Rating: 
Summary: "Copy that.."
Review: My abstract reasoning ability has never really had enough power to grasp and organise some of the complex proposals and reports that I have to write for my clients. Every time that I've been prepared to admit the fact and consult this book it has never failed me - and it seems the clarity of my work is then so conspicuous that, as often as not, the client will congratulate me upon it. Thank you Barbara Minto !
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Summary: Why it's popular is more interesting
Review: My advice is: avoid this book. Although it has certain usefulness, it can actually undermine your ability to think and write effectively.1. As the reader from Los Angeles pointed out, the whole book is based on the premise that "the mind automatically sorts information into...pyramidal groupings" and that information "is easier to comprehend if it arrives presorted into its pyramid." However, the author didn't give any scientific evidence to support this claim. With some reading in the cognitive science field, my understanding is (more knowledgeable readers can correct me on this), how our mind works is so complicated that no one has actually figured it out. I will be surprised to see any cognitive scientist will assert that the only way our mind works with information is to automatically sort them into pyramidal groups. My personal experience is, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't and sometimes we just can't. When you force issues into pyramidal groupings when you shouldn't, the result can be non-effective and confusing. I think the fact that this book itself is hard to comprehend and its principle is difficult to apply, is a result of the author's artificial pyramidal grouping. 2. Even though pyramidal grouping can work well in some circumstances, the author's attempt to make it an all-comprehending principle forced her to make endless amendment in circumstances its usefulness is questionable. The end result is unnecessary complication of its application. This makes the book far less useful and practical than a basic writing or logic book. 3. Even if the premise of pyramidal grouping is true, even if you can actually apply the principle, it will not necessarily make you an effective communicator. As an owner of a small consulting firm, my experience is that, having your ideas UNDERSTOOD is a totally different thing from having your ideas ACCEPTED. You can make your case perfectly logic and clear, but that dose not necessarily mean people will interested in or accept it. The only way to effectively communicate with other people, is to actively engage their interests, speak/write from their pre-knowledge and perception. That means sometimes you will have to purposefully speak/write in a non-pyramidal way even when the issues can be perfectly organized into pyramidal groupings. Given the high ranking this book gets on this site, many people will certainly disagree with my review. However, I challenge those who gave this book high marks to enlist their ACTUAL improvements, such as more constructive ideas generated, higher acceptance rates of their work, etc, by actually USING this principle, and benchmark these results against those achieved by reading basic writing and logic advice book. That said, if you are reading this book in order to get ideas to improve your consulting practice, as I was, this book can be insightful if you look into WHY this whole "pyramidal grouping" thing can be so popular and get such high ranking. My feeling is, with its broad promise, seemingly logical and useful advice, occasional usefulness, it's kind like anti-impotent pill for the paralyzing intellectual problem of how to think and write effectively. I surely wish I could have been the author of such a pill. Geez, the reason I wrote such a length, negative review can well because I'm jealous.
Rating:
Summary: Really useful if you can master it
Review: Not so easy to learn & use in real-life. But it worth the effort because once you get used to that, you benefit it life-long on your writing & problem solving technique. The content is someties theoretical but there is good enough reason behind it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard-Rock Mining
Review: Seven years ago I reviewed this book, as follows:
It's your choice; build a rubble pile or a pyramid..., November 29, 1997
Ms. Minto's book is a classic example of a gem in the rough. Yes, it isn't visually impressive, and yes it is well worth using. Note that I said using, not reading. You won't realize the value of the methods Ms. Minto presents if you don't try them out; repeatedly.
My suggestion? Go to the chapters that contain examples first, and read them thoroughly. Then find a short report or memo you find particularly opaque, and read the book cover to cover, occasionally referring to your example. Finally, go back to those sections of The Pyramid Principle that apply to the example you found and start re-working it per Ms. Minto's methods.
When you're done, do it again, with another piece. Then re-read the book at least once a year. It's worth it.
Anyone can build a jumbled pile of stones. It takes time and practice to build an orderly structure that will stand on its own merits. The Pyramid Principle will help you become a verbal architect. I think it is well worth using!
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I stand by my previous reviewm with the following proviso:
There is value to find here, but you must be a hard-rock miner to get to it. This is a book that provides techniques to use, not just read. If you're not willing to practice, to swing your pick again and again until you strike paydirt, then go find something easier.
