image of gorilla holding newspaper book title and author names

Daily News & Analysis India (review by Venkatesan Vembu for Mumbai's second largest newspaper) - January 30, 2011 (full review)
"With breezy anecdotal narratives that make accessible the scientific rigour that underlie them, this book will help you fathom the workings of your mind, and avoid its pitfalls that lead you astray. It will equip you to look for the "invisible gorillas" in your daily life."
Psychotherapy Networker (review by Diana Cole) - January 6, 2011 (full review)
"Although their real strengths lie in their solid reporting on the state of the intuitive mind as currently understood by cognitive researchers, they're correctives to the overly positive view of the benefits of going with your gut that many readers took away from Blink."
Audiofile Magazine (review of audiobook version) - January 6, 2011 (full review)
"Helped immensely by near-perfect production, this is a stimulating educational experience for anyone."
The Hindu (review by Anvar Ali Khan - January 1, 2011 (full review)
"The Invisible Gorilla is a thoughtful and engaging book that would probably find a place on your bookshelf, somewhere in between Freakonomics and The Wisdom of Crowds."
Jabberwork (review by Jai Arjun Singh - December 21 (full review)
"The Invisible Gorilla is an entertaining work."
Eventualism (review by Mike Vardy - November 30 (full review)
"a thought-provoking and well-written book."
PoliceOne.com - November 24 (full review)
"Written for a lay audience by two of the nation's leading cognitive psychologists, Dr. Christopher Chabris and Dr. Daniel Simons, The Invisible Gorilla is 'a lively tour of the brain's blind spots' that has profound implications for law enforcement and the people who investigate and judge uses of force and other police behavior."
School Library Journal (review by Priscille Dando) - November 6 (full review)
"What separates this from other psychology books is the engaging and accessible writing style."
Brain Fluff (review by Sarah Higbee) - November 3 (full review)
"the writing style is clear and accessible, while the subject matter is absolutely riveting"
Dallas Examiner (review by Robert Morris) - October 28 (full review)
"...should be re-read at least once if not more. Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons will generously reward the careful reader."
Econolog (review by Bryan Caplan) - October 11 (full review)
"Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons is the latest attempt to popularize academic cognitive psychology - and probably the best book of its type."
The Statesman (India) - October 7 (full review)
"Not just witty and engaging but also insightful, The Invisible Gorilla is a[n] astonishing and unique book."
The Atheologian (review by Mark Vuletic) - October 6 (full review)
"The book is one of a long line I have read which describe how vast the difference is between the way our minds function, and the way we think they function...The Invisible Gorilla is, in my humble estimation, the best book of the lot."
In Search for More (review by Dale Sadler) - October 3 (full review)
"Chabris and Simons make a tremendous case for the fallibility of our everyday thought processes and how common assumptions can be dreadfully wrong."
Inside Higher Ed (review by Joshua Kim) - September 30 (full review)
"If you liked the following books [A list of cognitive psych and behavioral economics books about the mind] I'm sure you will greatly enjoy The Invisible Gorilla (which, by the way, is well above average in the quality of its writing)."
Whitney Gazette (review by Phil Bloomfield) - September 30 (full review)
"This is an interesting and amusing book that made me far less sure about the way that I think."
Discover Magazine Blogs (review by Razib Khan) - September 21 (full review)
"Chabris and Simons reveal that the emperor of intuition often has no clothes, but they give us hope because reflective cognitive processes have a track record of building upon themselves, and extending into directions which have allowed us to construct the material civilization we see all around us."
Labgrab - September 14 (full review)
"The Invisible Gorilla was a jaunt around the mind that made me laugh at myself, nod my head in agreement, and quote studies and statistics to friends until they made me change the subject."
Psychology Today (review by James Kaufman) - September 9 (full review)
"A must read. This is an amazing book...It is quite rare that I read a psychology book aimed at laypeople and then push it on people."
Trends in Cognitive Sciences (review by René Marois) - September 9 (website | pdf)
"A lucid and engaging presentation of the illusions, or erroneous intuitions, that we hold about our mental capacities...the book manages to present a dizzying array of scientific information in such a concise and engaging way."
Science Magazine (review by Aude Oliva) - August 26 (website | pdf)
"With each chapter, the reader's self-awareness grows as previously neglected dimensions of our everyday experience are witnessed...By making us aware of the realm of everyday illusions, The Invisible Gorilla teaches us a lesson of cognitive modesty: think before you leap."
Bookworm Sez (review by Terri Schlichenmeyer) - August 22 (full review - nationally syndicated to many newspapers)
"The Invisible Gorilla is one of those books that doesn't, at face value, mean a thing to your business. But Chabris and Simons prove that it does."
Media Scrum (review by Victor Lee) - August 22 (full review)
"One of the most fascinating, if rather eye-opening books, I've read recently"
American Scientist (review by Ernest Davis) - August 12 (full review)
"The book, which is very entertaining and readable, is a pleasant mixture of experimental studies and anecdotal information."
