The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

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  • Create Date:2021-03-25 10:27:07
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Charles Duhigg
  • ISBN:081298160X
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

OVER 60 WEEKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

With a new Afterword by the author
 
In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed。 Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential。 At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work。 As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives。

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NPR BESTSELLER • WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER • LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER • USA TODAY BESTSELLER • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times
 
“Sharp, provocative, and useful。”—Jim Collins
 
“Few [books] become essential manuals for business and living。 The Power of Habit is an exception。 Charles Duhigg not only explains how habits are formed but how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good。”Financial Times
 
“A flat-out great read。”—David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
 
“You’ll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way。”—Daniel H。 Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind
 
“Entertaining 。 。 。 enjoyable 。 。 。 fascinating 。 。 。 a serious look at the science of habit formation and change。”The New York Times Book Review

“Cue: see cover。 Routine: read book。 Reward: fully comprehend the art of manipulation。”Bloomberg Businessweek
 
“Absolutely fascinating。”Wired

“A fresh examination of how routine behaviors take hold and whether they are susceptible to change 。 。 。 The stories that Duhigg has knitted together are all fascinating in their own right, but take on an added dimension when wedded to his examination of habits。”— Associated Press
 
“There’s been a lot of research over the past several years about how our habits shape us, and this work is beautifully described in the new book The Power of Habit。”—David Brooks, The New York Times
 
“A first-rate book—based on an impressive mass of research, written in a lively style and providing just the right balance of intellectual seriousness with practical advice on how to break our bad habits。”The Economist
 
“I have been spinning like a top since reading The Power of Habit, New York Times journalist Charles Duhigg’s fascinating best-seller about how people, businesses and organizations develop the positive routines that make them productive—and happy。”The Washington Post

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Reviews

Genevieve Lyons

This book was fascinating, but the author really buried the lead。 An alternate title for this book might be, “How the private sector is using big data And Neuroscience to hijack our brains and change our behavior so they can make tons of money。”

Kristina

Habits, I've come to realize, are one of the most powerful tools we can have in our lives。 I had never given much thought to what makes habits tick, but learning and understanding the science behind habits has been incredibly eye-opening。 This book is intended more for someone like myself; not having given habits much more thought than "I have them", the science references and anecdotes conveyed the message holistically。。。。maaaybe in a way that was semi-redundant, but the way he provided differe Habits, I've come to realize, are one of the most powerful tools we can have in our lives。 I had never given much thought to what makes habits tick, but learning and understanding the science behind habits has been incredibly eye-opening。 This book is intended more for someone like myself; not having given habits much more thought than "I have them", the science references and anecdotes conveyed the message holistically。。。。maaaybe in a way that was semi-redundant, but the way he provided different examples or vantage points through his different examples didn't deter me。 If you just want the cold, hard facts of what habits are and how to change yours, read the appendix, or here's the gist: Habit loops are a series of cues, routines, and reward。 The cue is what tips off the habit, or routine to be carried out。 The reward is the hard-wiring outcome that keeps us coming back to the habit, we develop a craving for that reward。 If you want interesting, real-life stories that help illustrates the points made, read the book!Some really interesting lessons I learned from the book:1) You can never 'unlearn' a habit。 Once you create a habit, it's there in your brain for life; however, you can start a new habit and the more you do the new habit, the less likely you are to fall back into the old habit。 But it's always there, no matter how long it has been。2) To successful change your habits, make obvious queues and/or use the pre-existing queues you have, but change the routine。 For example, after a meeting at work, I walk to the kitchen and get a snack。 My reward is a satisfied feeling。 To change this habit, I have the same queue (finishing a meeting, walking into the kitchen), but I have altered my routine to get a glass of ice water instead of a snack。 I feel satisfied with the water and end up eating less。3) Willpower is a muscle, and like muscles it can grow, which is great! But that means it also gets tired and stressors make it less likely to be fully functioning。 4) Keystone habits are single habits that people focus on doing that sets off a chain reaction for other positive changes in their lives。 Duhigg uses examples such as how people who decide to make their bed every morning are more productive and can better stick to a budget, or how exercising at least 3 times a week can leave you less stressed, making better eating choices, and be more productive。 If nothing else, add in a single keystone habit that will have a potential positive ripple effect within your life。I feel like this book has changed a lot of my thinking on productivity。 I used to think that intentional, frequent actions was the key to bolstering my productivity, but that was an enormous oversight。 When my will power to do productive things would inevitably falter, I would go back into habit mode, and to put it bluntly, my innate habits are trash。 They are lazy, over-indulging, and fruitless。 To make these changes in my life, I need to work on altering those habits I have, or in some cases create new habits to combat my lazy/unyielding autopilot habits I currently have。 It's going to take time, but I'm starting some keystone habits。 I'm leaving cues for those new habits to make myself more likely to follow, and after doing some research, I've also downloaded a habit app to help me stay on track as I learn new, better habits。 This book was the jump start I needed to figure out the path to go, and I enjoyed reading it。 。。。more