Rating:
Summary: GET THE 1996 EDITION, AVAILABLE ONLY FROM MINTO!
Review: The 1996 edition is a VERY significant upgrade/expansion of the 1987 edition, of which the English editions available on this site are all reprints. The English version of the 1996 edition is only available directly from Minto, http://www.barbaraminto.com/book.htm.
Rating:
Summary: Great information - price way too high
Review: The information provided in this book is wonderful for anyone having to do serious presentations and problem solving. It is dryly presented but worth putting into practice. The reason I didn't give it a 10 is the price
Rating:
Summary: A Breakthrough System for Thinking and Communication
Review: The Minto Principle is a breakthrough system of logic that underpins thinking, ideation, organization and communication. Once the reader has mastered The Minto Principle, you will be amazed by this new way of thinking in terms of adding substance to your ideas and leading your audience through a chain of logic that makes your conclusions almost inevitable. The precision and conciseness of the this system make it particularly effective in communication with top management. It is a business resource that can truly change the level of your thinking and add a whole new dimension to your communication skills. Barbara Minto is to be commended for creating a genuinely new and powerful system.
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Summary: An insightful framework
Review: The Minto Pyramid Principle is a powerful tool for enhancing the quality and impact of your writing. The book provides a system for both engaging the interest of your audiences and presenting your ideas to best advantage. The book brings to life a series of insightful techniques for developing clear and persuasive writing, illustrated with progressively more advanced examples. The result is a concrete framework for improving your writing. It provides you with tools for presenting your thinking in the most logically compelling way given your reader's interest, knowledge and needs. Like most other worthwhile endeavors, you get out of the Minto Pyramid Principle what you put into it. This book is not an instant fix, Minto stresses that the techniques require practice and time to learn. But the benefits of following the principle have been well worthwhile to our business; an increase in the impact and perceived value of our ideas, as well as a decrease in the time and effort of actually writing. This is a fantastic book for business people, academics, journalist or anyone who wants to engage their audience, clearly convey their ideas and see their ideas acted upon.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't work out the price per page
Review: The Pyramid Principle aims to introduce the reader to a better way of communication. Is it successful. Here's the answer.... Based on the premise of a 'pyramid structure' to organise thoughts the basic format introduced is:
Situation - what's the situation; Complication - what makes the situation less than the ideal and Answer - how we're going to fix it (and supporting evidence continuing down the pyramid structure.) If you feel a natural affinity with the above then it's probably because we all naturally tend to work through a linear cause-effect-response framework. The remainder of the book develops the above framework - including some rather poor choices for examples (GK Chesterton and pigs????). as the audience for this is likely to be more the business professional or college student the lack of research into more solid examples is frustrating and a poor effort from the editorial team behind the book. Will this book make your ideas 'jump off the page and into the reader's mind' as the author suggests? That depends on how logical your flow of thought already is. If you examine the proposed structure and look for it in literature, songs, advertsing, etc - you'll find the Minto model pretty much a standard format of our communication already. There would be no hesitation in recommending this book if you can find it at a reasonable price. I rummaged around a second hand bookstore and picked mine up for $12. 4 out of 5 based on that price. At a local price of $100 it's a book of greater tragedy than Hamlet. You just cannot find that kind of value in a book that's better summarised in several pages and well constructed examples than what's in this publication. Given that I read the third edition and the section on presenting your report still seems to suggest typographics better suited to the '70s is shameful.
Rating:
Summary: A great book but you should find a Minto Mentor to get value
Review: The Pyramid Principle is one of the few books that I have read that has fundamental changed the way I work. The concepts in the book can fundamentally change the way you communicate and think through issues and present ideas. This book and its concepts literaly turns everything you know about writing upside down. Interestingly enough, the book is not particularly well written and can be difficult to grasp. I strongly advise that, if possible, you find someone who practices Minto as a mentor to help you apply the content and concepts in the book. You will learn it better when you have someone tear down your work (using minto principles) in order to build a stronger communication. Here are some of the key ideas in the book to help you structure your thinking and communications. 1)What is the situation ? A statement that the audience agrees exists and will immediately recognize. 2) What is the complication? The event or condition that renders the situation no longer tenable or in other words "why the status quo will no longer stand" 3) The R1 describes what we have now. This helps set the scope of the arguement 4) The R2 descibes the world as it should be. This sets the scope of the solution. Good luck with the ideas in the book.
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