Review: Leaving aside that this is an ecology site the obvious answer as to why this book is being reviewed must lie in the way that we educate. We teach everything except learning which is supposed to be automatic (sound familiar to your own school days?). Anything redressing the balance is a positive; when it combines good information with a sound background it's even more useful. That being said, it's a crowded (self-help) market and so any text needs an extra something to get noticed.

The focus here is to look at brain function and the psychology of learning and use that as a way to suggest modifications to current study habits. We start with the cornerstone - becoming effective. Rather than suggest a series of strategies it starts by asking what kind of learner the reader is. Alongside quizzes there are comments as to why some answers offer more effective strategies than others. Chapter two examines your surroundings - the way our environment is structured affects how well we study. So, we understand something of what motivates our learning and what situations are better. The next stage is to see what kind of intelligence we possess. Perhaps that should read intelligences for chapter three explores the current ideas of multiple intelligences and how this can affect our learning styles. This moves on to a chapter on learning preferences where it is recognised that even if we do have multiple intelligences there are some that dominate and we should tune ourselves to these. Chapter five examines how to work best with others. Given that group work is seen as a good learning method it argues that we need to be able to take advantage of the situation - working outside the group is not an option. Chapter six returns to the idea of personal learning with an examination of reading methods. It's assumed you can read but can you get information by reading? These are not the same things. We can look but not really see - observation is a skill and so is getting the right material out of books (which rarely means reading cover to cover). Next, we move on to memory and how to use it with a few memory tricks. Chapter eight has one of the most important concepts - taking notes. Simple phrase, difficult idea and so there are a range of techniques which should make this easier. Learning is not just about other people's ideas it is also about finding your own and applying some criticality to them. Two chapters outline some useful ideas to generating ideas and working in a more critical way. It's useful to see critical thinking as a key point. It's often expected but rarely taught and after some interest in exam courses over 10 years ago, seems to have become quieter so any publicity in this area is welcome. A final two chapters looks at output - how we can get all this hard-won information out there for others to see and assess.

The value of books like this lie as much in how they motivate as much as what they cover. The authors have done very well in this respect. The book reads like a mixture of quiz and ideas with some research thrown in. There layout is extremely reader-friendly with very clear initial summaries, a range of text boxes ('this worked for me', 'top tips', 'try this' etc.) which cover more specific aspects and a concluding summary reinforcing the key points. The text doesn't preach rather it highlights what works and why and offers suggestions allowing the reader to come to their own decision. With it's mixture of good ideas and lighter reading style this is one of the best study books that has come on the market in some time. A "must-buy"; it should be on every library shelf.