Scan Artist
How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked

Those of us who grew up in the fifties and sixties will remember Sputnik and the intense fear that permeated the American science and education communities. America could not be permitted to fall behind in the space or arms race and to stay ahead education was to be reformed and supported.  It was th......more

Back in the late 1970's my private school in Westchester Cty, NY invited a representative from this company to give a sales pitch. Even as a child, this felt not right. It was unusual for the nuns to allow such a presentation to the students. They must have really believed in the program. I don't re......more

Scan Artist: How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked by Marcia Biederman is a highly recommended examination of the life of Evelyn Wood and her Reading Dynamics program. As a fan of Saturday Night Live, I saw the hilarious third season mock commercial on 11/12/77 about the "Evel......more

If you are from the the United States, and are on the north side or so of 60, you can remember when the advertising for Evelyn Wood and her "Reading Dynamics" approach to consuming print was omnipresent. I say consuming because the biggest participants in the programs marketed under Wood's name were......more

This book has some merits as a reconstruction of a now largely defunct business, that of speed-reading. (I say "largely" defunct, because a quick search showed me that there are plenty of youtube videos claiming to teach speed reading, so the idea still has its attractions.) And I was genuinely inte......more