Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas

Analogies are everywhere. In this title, Pollack (The Pun Also Rises), a former presidential speechwriter for Bill Clinton, takes readers far beyond the typical standardized-test sort of analogy and into a world where analogy is behind much of communication, thought, and creativity. His purpose, laid out in the introduction, is to help readers use and identify inferences of likenesses better. Pollack cites many stories throughout the book that touch on history, politics, and pop culture to support his idea that analogies have power—they can sway elections, sell products, affect the outcomes of trials, etc. Like any shortcut, analogical thinking can get us to our destination more quickly or lead us astray, and Pollack offers readers the tools they need to think critically about the analogies they encounter. He writes in engaging prose and the narratives he shares are quite fascinating.