The full title of this book by Tim Ferriss is
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.
Here is my review.
Overwhelming and you can’t find what you need to know. I expected much better.
This book is huge at over 700 pages and as such, it’s also very daunting.
The author has interviewed many leaders in different fields and has tried to bring together the best of the best ideas. Interspersed between the interview snippets and summaries are sections written by the author where he shares his compiled knowledge.
It’s split into three main sections that when combined, create happiness – being healthy, wealthy and wise.
I may have counted incorrectly but this is how many interviews I think there are in the book:
Healthy – 19 interviews
Wealthy – 36 interviews
Wise – 46 interviews
My biggest gripe with the book is the way that it’s organised.
Instead of being ordered by solution or even better by problem, it’s by person. That may be OK if you’ve heard of the people and know what their focus is but I don’t. There are very few names I recognise and that puts up a barrier to me. They are probably better known in America. The author introduces each person but, with time so precious, I’m having to work hard before I know if I’m interested.
This seems a strange way to go about things when the author admits that the book is designed for people to pick up, browse and choose like a menu. He wants you to use the bits you like, skip over the bits that you don’t. It’s also quite a hard book to skim through because I found too many of the subheadings are in capital letters and they are difficult to absorb without slowing down.
I have the Kindle version of the book. The sections containing the author’s own thoughts and other more structured content by guests, aren’t listed in the Kindle table of contents. Since these are the most accessible parts to get yourself into the book, this seems a strange and unwise decision since you can’t click through to them. I later found these articles in the contents at the front but the kindle version automatically opens after that page and they should be in the TOC.
The book includes a list of the top 25 podcasts done by Tim Ferris. These are more approachable. For example
#1 is Jamie Foxx on Workout Routines – in just five words I know whether I’m interested or not.
#2 is Tony Robbins on Morning Routines – again this makes sense.
If he can “sell” the podcast so simply, why hasn’t he done it with the interview chapters?
As an avid reader, I was also interested in the list of books recommended by the people. It’s a very varied list and, if you’re in tune with the person, I suspect it will be helpful to investigate what has influenced or intrigued them.
It’s well established that many non-fiction books are started but never finished. While some people, and especially established Tim Ferriss fans, will absolutely love this book and I’m sure that there are some fantastic ideas in it, more people are going to be like me and find it hard to get through it. It’s just too much effort to look for the relevant gems. It may be fine as one of your books if you’re stranded on alone on a desert island with nothing to do but read. Most of us don’t have enough hours in the day.
My final hope was that there was going to be a hyperlinked index of subjects, so for example, if I was interested in overcoming sleep problems, I could find the relevant sections and zoom in. There’s no index in my Kindle version. I know there is a search facility but that’s a little too general. I tried it with “sleep” and there were 82 entries because many people make a passing mention of the need for a good night’s rest.
I’m disappointed because I like the idea of bringing together great tips from successful people but I thought the execution of it would have been much better.
The author admits that when he asked for feedback, some people wanted him to drop some bits while others said that those sections were their favourites. I’m surprised no one pointed out the organisation issue, or if they did, the author ignored them. I guess it was too much effort. He says his goal is that you will like 50%, love 25% and never forget 10%. I’m sorry but he missed his target with me but better organisation would have me moving in the right direction.
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