by Eric Abrahamson, David H. Freedman
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Product Description
Like Freakonomics, here is a book that combines counterintuitive thinking with stories from everyday life to provide a striking new view of how our world works. Ever since Einstein's study of Brownian Motion, scientists have understood that a little disorder actually makes systems more effective. But most people still shun disorder--or suffer guilt over the mess they can't avoid. No longer! With a spectacular array of anecdotes and case studies of the useful role mess can play, here is an antidote to the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, neatness, and consistency are the keys to success. Drawing on examples from business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, retail, and even the meteoric career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, coauthors Abrahamson and Freedman demonstrate that moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, yield better solutions, and are harder to break than neat ones. A Perfect Mess will help readers assess what the right amount of disorder is for a given system, and how to apply these ideas onto a large scale--government, society-- and on a small scale--in your attic, kitchen, or office. A Perfect Mess will forever change the way we think about those unruly heaps of paper on our desks.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Little Substance Plenty of Anecdotes, 2008-05-09
Fun read. Waste of paper. If you are looking for some proof that mess, even possibly your mess, is good, do not expect to find the proof. The book is mostly full of anecdotes about the success of messy scenarios. Some examples are backed by studies and evidence, but most are not. I could easily see a separate book that would contradict the evidence in this book, as well as plenty of anecdotes explaining failed scenarios because of too much mess. Also, the book is not well-written in places where sentences end in a preposition.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 An Amusing Diversion, 2008-04-15
The premise of this book was great; those of us who do not thrive in the world of color-coded file boxes should not feel anxious and less successful because we aren't organized enough. In America's constant quest for progress, we have defaulted to a rigid standard of neatness and organization.
People who have a more creative style and organize information differently from what is touted in the popular television shows and de-cluttering books will enjoy the validation; however, the authors wander off-topic, state conflicting conclusions, and throw in everything they have, including the theoretical kitchen sink. By about chapter 5, I was reading this more as a parody of the initial theory, which made the rest of the book great fun. I think it was the Arnold Schwartzeneger piece that took it over the top for me.
Overall, A Perfect Mess was an amusing diversion and a refreshing departure from the "buy a million plastic boxes, hide all your stuff in them, and stack them alphabetically by label" world of organization. I gave it three stars because I was looking for more substance and less fluff. As a parody, I probably would have rated it four stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Mess without Guilt!, 2008-03-20
Commuting to work, I listened to the audio version of this wonderful book and, with every mile, found myself more relaxed with my own clutter. The examples and insights into messiness--from personal to professional to political mess--are fascinating. The authors explode many of the cliches about the virtues of extreme organization and the vices of mess. Highly recommended!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
fun and educational: worth rereading, 2008-02-27
I chanced upon this at the library and read almost all of it in 1 sitting. Its that
interesting. The real life examples given are eye openers. The next time I feel compelled to hyperorganize my receipts/coupons/desk I will weigh the time cost versus benefit. Right now I am recycling as many outdated/junk mail/etc papers as I can though so there wont be much of a mess to deal with.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A life changing book, 2008-02-07
I've read very few life changing books but this is one of them. It gives plenty of case studies where being disorganized is advantageous. Amusingly it tries to tidy the study of messiness by classifying mess behaviors and messy people.
If you are a messy person you'll feel more productive and rethink your priorities after reading this book.
The economic cost of tidying up was presented afresh. I've analyzed getting the lowest cost labor to do the job and always thought that was why you had a cleaner or filing clerk or janitor, but I hadn't really considered other behaviors that are associated with alleviation of messiness and really incur enormous economic and psychological costs.
After starting with domestic issues, the book turns to serious business situations - making the book a fine subject for corporate training seminars.
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