Mhd Qasem

كتاب مهم سواء على مستوى العمل الفردي أو العمل الجماعي (المؤسسي)。باختصار شديد يتكلم الكتاب عن كيفية سيطرة العادات على أغلب سلوكنا، وأهمية فهم تشكل هذه العادات لضبطها وتوجيهها فيما يتوافق مع أهدافنا。

Özgecan Kalkan

Kitap üç kısımdan oluşuyor, ilk bölümde bireylerin, ikincisinde şirket ve organizasyonların, üçüncü kısımda ise toplumların alışkanlıkları ele alınıyor。İlk bölüm ilgimi çeker diye düşünürken son bölüm daha fazla sürükledi。 Sosyologlar siyasi hareketlerin nasıl başladığını incelediklerinde ortak bir patern keşfetmişler。 Zayıf-bağ tanışıklıklarımızın çoğunlukla yakın-bağ arkadaşlıklarımız kadar etkili olduğunu bulmuşlar。 Zayıf bağları az olan bireyler, sosyal sistemin uzak bilgilerindeki bilgilerd Kitap üç kısımdan oluşuyor, ilk bölümde bireylerin, ikincisinde şirket ve organizasyonların, üçüncü kısımda ise toplumların alışkanlıkları ele alınıyor。İlk bölüm ilgimi çeker diye düşünürken son bölüm daha fazla sürükledi。 Sosyologlar siyasi hareketlerin nasıl başladığını incelediklerinde ortak bir patern keşfetmişler。 Zayıf-bağ tanışıklıklarımızın çoğunlukla yakın-bağ arkadaşlıklarımız kadar etkili olduğunu bulmuşlar。 Zayıf bağları az olan bireyler, sosyal sistemin uzak bilgilerindeki bilgilerden mahrum olacak, yakın arkadaşlarının görüş ve haberleriyle sınırlı kalacaklardır。Bireysel kısımda ve son bölümde anlatılan hikayeler ise kişisel hayata uygulanabilir nitelikte, ancak hap gibi bilgiler değil, daha çok üzerinde çalışılması gereken konular。 Alışkanlıkları tetikleyen işaretleri takip etmek gerekiyor, bunun zor olmasının sebebi hayatın karmaşıklığı。 Rutinleri tanımladıktan sonra farklı ödüllerle deneyler yaparak asıl neye arzu duyduğumuzu tanımlayabiliyoruz。 Bu da alışkanlığı yeniden tasarlamanın olmazsa olmazı。Tüm yollar insanın tatmin olmayan ihtiyaçlarına ve onları hasır altı edip farklı yollarla farkında olmadığı veya görmezden geldiği ihtiyaçlarını doyurmasına çıkıyor。 İnsanı anlama çabası。。 。。。more

