There are common themes among idea producing books that cover all aspects of developing the necessary state of mind to produce valuable ideas. Bernbach covers the basics in this book but offers little else. At best this book represents an outline of the common themes, and at worst is it a 20 page book stretched into 47 pages (very large font, small book, less than 20 lines per page - likely 15-20 pages for standard sizes).

I rate this book as a two instead of a one as it does momentarily capture the essence of idea production in the following statements:

"An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements."

"The capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships."

"The habit of the mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes the highest importance of the production of ideas."

Beyond these quotes the book encompasses little else other than a three page chapter about taking action. I sincerely believe that if you understand the above quotations as well as the notion that once you have the idea, you have to actually use the idea for it to have value, then you already know everything this book has to offer.

I highly recommend much better material on the subject found in "How to Get Ideas' by Jack Foster; a book that will not disappoint you as it is laced with real world examples, applications, and exercises to produce countless ideas.

This book breaks the ice and helps ideas flow that otherwise would remain silent. Though it is small, it carries a big stick that can help when you have those moments of being unable to come up with an idea for work, for research papers as a student or for just about any situation.

Just excellent! And, such a beautiful language too, like a poem! Read it, love it!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Although a bit too short, James Webb Young succeeds in clarifying the creative process with common wisdom. It will be helpful for almost anyone, but especially to those in the creative field.

Personally I have been using the same thought process for a couple of years now, but without paying the appropriate attention to detail in every single step of it.

Overall an easy to digest recommended reading.

Savvas S.

If you want to cut to the chase about how to be more creative, this is the book for you. Young breaks the creative act into its basic points in as straighforward a fashion as possible. It is a very short book, which can be digested in probably 20 minutes or less, but leaves you with all you need to know to get started. The book has no creativity activities or exercises like other books of its kind, but focuses instead on the main principles and basic methods for producing creative ideas. This is the book to begin with if you aspire to more creative production in your life.

......that's all it takes to learn how to come up with new & creative ideas, time after time. As Young says, the idea & the technique itself are so plain & logically simple that you may even miss it; despite the fact that the book is only some 48 pages long. It's easy to read & in your haste to learn "the secret" you may finish the book too quickly. Some thoughtful reading is required, so please don't dismiss the book because of its apparent brevity.

The fact that the book has survived successfully for over 40 years in print is testament to Young unique (but not new) teaching.

Although Young does not refer to it, I am reminded of many writers & books that go into great detail explaining the "science of the mind" & the wonderful way the brain [or mind] works & how it can be used to spawn new ideas & create solutions to problems. Sometimes referred to Mental Science, its philosophy & teachings go back thousands of years & weren't fully recognised until around the time of the 1900's.

If after reading this you wish to develop & research this technique further, I would highly recommend Emmet Fox's "Power Through Constructive Thinking".

Don't let this little book fool you. Although it has only 48 pages, the brisk contents are packed with powerful stuff.

According to the publisher, the ideas in the book were first presented to advertising students in 1939 & then published in 1965 - thus having stood the test of time. More importantly, the author, James Webb Young, was a driving force behind the creation of the modern advertising industry, and is one of advertising's most honored educators & practitioners.

As the title suggests, the author outlines a simple, easy-to-use five-step approach to idea generation. He also explores the importance of making idea generation a vital part of everything you do.

What I really like about this book is the author's principal premise: Ideas are just novel combinations of old elements, & we must keep thinking about them, which give order to new experiences!

I strongly recommend you to buy & read it. It will definitely, despite its brevity, coach you to become a better problem solver & a more creative thinker. Best of all, you will also gain a valuable perspective that will enable you to jump start your team's creative juices at work!

I run an ad agency. This book was handed to me. I read it in an hour. I'm handing it to my creative director in the morning so he can spend an hour with it and hand it to every one in our creative department. It's that kind of book.

I am not an advertising professional but in the profession of scientific research. Yet this book (which was written in the 1940s for advertising people) is just as relevant to my work as it is to anyone else who is a knowledge worker. This little book is one of the simplest summaries of commonsense---and articulating common sense is this book's greatest virtue. The book lays out a five step process for generating novel and not-so-novel ideas, articulating them, and giving them a life of their own. There are no examples, no case studies, just crisply articulated common-sense that you can put to immediate use. Everything that he says is stuff that you likely already know, so this is not one of those books that talks the lofty talk about "retraining your mind" and such obscure, undoable things. The idea in this book that most resonated with me was his comment that novel ideas are simply unusual connections among things that already exist and you might already know. The book takes about an hour to read from cover to cover (and I'm not even a fast reader).

Although Mr. Bernbach probably never intended this book for consumers like me in the scientific research profession, I'd bet my money that this little gem might be just as "duh" or "aha"-evoking to people in any other knowledge-intensive line of white-collar work. The only note of caution: This book was originally written in the 1940s and the gender bias ("the creative man," "he") is pervasive throughout its 48 pages.

