Conversation Matters
Author: Peter Shaw
Price: £8.99
Pages: 186
Publisher: Continuum
ISBN: 0 8264 8147 7
This book describes the importance of conversation in our everyday lives, and uses sections from the bible and the teachings of Jesus to illustrate this. The author also draws on extracts from other writers and anecdotal evidence from his own life.
The book discusses the subject of ‘conversation’ in its most general sense, and therefore has limited relevance as a reference book for use within a working environment, where many conversations (other than the ones by the coffee machine) are directed towards specific topics, have a clear agenda and are convergent rather than divergent in nature.
There is a notes section at the back of the book designed to help people facilitate small group discussions based on the seven types of conversation illustrated in the book. But this only contributes to the feel of it being more like a comprehensive guide for a Sunday school teacher, rather than a helpful reference book for use within a commercial environment.
Even as a book of general interest, this rather cosy offering failed to stimulate the intellect or provide many interesting insights. I would question whether the long bible quotes add a great deal, unless they have particular resonance with the reader’s beliefs. This aside, the tedious details of the author’s life, coupled with the self-indulgent name-dropping (Cardinal Basil Hume, Tony Blair and, last but not least, the Queen, to name a few) result in an uninspiring and, at times, irritating and wearying read.
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Useful? 1 star
Well-written? 3 stars
Practical? 1 star
Inspirational? 1 star
Value for money? 2 stars
Overall 2 stars
Reviewed by Corinne Goddard, HR manager, Co-operative Financial Services