Pevebe

This book is absolutely fantastic

LuAnPe

This book is very great。

Metean

This book are definitely awesome

Abishek

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business "One truly useful ideology。 Countless examples。"The power of habit is quite a must read for all who want to get from “wannabe” to “achiever” - in terms of developing a new habit or getting rid of one。 It’s not too long a read, and I can say that I factually learned quite a lot from this book, but it could have probably been shorter considering that it offers only one major idea thats presented in the first section of the book。 The The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business "One truly useful ideology。 Countless examples。"The power of habit is quite a must read for all who want to get from “wannabe” to “achiever” - in terms of developing a new habit or getting rid of one。 It’s not too long a read, and I can say that I factually learned quite a lot from this book, but it could have probably been shorter considering that it offers only one major idea thats presented in the first section of the book。 The book is quite well organized into three sections。The first section talks about how habits emerge in an individuals life, and how to make and change habits。 The neurology of a habit is also explained very well, by introducing the reader/listener to the “habit loop” which constitutes of the “Cue-Routine-Reward” cycle。 This involves the idea of separating a habit into its three constituents - A “cue” that serves as a trigger, the “routine” that is the action followed through in the habit, and the “reward” associated with performing the routine。 The book suggests that the best way to change an existing habit, is to understand the cue and reward associated with it very well and just swap out the routine to something that would give you a similar reward。 This “golden rule of habit change” is immensely emphasized and is pretty much the main ideology and the key takeaway from this book。The next section gives numerous examples of how habit changes have influenced the successes in various organizations including successes of Claude Hopkins in advertising for the Pepsodent toothpaste in the 1900s and creating a tooth-brushing habit among millions of people! It was quite interesting to learn that it wasn’t the cleanliness of teeth that Claude Hopkins sold in Pepsodent。 It was the cool tingling sensation that was sold as a subtle play on the user’s mind。 This feeling of freshness in the mouth was unconsciously leading millions to people to changing their routines, who started putting Pepsodent toothpaste as the big routine-centerpiece in their brushing habit loop。The book elaborates on the pivotal role that the “cue-routine-reward” habit loop plays/played in innumerable cases including - - how “habit-loop” based marketing strategies by Quaker oats got them to where they are today- how the departmental store - Target, uses mathematical models to generate “guest portraits” of their shoppers in order to always know what you want before you do - by simply conducting a thorough pattern analysis on the data collected from shoppers’ buying patterns, revealing their habits。- how radio stations introducing new songs in between two familiar songs, strategically takes advantage of the golden rule of habit change - introduction of a new routine into the cue-routine-reward loop。- how Bill Wilson understood the habit loop, resulting in the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous - an organization emphasizing the 12 steps to achieving sobriety- how the power of habit helped Michael Phelps, when water seeped into his swimming glasses during the Beijing Olympics- how a high school dropout substance addict understood the habit loop to become a successful manager at Starbucks- how the idea of food journaling ensures you understand your cues and rewards associated with overeating and helps you change the routine to eat more healthy- how one of the biggest success stories in the manufacturing and Aluminum industry -Alcoa - was based on the idea of identifying and disrupting a keystone habit in a company, that lead to a cascading effect on all other dependent habits, significantly improving the safety standards of the company and taking it to new heights。The author introduces us to a couple of famous experiments like the the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment on 4 year old kids elaborating on the ability to exercise self control。 The extremely compelling Eugene Pauly experiment and the Graybiel experiments on lab-rats at MIT, show us the influence of the basal ganglia (in our brains) in chunking and formation of habits。The third and final section of the book takes a look at the habits of whole societies。 Offering examples from the Montgomery bus boycott in the 1950s and Saddleback Valley Church in Southern California one of the most interesting conceptions of societal change on a large scale is explored。 The author says - “Movements don’t emerge because everyone suddenly decides to face the same direction at once。 They rely on social patterns that begin as the habits of friendship, grow through the habits of communities, and are sustained by new habits that change participants’ sense of self。” Historical events like the Montgomery bus boycott starting out a huge wave of new habits in the civil rights movement provide validation to the above claim。The book ends by suggesting a first step to isolate and bucket the reasons for your habit urges into one of 5 categories - Location / Time / Emotional state / Other people around you / Immediately preceding action in order to help understand the “cue” in the habit loop。 It encourages the notion that we are the ones who are in control of our own habits offering these diverse examples of successes, many of which I didn’t know about。 Overall, the book is a great knowledge-augmenter revolving around one key idea。 。。。more

