Rating: 
Summary: Very helpful
Review: Anyone who relies on sharing ideas with colleagues, clients or staff should read a book like this. But hardly any of use do.It's a deceptively short book at a couple of hundred pages, but very economically written - Minto practices what she preaches. Excellent use of worked examples, case studies and diagrams. I've found that communicating complex ideas to others is now much easier, and related to this (of course) is the improved clarity and structure of my own thinking. Pity about the price, but worth it.
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Summary: The opportunity cost of not reading this book is staggering.
Review: Arguably one of the best modern primers on logic in writing and logic in thinking. For my generation--a generation that sadly did not "learn to walk" under the exacting and disciplined tutelage of Aristotle and Decartes--this book delivers admirably. Although still somewhat undiscovered by the mass market, many consulting firms have long relied on Minto's book to train new recruits. But one must be clear: This is not a fluffy "self help" or "business" book; the reader will profit not from its perusal but rather from careful study and application of its principles.
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Summary: A Higher Level of Business Communication
Review: Barbara Minto has developed a revolutionary method of logical thinking, organization and communication of information. It takes proposals and presentations to a higher level of intellectal rigor and business communication. The precision and conciseness engendered by The Minto Principle is particularly effective for top management presentations. As a former Chairman of the Board of the American Management Association, I have encountered a number of top executives for whom this system made a significant difference. The careful reading and perserverance required by the Minto Principle creates a chain of logic that enhances the value of your ideas and allows you to think and communicate in a completely new way.
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Summary: Getting the message accross by making the thinking clear
Review: Barbara Minto has written a very solid reference with a clear focus on how to present your ideas in a way, which will allow others to follow your thinking. The book is mainly directed towards those who write about complex issues or prepare important decision papers (MBA's, lawyers, etc.). However, many, many people could improve their writing markedly by picking up on Minto's ideas. The book itself is very focused. There are two main sections: a) how to focus on core issues and b) how to best organise your ideas for others to understand. Even though the writing is clear and the examples are excellent it is not an easy book to master. You have read it, try it, read it, try it, etc. Still, you will see improvements from day one. The sections are excellent in every aspect, but some readers may find they are still missing some bits and pieces on the side. I at least felt it was very useful to know how to combine the Pyramid Principle with other high-end writing methods. Like when Barbara Mint in one sentence (correctly) warns against bloating out with very controversial ideas at once - the reader either has to take her word for it - or know some basics about storytelling. On the other hand it helps keep the book short. I teach communications to senior professionals and can confidently say, that the value added of improving your writing form is much higher than improving your writing style. This is what this book is all about. So, if you write a lot of reports, memo's, proposals etc. Minto may help improve your writing improve by leaps - even when you're good already!
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Summary: Provides an unequaled approach for thinking & writing
Review: Barbara's approach and techniques are an essential for even the most seasoned of executives. With the time demands on everybody the spoils will go to those effective communicators who are logical & clear in their thinking as well as succinct & to the point in their writing. After this approach is embraced you'll never need to fear that your message was illogical or unclear.
