Jump Start Your Brain --- By Doug Hall

Sandwiched in between a ton of exclamation marks, big type, and silly clip art is Hall's rather elemental idea: to be creative, you need to stimulate your brain with external "things," ranging from dime-store toys to Sears & Roebuck-like catalogues. Included are a psychological rationale for his approach to creativity and 36 brain programs, the actual techniques used to undrain the brain.



By using disguised case histories and national publicity as evidence, he and his coauthor sell us on the right way to train brains. Corporate types might prefer a tamer version, but his substance and his premise (that U.S. businesses are decidedly noninnovative) are on target. Barbara Jacobs