inspirational creative book is, The Book of Nature, because it is the original by which all others are made possible. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became Flesh. Let there be light: and there was light.

As a photographer, without the light, I have nothing to capture.

I have enjoyed your books that were available in the 1980s. Also, I have been inspired by Edward De Bono's books.

My favorite Photography writer is Galen Rowell. Anything he has written on the subject is thought provoking. Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography is an excellent example.

When photographing a sunset remember to look in the opposite direction. There you will discover the magic. When the weather threatens, go anyway. You might be surprised by what opens up before you when the weather clears. If it does not clear, kneel down. There too, is beauty to behold.

[Wendy]

Congratulations on another Publication, Roger! May this wisdom continue to cultivate and fertilize people's creative abilities.

Second to the Whack Book, my favorite creativity product is another one of yours, The Creative Whack Pack. Maybe it is the poet in me, but the strategies, stories and pictures are easy to remember and to share with others.

Another book to add to the list is The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron, published in 1992. This book has inspired countless individuals and groups with its stories, quotes, exercises and practical spirituality.

[Jen Haertling]

Thanks for your list Roger - it is really good to see what has inspired you and placed you on this path. And now I have some new titles to put on my reading list.

[shelbey]

I have used SCAMPER every term with my students the last 2 years. It's a great exercise, and I usually time it toward the end of the term when we need a little off-blowing of steam. I raid my children's toys and bring in some quirky things, and give them the list of questions. They come up with some great stuff-- certainly never limited to toys. I first read about it in Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko.

Using any creative thinking exercises I've found or coined has really helped me make my classes more interesting and relevant. Earlier this term, after I handed around another list of oddball questions and exercises, one student looked at me and said, "You know, you're really good at making us think about things." Great moment!

[Karl]

Hi and congratulations!

"Whack", "Kick" and Thinkertoys are three of my favorites. I found Conceptual Blockbusting and Care and Feeding of Ideas before any of the others so they opened up the thought-space to me. I finally bought a copy of The Act of Creation and hope to work through it this summer - yes he uses humor but I am finding it to require a lot of attention to read.

[Roger von Oech]

Paul: Yes that is a very good presentation by Ken Robinson.

Jim: I'll check out Galen Rowell's work.

Karl: The Act of Creation does require the reader to pay attention! Some of the brain science is a little dated, but there are many good insights in the work.

Shelbey and Jen: Thanks for stopping by.

Wendy: Thanks for recommending The Artist's Way. That work has had great success and inspired many people.

[Bill Machi]

I like The IDEAL problem Solver by John D. Bransford it's a good step-by-step book on how to solve problems. Also the examples are informative such as how the BIC pen came into being.

Also I like Innumeracy - Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences by John Allen Paulos. It's an eye opener on numerical thinking like comparing 1 million to 1 billion. (BTW His example is 1 million seconds is 11 days whereas 1 billion seconds is 33 years)

[Tom Haskins]

Roger
I was in the local branch of our county library last week and discovered TWO copies of your 25th edition on the shelf. I trust that portends phenomenal worldwide sales of the new improved Whack! Congrats!

Another favorite of mine is taken from a course at your alma mater: Creativity in Business by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers. Having taught creativity to college students in B/school, I like how it meets the reader in their logical left brain and leads them over to their right brained ingenuity with mixture of advice, scientific findings, philosophical musings and quotes from practitioners. It's a lot like Whack in that way, but without the unforgettable illustrations in yours :-)

[Randy]

Roger:
In addition to "Whack", "Kick" and the Bible, I return often to the following for inspiration reinforcement:
o Several Tom Peters books (even though I don't buy into a number of his precepts:
Re-Imagine, The Circle of Innovation,
Thriving on Chaos, The Pursuit of Wow;
o On Leadership, John Gardner;
o A Scientific Autobiography, Aldo Rossi;
o A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander.

[Jim]

Roger. There've been many books and/or theories written about how to USE the creativity techniques people learn in specific professions. Most are either trite, self-serving, sophomoric or useless. But there's one--ironically for the "advertising"
profession--that transcends the profession itself and offers some unique perspectives of the creative process. It's THE HOUDINI SOLUTION
by Ernie Schenck. If you or anyone hasn't read it, make time to do so.

[JIM]

Roger...The more I think about what my "favorite" creative thinking books are..the more I conclude that it ISN'T a book at all.
(Though there has been a book on it.)
It's TED presentation on "Creativity and
Education" by Sir Ken Robinson. Here's the
link: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/66 He
also has a book, OUT OF OUR MINDS. The premise is that our children are educated "out" of creativity instead of "into" it. Brilliant 20 minute presentation. If anyone hasn't seen it.. it will "whack" your brain.

[Melanie]

By far, my favorite creativity book has to be "How to Be More Creative" by David Edwards.

Simple to understand with great illustrations, it is sadly out of print.

BTW, "Whack" is also on my list of favs!

[Claudio Perrone]

Roger, congratulations indeed!
On a recent presentation (focused on agility, effective communication and deliberate creativity) I highlighted and reccommended your "Whack/Kick", in addition to "Thinkertoys/ThinkPack" and "Lateral Thinking".
"The 6 thinking hats" is definitely in my hall of fame too.

[Craig McNamara]

Any books by legendary ad man George Lois are good (and they all tend to recycle the same stories) -- he's self-aggrandizing to be sure, but he's great at giving you the creative inspirations underpinning his ad campaigns. Lots of food for thought here. (More daily opinons and advertising commentary at craigmcnamara.blogspot.com)

[Katie Konrath]

Roger, congrats on the 25th anniversary edition. I'm really looking forward to reading it, and writing about it on my blog soon for the virtual book tour.

Some great books mentioned above!
I'll share two of my favorites that don't get a lot of attention.

Ideas Are Free - A great book about creating an innovation culture in a company so that everyone participates in coming up with ideas.

The Idea Machine - About a Idea factory in Switzerland that is phenomenally creative. Very interesting to read about their methods!

[John S.]

Roger,

A source that has been helpful to me is books and internet lists of quotations.
I came across this on the internet from Albert Einstein:

"If I had not been a physicist, I should probably have been a musician. I often think in music. My daydreams are filled with music. Most of the joy in my life has come from music."

It led to a short speech (about 3 minutes) that got a standing ovation at an open mike frequented mostly by musicians.

But the number of quotations I read before finding something useful is far, far more than I could wade through if I did not enjoy reading great quotes without needing to find a use for them.

John

[terry grant]

I recently read the Twyla Tharp book, "The Creative Habit, how to get it and use it . . ." Great insight into her process, but I was bothered by the idea that one must live such a structured and disciplined life in order to be creative. Edward Tufte's books, on the other hand, are not about how to be creative, but offer such incredibly creative ways of seeing and contemplating the visual world.