If you are in a profession where your "wealth" is measured in intellectual output, this is some of the best seven dollars you can invest in your education. Highly recommended for anyone whose profession requires novelty, new ideas, and creativity. Buy---don't borrow--read, reread, and dog ear this little gem!

Young's idea producing technique is easy to learn and most importantly - effective. Creative ideas are key to winning new biz and retaining current accounts.

As a Senior Account Exec I live by creatively meeting my customer's needs and the technique in Young's book has added real value.

Another book I enjoyed is - The Sales Adventure Guide.

I picked up a copy at the San Jose, CA Airport and read it on my 1-hour flight. The Sales Adventure Guide is full or real world business experience that will guide the reader/professional through all types of business situations - and there's no rah-rah to it.

Read these two and thrive!

Young's idea producing technique is easy to learn and most importantly - effective. Creative ideas are key to winning new biz and retaining current accounts.

As a Senior Account Exec I live by creatively meeting my customer's needs and the technique in Young's book has added real value.

Another book I enjoyed is - The Sales Adventure Guide.

I picked up a copy at the San Jose, CA Airport and read it on my 1-hour flight. The Sales Adventure Guide is full or real world business experience that will guide the reader/professional through all types of business situations - and there's no rah-rah to it.

Read these two and thrive!

As I acknowledged in my latest book, "IdeaSpotting," James Webb Young wrote one of the most helpful books about creative thinking in the least number of words -- and "A Technique for Producing Ideas" is the book! Young trimmed away the fat and kept the muscle. Truly a classic.

Is a simple and short book you can visit very often to organize your creative thinking process every time you feel you have no clear direction.

I have a small collection of books that I consider "private stock". These are books that I never lend and I read over and over. This book is a private stock favorite. James Young has created one of the best books I have ever read on the process of creative thinking. The technique is simple and it works. I have applied this technique to a variety of situations when I needed "outside the box" solutions and it has never failed me. "A Technique for Producing Ideas" is an extraordinary book. It is a book that will make you wonder about the power of the mind and the nature of consciousness itself.

The process Young outlines is the clearest, most direct approach to producing big ideas. Young was a creative director at one of the most creative agencies, Doyle Dane Bernbach, during their most creative period (ie. Volkswagen Beetle, Polaroid and American Tourister.)

I bought a copy for everyone on my staff!

A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Young is a concise quick read. I found it to be memorable.
Some reads can be overwhelming with too much imformation , this was not the case with A Technique for Producing Ideas.
It's one of those books that you want to re-read, and being under 50 pages make it painless to do.
But don't take my word for it read it yourself.

I first read A Technique for Producing Ideas 20 years ago. Webb explains simply, effectively, and with brevity how "creativity" happens in our minds. You will develop "habits of the mind" that will stay with you for life. Really.

Anyone can be creative and everyone should read this book. It's not just for advertising people--anyone who creates (scientists, engineers, businesspeople, etc.) will become smarter and more creative.

Creating idea must be the most difficult part not
only in great invention but also in business or daily
life.
This book offers us simple principles of
the way to creat idea step by step.
I thought that I could do it, it completely
makes sense when I read it long
time ago. It was the same opinion which I have
when I read it this time. It is clear that by implementing
the principles I can make progress to achievement even if I do
not hit upon idea immediately.
Then, all I need to do is "just do it". Whether
you can start gathering information or not would be
the watershed of utilizing this book.

How to Get Ideas and other books on the subject of creative thinking are mainly just elaborations on the core thoughts laid down by James Webb Young. This is a classic read; short, pointed, and truthful. If you are in the business, you will find your hunches confirmed in simple, memorable language. The other books on the subject are very rah-rah; this book just tells it like it is. Not a self-help book, more like an instruction manual for your brain.

without giving too much away, the "technique" is so darn commonsensical you will no doubt whack yourself on the head at the simplicity of it all

i have tried his technique and shared it with close friends and it has become (so far) a fail proof way of striking creative oil. won us a fair amount of new business.

another plus is the book so small and concise it fits in most purses and can be read cover-to-cover during your morning latte.

The contents' probably great, but what happened to the cover of the book? Did Young & Bernbach over-squeezed their "creativities" and left the cover of this book out cold? Wake up guys...bright yellow is a definite NO-NO for a book cover...leave the "neons" for Las Vegas...!!

Very often I notice that the execution of an ad is translated as "Creativity." James Webb Young reminds us in his small book that ideas are the soul of any good ad. This book is a critical tool for any teacher who wishes to instruct his or her students in the same principle.

spend 2 hours to read the book and enjoy your life-time in creative journey. james webb young defines creative into 5 processes, which is the core idea behind all things