Kim Fennessy

Very interesting topic。 This book is for everyone wanting to make a small or large change in life, business, or anything in between。 I like how he touched on tough subjects like social situations, religion, addiction AND everyday subjects like business, exercising and smoking。

Euthalia

It's fascinating to know how habit works。 I decided to read this book as I want to develop grit for myself in a habitual way。 It's fascinating to know how habit works。 I decided to read this book as I want to develop grit for myself in a habitual way。 。。。more

Tarun Sheshraj

Feels a bit outdated with multiple books on habits recently written。 It’s however the original that spawned the whole cue-response-reward framework。 A good read。

William

Scientific method to creat and transform bad habbit into good habbit。(Tigger - action - reward) - central theam of book。

Alex

Good specially first part

Lorenzo

/pending update

Jiaen

I learn many things in this book and it help to to slove some problems i face。Interesting :)

Andrew

A very engaging read on how we act and turn thinking and decisions into habits。 The illustrations are gripping, though at times difficult to hear because they’re things we don’t want to talk about very often。 When I come up against a pattern I don’t like and want to change, I’ll definitely try some of the tools demonstrated in this book。

Sharla

Minus 1 star for the terrible narration of the audiobook。 Minus 1 star for the entire book being focused mostly on 'what', and then 'how', and really never directly addressing 'why', despite that being in the title。 Minus 1 star for the marketing stories/studies cited。 Manipulating consumers into new habits isn't really about habits。 Minus 1 star for the terrible narration of the audiobook。 Minus 1 star for the entire book being focused mostly on 'what', and then 'how', and really never directly addressing 'why', despite that being in the title。 Minus 1 star for the marketing stories/studies cited。 Manipulating consumers into new habits isn't really about habits。 。。。more

CARLOS ANDRES

Great book! it provides clear examples on how habits are created in different fields。 It helps you to deeply understand and modify them。 I would highly recommend this book to people dealing with destructive habits or people who wants to have more control on their decisions。

Katherine Stevick

Fascinating and well-written but also kinda fragmented。 Covered a very wide range of topics under the catchall "habits。" Fascinating and well-written but also kinda fragmented。 Covered a very wide range of topics under the catchall "habits。" 。。。more

Fouad

This book is practical as it helped me grasp the fact that success does not happen overnight, but rather in a manner similar to a “tracking record” of your own story - your brain activity record-Imagine a stairway that increase one step for every action you perform at any given time over the course of your life。 Assuming you need to climb all the way up into the sky to achieve a most sought-after personal or societal common goals, the way you behave allows you to build directly towards it。 As yo This book is practical as it helped me grasp the fact that success does not happen overnight, but rather in a manner similar to a “tracking record” of your own story - your brain activity record-Imagine a stairway that increase one step for every action you perform at any given time over the course of your life。 Assuming you need to climb all the way up into the sky to achieve a most sought-after personal or societal common goals, the way you behave allows you to build directly towards it。 As you climb your way up, some of your actions that may hinder your success, are still built into your “staircase”, but in this case, they are built downwards similar to a game of “Ladder and Snakes”。 As the days go by, people are easily dragged into an already paved and smoothened path they have previously followed, which is, a habit。 As one seeks comfort, -and this is where the “self-help” aspect of the book is lacking- they are dragged into a snake trap, bringing them further down from their potential。 These drag-downs are the bad habits that we develop start to feel more normal to us, and we end up seeking them instinctively wether they harm or please usUnderstanding the difficulty of creating/destroying habits is why I even gave this book a rating。 It fascinates me how humans imprudently seek comfort and probably go on to live our lives without knowing, that the end result could have been better if they had even a speck of understanding about the nature of a habit。This book had the potential to be an all-time non-fiction favorite of mine, but because of the lack of statistics and thorough scientific research analysis, it didn’t make the cut。 I would still recommend this book。 。。。more

