Alchemy

The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformity

Rory Sutherland author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Ebury Publishing

Published:13th May '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Alchemy cover

A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.’ Nassim Nicholas Taleb


Why is Red Bull so popular – even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

Discover the alchemy behind original thinking, as TED Talk superstar and Ogilvy advertising legend Rory Sutherland reveals why abandoning logic and casting aside rationality is the best way to solve any problem.

In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. He shows how economists, businesses and governments have got it all wrong: we are not rational creatures who make logical decisions based on evidence. Instead, the big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by thinking less logically. To be brilliant, you have to be irrational.

Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell * Nassim Nicholas Taleb, bestselling author of Antifragile and Black Swan *
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant … wonderfully heretical, naughty and funny … Uncommon sense on stilts * Jules Goddard, Fellow of the Centre for Management Development at London Business School and co-author of Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense *
Veins of wisdom regarding human functioning emerge regularly and brilliantly from the pages. Don't miss this book. * Robert Cialdini, bestselling author of Influence, Yes!, The Small BIG and Pre-suasion *
Brings together complex theory with stories and plentiful humour to both captivate and entertain. It’s an important work for our era of apparent irrationality. * The Spectator *
Both a book on human behavior and a rallying cry to stand up against the spreadsheet mafia dominating most government and corporate policies today * Forbes, "Best Books on Consumer Behavior to Help You in Business and in Life" *
Stimulating and funny * The Times *
[A] fun, quirky, hilarious page-turner…Sutherland is one of the all-time great raconteurs, polymaths, and ad men * Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist, author of The Mating Mind, Spent, and What Women Want *
Buy this book for the footnotes alone… As a committed devotee of rationalism, who thinks there is not enough of it in this world, I rationally ought to hate this book. Instead I loved it. * Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist *
A must read for anyone who is in the people business’ * Dilip Soman, Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, University of Toronto *

ISBN: 9780753556528

Dimensions: 197mm x 127mm x 25mm

Weight: 266g

384 pages