The Thoughtful Animal (review by Jason Goldman) - August 1 (full review)
"If there is one book that every human should read, it is The Invisible Gorilla, by Chris Chabris and Dan Simons."
Business Life (British Airways) - August 1 (scanned pdf of full review)
"Book of the Month: In this brilliantly thought-provoking book, they expand their scope to look at a whole raft of 'everyday illusions.' The implications, in business, politics, and just about every area, are huge. This really is a book that everyone should ready. 10/10"
The Guardian (UK) (review by Steven Poole) - July 31 (full review)
"Popular books about our cognitive biases and perceptual limitations are thick on the ground these days, but this one is written by the scientists who conducted one of the most famous recent experiments in the field....It's all highly illuminating"
Waterloo Region Record (review by Susan Koswan) - July 30 (full review)
"In Chabris' and Simons' fascinating and well-researched book, you can read about startling and humbling examples of how we don't see what we don't expect to see, about the fallibility of memory, about our assumption that confidence implies knowledge and more."
The Joplin Globe (review by Linda Cannon) - July 30 (full review)
"I promise you that reading this book will affect how you view the world around you, like it or not, unless you are more able than most to deny what repeated experiments have proven to be true."
The Beautiful Brain (review by Ben Erlich) - July 13 (full review)
"If you enjoyed Freakonomics and any of Malcolm Gladwell's books--though Mr. Gladwell is at times a direct target of the Gorilla's poop-flinging--you should pick up a copy of The Invisible Gorilla."
Time Magazine (review by John Cloud) - July 12 (full review)
"The book is firmly in the Malcolm Gladwell school: it uses anecdotes and social-psychology data to spin the plain world you know into a wonderment of surprising new insights."
Champaign News-Gazette (review by Melissa Merli) - July 11 (available only in print)
Publishers Weekly (Web Exclusive) - July 9 (full review)
"Through a host of studies, anecdotes, and logic, the authors debunk conventional wisdom about the workings of the mind and what "experts" really know (or don't)."
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (review by Catherine Mallette) - July 8 (full review + Q&A)
"a persuasive, surprising and even amusing book that will have you rethinking the way you think you see the world and wondering just why the heck you've ever let yourself believe you were so much better at functioning than you really are."
Philadelphia Daily News (review by Stan Hochman) - July 8 (full review)
"a terrific book for anyone who wonders how the mind works, for anyone who has ever talked on a cell phone while driving, or cussed at some careless driver talking on a cell phone, for anyone who wonders about the validity of eyewitness testimony in criminal cases, for anyone who thinks vaccinations cause autism, for anyone who thinks listening to Mozart makes your baby smarter, and for anyone who wonders how half the people watching a video of six kids tossing two basketballs could miss the gorilla that wanders into the action."
BishopBlog (review by Prof. Dorothy Bishop) - June 30 (full review)
Referring to the association of psychology with less-scientific pursuits, Dorothy Bishop claims that a good approach is to "reclaim the term psychology to refer to a serious scientific discipline by demonstrating how experimentation can illuminate mental processes and come up with both surprising and useful results. This book does just that, and it does so in an engaging and accessible style."
Nature, Brain, and Culture (review by Mark Changizi at Psychology Today) - June 29 (full review)
"Their book is an engaging romp through a variety of cognitive illusions, with the theme that our intuitions often fail us. The book is written so well it would make Gladwell envious (and maybe a wee bit angry), and yet we must remember that these are the scientists themselves discussing their own discoveries and experiments. They have somehow mastered both the science and its communication."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (review by Jane Henderson) - June 25 (full review)
"The Invisible Gorilla explains in easy-to-understand terms how our brains make mistakes...paying attention and being skeptical of everyday assumptions might lead to better driving - or even derail the next seductive Ponzi scheme."
A Life Less Sweet - June 24 (full review)
"This book is not a textbook, but rather an intriguing and entertaining exploration of how the mind does (or doesn't) work through anecdotes that illustrate scientific studies."
New Scientist (review by Michael Bond) - June 23 (full review)
"Chabris and Simons use science and anecdotal evidence so effectively in explaining all this that three days after reading their book I feel confident in saying it has changed my life. I just hope I'm not deluding myself."
The Free Lance-Star, Fredricksburg, VA (review by Kurt Rabin) - June 20 (full review)
"They didn't make psych texts like "The Invisible Gorilla," by professors Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, when I was in college. If they had, I wouldn't have sought solace in the novels of Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King."
Scientific American 60-second-podcast (review by Christie Nicholson) - June 19 (full review, podcast)
"We profoundly overestimate our ability to see things as they are. As the physicist Richard Feynman famously said: The first principle is you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
New York Times Editor's Choice - June 13 (full review)
The Invisible Gorilla was named a New York Times Editor's Choice: "An exploration of human illusions related to perception, memory and knowledge, with vivid examples of the problems they cause."
Wall Street Journal (review by David Shaywitz) - June 11 (full review)
"As a thoughtful introduction to a captivating discipline, the book succeeds wonderfully...... readers who heed the admonitions of Chabris and Simons may be rewarded with a clearer view of the world."