Deleg

An eye-opening book。 I personally found many subjects and topics to be interesting such as, Alcoholics anonymous, Alcoa, and the Target to be of most interesting in this book。 He takes you through many of the examples and walks you through quite a bit of the habit processes - which can often times become a bad thing。 Leading onto the many reviews here that it is painfully too long and detailed to be grasping at your attention as I have found myself putting the book down or forcing myself more to An eye-opening book。 I personally found many subjects and topics to be interesting such as, Alcoholics anonymous, Alcoa, and the Target to be of most interesting in this book。 He takes you through many of the examples and walks you through quite a bit of the habit processes - which can often times become a bad thing。 Leading onto the many reviews here that it is painfully too long and detailed to be grasping at your attention as I have found myself putting the book down or forcing myself more to read it (I'm not much of a reader so take that with a grain of salt) and I haven't actually gotten myself to finish it with only about 50 pages remaining。 I would advise people to read it but not too much。 。。。more

Yoshimi Dilg

I didn't like this book。 It was just information, it wasn't empowering。 The only redeeming part about the book were the last 5 minutes of the audible when it gave a 5 step strategy to tackling any habits that we are looking to change。 It didn't even go deep into them, just quickly brushed through them。 If you are looking into an empowering habit book, read:- Atomic Habits- 5 am Club I didn't like this book。 It was just information, it wasn't empowering。 The only redeeming part about the book were the last 5 minutes of the audible when it gave a 5 step strategy to tackling any habits that we are looking to change。 It didn't even go deep into them, just quickly brushed through them。 If you are looking into an empowering habit book, read:- Atomic Habits- 5 am Club 。。。more

Ariel

With the word "habit" in the title, I assumed this was a self-help book designed to help the reader break bad habits and develop good ones。 However, it's not that type of habit-book。 It's a deep analysis of how habits shape our behavior, from Sunday worship to big-box shopping。 With strong examples (including the development of Saddleback Church) the book is an easy-to-read explanation of the power of the instinctual patterns that govern us; we're completely unaware of the mental triggers or pat With the word "habit" in the title, I assumed this was a self-help book designed to help the reader break bad habits and develop good ones。 However, it's not that type of habit-book。 It's a deep analysis of how habits shape our behavior, from Sunday worship to big-box shopping。 With strong examples (including the development of Saddleback Church) the book is an easy-to-read explanation of the power of the instinctual patterns that govern us; we're completely unaware of the mental triggers or patterns (habits) that determine just about everything。 Understanding those patterns is certainly part of changing habits--for good or bad--but this isn't the book for revolutionizing your inner world。 It IS a fascinating exploration of perhaps why you *haven't* even when you try really hard。 。。。more

Dallin Poulson

This ones great for learning about habits and why they exist。 It teaches about many different kinds of habits and how they work in our brains。 I would recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about them but I would recommend Atomic Habits to someone who is looking For a way to change their habits。 Atomic habits is a lot more clear about making plans and how to make them work。

Liza

I think this is a good book and definitely worth reading。 There are so many stories about how people used good habits to their advantages。 There are a lot of other factors (IMO) besides good habits that helped folks in some of these stories such as luck, timing, etc。 This is a solid 2。5 for me, I went ahead and gave it 3 stars because most people view 2 as a negative review。Couldn't help but compare this read to Atomic Habits by James Clear。 I was expecting to like Power of Habit More and with t I think this is a good book and definitely worth reading。 There are so many stories about how people used good habits to their advantages。 There are a lot of other factors (IMO) besides good habits that helped folks in some of these stories such as luck, timing, etc。 This is a solid 2。5 for me, I went ahead and gave it 3 stars because most people view 2 as a negative review。Couldn't help but compare this read to Atomic Habits by James Clear。 I was expecting to like Power of Habit More and with that I mean digest it and make it applicable to my life。 POH has more stories of people effectively putting good habits in play where AH is light/short on the story but more on the psychology。 。。。more

