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Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder with Nancy Ostrander. Superlearning 2000. New York: Delacorte Press, 1994, 436 pages, $21.95.
Reviewed by Phyllis M. Herrin, Personnel Consulting Group, Troy, MI.
I am sure that most of you, as I do, put new boob into categories: "Must read," "Should read," "Read when (and if) I have time," and so forth. Ostrander and Schroeder's Superlearning 2000 does not fit into any of these categories. This is a book without a home. After several hundred pages of reading, I still am not sure about the theme of the book. Are the authors trying to explain what is meant by the term "superlearning" or "superlearning 2000"? Are they attempting to provide support for the use of a motley group of cognitive techniques (e.g., visualization, biofeedback, memorization, etc.) some of which have not withstood the test of empirical research? Are they trying to redefine learning, or, are they just tooting their own horns? I must admit, I don't know the answer.
The Preface, "What is Superlearning?" sheds little light on the answer to any of the above questions. It promises a "stress-free mindbody state," a "paced, rhythmic" way for "absorbing information," and so forth. After completing the book I do not find clear connections between what is promised in the Preface and what is written in the text itself. Although it is true that the book is full of vivid illustrations of how music and visualization (either together or separately) can...