How You Can Be More Creative
by Roger von Oech
Recommended by Neville Medhora
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A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech is a brisk collection of prompts, brief anecdotes, and thought experiments designed to unsettle habitual thinking. The material is fragmentary and bite-sized, making it easy to dip into before meetings or when you need a quick creative spark. Useful as a warm-up or idea-generator, but limiting if you want detailed implementation guidance or long-form case studies—some readers will find the recurring gimmicks and short-form tricks repetitive rather than deep.
This summary and audience guidance are AI-generated from the book's description and its recommendation history, last updated June 2026. Recommendations, quotes and sources elsewhere on this page come from published material and are not generated.
This is the 25th anniversary edition of the creativity classic by Dr. Roger von Oech. Over the years, A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD has been praised by business people, educators, scientists, homemakers, artists, youth leaders, and many more. The book has been stimulating creativity in millions of readers, translated into eleven languages, and us...
Difficulty:easy
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View available editions on AmazonWhy recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Writing, and Psychology.
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Neville Medhora
“You can flip to any section and find some 'new way of looking at a problem' in this book.”
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Consider The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Recommended by 8 sources.
“Soft-spoken, heavily illustrated fable built from short dialogues and watercolor sketches. Each spread pairs a spare line of text with a loose drawing, so the pleasure is visual and aphoristic rather than narrative; readers collect felt-true sentences more than plot. Most useful when you want quick consolations, a prompt for conversation with a child, or a pause during a rough day. Limiting if you want sustained argument, concrete advice, or tightly plotted storytelling: the repetition of gentleness can feel sentimental or thin after a while.”
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