Keanu

By far one of the most impactful books written in the recent past。 Does not only scientifically prove the premise that one can change deeply engrained behavior but, calls you out and gives you the intellectual obligation to right a wrong you may have done to reshape your life for the better。 His depth in the subject is only surpassed by his writing ability。 Trust me when I say this is not something you want to miss。

Amanda Cox

I like books that have scientific ideas presented with real world and celebrity examples。 It really helps me understand the concepts。 A super relatable and easy to read book, about habits impact everything from companies, to societies, to our own lives。

Andrew

Excellent。 Interesting examples。 Good insights into why successful companies are so successful。

Eglė Martinkevičiutė

Paskutiniu metu mano skaitomos knygos yra tokios, kuriose galiu kažko sužinoti, išmokti ar tobulėti。 Juk kaip gera, kai gali mėgautis laisvo laiko praleidimu ir dar gauti naujos informacijos。📚 ‘Įpročio galia’, kaip ir galima suprasti, nagrinėja kodėl mes, žmonės, vienokiomis ar kitokiomis aplinkybėmis taip elgiamės。 Kaip atsiranda nevalyvi įpročiai, o kaip įdiegti visuomenei tokius įpročius, kurie padėtų profesinėje srityje arba visuomenės gerovei。 Knygoje autorius pateikia tokius lyg segmentus: Paskutiniu metu mano skaitomos knygos yra tokios, kuriose galiu kažko sužinoti, išmokti ar tobulėti。 Juk kaip gera, kai gali mėgautis laisvo laiko praleidimu ir dar gauti naujos informacijos。📚 ‘Įpročio galia’, kaip ir galima suprasti, nagrinėja kodėl mes, žmonės, vienokiomis ar kitokiomis aplinkybėmis taip elgiamės。 Kaip atsiranda nevalyvi įpročiai, o kaip įdiegti visuomenei tokius įpročius, kurie padėtų profesinėje srityje arba visuomenės gerovei。 Knygoje autorius pateikia tokius lyg segmentus: individų įpročiai, sėkmingai dirbančių organizacijų įpročiai ir visuomenių įpročiai。 Kiekvienoje dalyje rasite begales tikrų faktų ir pavyzdžių, todėl mėgautis šia knyga taps dar lengviau。📌Šioje knygoje tikrai sužinojau tokių dalykų (ir faktų) apie kuriuos nebuvau girdėjusi ar susimąsčiusi。 Ir dabar suprantu, kodėl visame pasaulyje garsios įmonės tokios yra。 Pavyzdžiui, Starbucks savo darbuotojams suteikia gilius ir atidžius mokymus, bet ne techninius, o tokius, kuriuose jie mokosi būti kantrūs ir mokosi bendravimo su klientais。 Ši įmonė ilgai galvojo ir bandė visokiausius dalykus kaip įdiegti reikalingus įpročius savo darbuotojams (buvo net suteikusi nemokamą abonimentą sporto klubuose!)。💡 Ir čia tik vienas pavyzdys, pateiktas knygoje。 Kodėl skaityti? Jei norite naudingos ir nenuobodžios informacijos, domitės didelių kompanijų veikimu ar tiesiog norite sužinoti daugiau apie mus vedamus įpročius。🥁 。。。more

Shefali Gupta

In this book, the author argues that habit is nothing but science。 He provides framework to break down any habit into smaller components。 Once you understand the basics then you can basically manipulate them to create new habits or alter an old bad one。 He backs all arguments with data from research and through examples of how companies have used these tools to create habit for their new products。Crux of the matter is that habit is a very powerful tool and the very idea that we can control it is In this book, the author argues that habit is nothing but science。 He provides framework to break down any habit into smaller components。 Once you understand the basics then you can basically manipulate them to create new habits or alter an old bad one。 He backs all arguments with data from research and through examples of how companies have used these tools to create habit for their new products。Crux of the matter is that habit is a very powerful tool and the very idea that we can control it is extremely empowering。 Another great thing about this book was that inspite of being factual it flowed like a story。 Loved it。 。。。more