New York Times (review by Paul Bloom) - June 6 (full review)
"Engaging and humane...The invisible gorilla just might teach us to be more humble, understanding and forgiving."
El Paso Times (review by Ruth Taber) - June 5 (full review)
"Thought-provoking, entertaining, educational and sobering, this book is a must read for those honest enough to realize they don't or can't, know it all."
Business World (issue dated June 13) - June 5 (full review)
"Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, both psychologists, deconstruct the functioning of illusions in everyday life and our sheer ignorance about them."
Seed Magazine (Books to Read -- editor recommendations) - June 1 (full review)
"fascinating experiments and well-chosen examples...these illusions constantly influence the choices we make, sometimes with lives in the balance."
Booklist (review by Carl Hays) - June 1 (full review)
[an] "engaging treatise on how our intuitions often lead us astray...illustrated with eye-opening, often humorous examples."
Minneapolis Star Tribue (review by Jack El-Hai) - May 29 (full review)
"The Invisible Gorilla is a humbling journey into the fallibility of our thinking ... Chabris and Simons deliver a persuasive warning that intuition often fails us ... it should be required for anyone convinced of the truth of such intuitive beliefs as the accuracy of eyewitness accounts of important events, the cause-and-effect relationship between vaccinations and autism, and the role of Mozart's music in making babies smarter."
Associated Press (review by Rasha Madkour) - May 24 (full review)
"The authors seek to inspire doubt in the mind's ability - and they absolutely succeed...The Invisible Gorilla is filled with fascinating and revealing experiments that call into question assumptions we have about our mental abilities and those of others...a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand how the mind works."
Newsweek (review by Mary Carmichael) - May 21 (full review)
"People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like, and there are a lot of people who like this sort of thing ... Read this and you'll never trust a memoir again."
Psychology Today (review by Avigail Gordon) - May 1
"If the authors make you second-guess yourself 10 times today, they've done their job."
Amazon.com (featured review by Tom Vanderbilt) - April 20 (full review at Amazon.com)
"Writing with authority, clarity, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Simons and Chabris explore why these illusions persist--and, indeed, seem to multiply in the modern world--and how we might work to avoid them."
Library Journal (review by Melissa Mallon) - April 15 (full review)
"Full of humor and insight, this book is enlightening and entertaining ... Readers beware: your perception of everyday occurrences will be forever altered."
Kirkus Book Reviews - March 1 (full review)
"A fascinating look at little-known illusions that greatly affect our daily lives ... Their readable book offers surprising insights into just how clueless we are about how our minds work and how we experience the world ... Bound to have wide popular appeal."


OTHER REVIEWS, DISCUSSIONS, AND WEB FEATURES
Suite101 - January 28, 2011 (full review")
Sparks Open Library Project - January 1, 2011 (full review")
Mike Brotherton - December 21 (full review)
Mozuku Learning Etc. - November 22 (full review")
The Hindu - October 14 (by D. Murali) (detailed review and synopsis. "Imperative read.")
Piling on the books - August 25 (review of audiobook)
Victorial Klein - July 26 (full review)
Jay Balapa - July 21 (full review)
RY Viewpoint - July 16 (full review)
Skuds in Life (Sarah Keating)- July 13 (full review)
"better than Superfreakonomics and with a better premise than Blink or Outliers."
Get Anchored Blog - July 13 (full review)
The Post - Ireland (Sarah Keating)- July 11 (full review)
ScienceBase (David Bradley)- July 7 (full review)
Rosebud Reviews- July 6 (full review)
Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - July 5 (full review)
fiftybooksproject - July 5 (full review)
Nerdy Science Blog - June 25 (full review)
Gerald Guild Blog - June 25 (full post)
An essay explaining why stories and personal anecdotes are compelling that quotes extensively from The Invisible Gorilla.
Margaret Heffernan - June 24 (full post)
A blog post on Bnet linking change blindness and the illusion of memory, as discussed in The Invisible Gorilla, on the ability to spot the need for change in business.
Roger Dooley - June 24 (full post)
An essay linking the illusions of knowledge and confidence as discussed in The Invisible Gorilla to pundits and experts. This continues Dooley's earlier review of The Invisible Gorilla below.
Futurebuzz (review by Adam Singer - June 23 (full review)
A review of the Invisible Gorilla and application of the illusion of memory to other historical events.
Lou Wigdor at Wig & Pen - June 23 (full review)
A review of the Invisible Gorilla and application to marketing.
Elder Game - June 23 (full post)
A discussion of selective attention and The Invisible Gorilla, with application of the principles to video game design.
Neuromarketing (review by Roger Dooley) - June 21 (full review)
Science News (review by Bruce Bower) - June 18 (print date June 3, Volume 178, #1) (full review)
Beth's Book Reviews - June 17 (full review)
Skeptic's Dictionary - June 12 (full review)
A detailed and extensive review of The Invisible Gorilla targeted to skeptics and critical thinkers.
Horn Insights - May 21 (full review)
A review of The Invisible Gorilla and application to issues of interest to musicians.