Yuri Pavlov

Alas, the book was a big disappointment. I can't believe it was so naïve, slow, with examples blown out of proportion to make a point. The author's previous book "Smartcuts" was edgy, quick, engaging, funny. Four years later, the same author produced banality. The mechanics of writing was good, no doubt about it. What he does is, basically, takes a well-known historical example, often an extreme example which is often NOT an example of team work at all (e.g., Malcolm X's transition from a "bad" guy to a "good guy" or Nellie Bly as an example of "an angelic troublemaker") and then explains it in light of some psychological research which can be found in most introductory college textbooks on psychology. The last chapter on Takei was so cringeworthy that by the time I got to the epilogue I shrugged at his personal story--which was supposed to move the reader. I think, the audience for this book was middle school students, which explains my reaction to it. I still love "Smartcuts" and will forget the author ever wrote this book.

This is a terrific memoir, and I will recommend it to everyone. The music of the writing is beautiful. The book combines personal and professional in a riveting way. It's a fascinating journey of a female investigator at a time in the U.S. history when women still could not be investigators by profession. It is also a story of logic, intuition, serendipity, and thoughtfulness. A pleasure to read.