Rating: 
Summary: No substitute for a logic text, and not always right
Review: I am a bit baffled by the high-ranking reviews and lavish praise given to this book. While it certainly presents a sound approach to clear writing, there is nothing "revolutionary" about it. I suspect that people who think so never had a good English teacher nor an introductory logic course. In fact, its coverage of logic (despite the impression its title might give) is really quite superficial. If you're thinking about getting this book to learn about "logic in thinking," you would be much better served by something like Irving Copi's _Introduction to Logic_. The value of this book is that it succinctly applies a little dose of logic to the problem of how to write clearly. If that's all you're interested in, then this book's for you. A final comment. This book is based on what I believe to be a false premise. In the beginning of Part I, the author asserts that "the mind automatically sorts information into...pyramidal groupings" and that information "is easier to comprehend if it arrives presorted into its pyramid." From this she concludes that "every written document should be deliberately structured to form a pyramid of ideas." Well, maybe. The problem, I think, is with her first premise. Does the mind *really* group information into pyramids? In short or straightforward documents, this is probably so. But with longer or much more complicated documents, I doubt it. Take a really serious document like Microsoft's _Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solution Architectures_ -- over 700 pages including the index. The writing in this book uses something akin to Minto's pyramidal groupings part of the time. But these are its weakest moments. What makes the book come to life is its presentation of a running story, told in story form, of a group of people implementing the Microsoft Solution Framework. This, then, is a counter-example to Minto's thesis: *not* every document should be structured like a pyramid of ideas. Why? Because the mind does *not* always group information into pyramids, and to think so is a gross oversimplification. What I'm saying is this: Take Minto's writing advice for what it's worth (which is a lot), but don't follow it blindly when you face a real-world business communications problem. This is not the be-all and end-all communications solution it touts itself to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommend to Marketing Student
Review: I am a final year student who major in Marketing of City University of Hong Kong. After I have read this book, I would like to recommend to other marketing students. In my university life, I need to deliver many presentations and reports. This book give a very clear structure to teach me how to write a good report and attract my audience with the excellent presentation skills. This book divide into 4 parts. Writing, thinking, problem solving and presentation. For writing, we can use a pyramid structure with either vertical or horizontal relationship. For thinking, summarize the idea is very important to give a clear message to your audience. For problem solving, just like our project, we should not waste the time and data due to wrong direction and after that we can use logic tree to choose among alternative. For presentation, use more graphic and visual aids, colourful image and with readable size. This books is quite good that if you are interested in the skill of thinking, writing, problem solving and especially presentation.
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Summary: Highly recommend to Marketing Student
Review: I am a student who major in Marketing of City University of Hong Kong. After I have read this book, I would like to recommend to other marketing students. In my university life, I need to deliver many presentations and reports. This book give a very clear structure to teach me how to write a good report and attract my audience with the excellent presentation skills. This book divide into 4 parts. Writing, thinking, problem solving and presentation. For writing, we can use a pyramid structure with either vertical or horizontal relationship. For thinking, summarize the idea is very important to give a clear message to your audience. For problem solving, just like our project, we should not waste the time and data due to wrong direction and after that we can use logic tree to choose among alternative. For presentation, use more graphic and visual aids, colourful image and with readable size. This books is quite good that if you are interested in the skill of thinking, writing, problem solving and especially presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Germination of new thought patterns. Wow!
Review: I have been blown away by the effect this book has had not only on my writing and presentation development, but the structure of my thinking. Minto's insistence on specific, definite patterns of logical analysis, while taking some effort to grasp, leads to analysis that is deeper, more penetrating and more complete than typical fuzzyheaded thinking & writing. Example: Where before I might have thought I was finished with a logical argument, Minto gives me tools for realizing that not only is my argument incomplete, but showing which direction to go to fill it in, and how to analyze it to see if it is really a proper logical framework. There are lot of examples to work through, and they deserve your repeat attention. I am keeping the book handy until I fully grok the whole thing; I continue to take a look at specific chapters and examples as I am writing, performing analyses and developing diagnostic frameworks (I am an Internet strategy consultant for a large Internet consulting firm). Although Ernst & Young and McKinsey use this book extensively, and I noticed it is one of the top reads in the Booz-Allen purchase circle, I think it has far wider applicability than for consultants. Anyone who has to think, present or write clearly about a domain of knowledge will benefit enormously from an understanding of the principals elucidated by Minto. Finally, for those who are Greg Bear fans, I feel I am finally getting a glimpse of what 'talsit' might mean (hint: Read the Eon series to see what I mean. It's a great series, and he's a great writer.)
Rating:
Summary: Minto Pyramid Principle
Review: I have organised a course given by Barbara for my direct reports at a major US computer company. The course reviews were all above 90%. From a selfish viewpoint, the major benefit was not having to plough through badly written memos, documents or presentations that failed to make any point clearly or concisely. From an organisational viewpoint, my staff learnt how to save huge amounts of time developing documents and presentations, which were also measurably more effective.
I have made this book a standard present to anyone I know who writes or makes presentations during the course of their lives. Minto'ised documents written by graduate and PhD students, lawyers, marketeers, sales-people, entrepreneurs, etc. are both shorter and much better at conveying their message. In the meanwhile, their authors save considerable time in getting to a final winning version.
Buy it, understand it and use it for future reference. The world belongs to people who can communicate their ideas effectively.
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