Only three chapters are both interesting and useful, but they all slow down when the author drags us through stories that could have been condensed into a few sentences or a couple paragraphs. Frustrating.
The science is interesting, but shallowly covered. Basically the book is one big series of stories about how people changed habits to succeed in life.
If you are looking for help yourself in this area, look elsewhere. The author offers a small bit of useful advice:
Basically, you look for the cues/triggers that are starting the routine/habit that you are not happy with but cannot seem to stop. Then you determine what is the reward you are getting. Are you eating the candy because of low blood sugar or because you eat with friends and need a chat or because you are nervous and it calms you, etc.?
Discovering the triggers and rewards takes time and introspection--all left up to you. The book cannot help you there.
But once you do, you change the routine/habit by force of will every time you encounter the cue/trigger, making sure that the reward is the same. The cue and reward must be the same. So, instead of eating candy, you just go chat with friends on purpose, or you eat a better form of food to satisfy low blood sugar, or whatever.
When you feel like engaging in the "bad" habit, ask yourself what you get out of the habit beyond the superficial and obvious. Then replace that habit with a new one you desire to do that gives you the same type of reward/outcome/feeling. Do this over and over until it becomes . . . a habit.
So, there you go. Saved you money. Unless you enjoy random success stories. Then the book is a good read for you.
I wish I had not purchased this book, but you live and learn.
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