Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and well written
Review: The author has a nice writing style and interesting theory on cultural evolution that would have major implications if one accepted it wholeheartedly. (Some complex issues seem to be oversimplified)Particularly meaningful are the political uses of memetics, though less space is devoted to it than to discussions about sexual roles and motives. Just when it's getting interesting, this book seems to abruptly end. There is an extensive bibliography, however for further research on memetics.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well written
Review: The author has a nice writing style and interesting theory on cultural evolution that would have major implications if one accepted it wholeheartedly. (Some complex issues seem to be oversimplified) Particularly meaningful are the political uses of memetics, though less space is devoted to it than to discussions about sexual roles and motives. Just when it's getting interesting, this book seems to abruptly end. There is an extensive bibliography, however for further research on memetics.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Memetics intro for the average Joe
Review: This book is a ground-breaker. Yeah, okay it's written at a fairly simple level, but that's one of the reasons it's so effective! In recent years, a series called [Whatever] For Dummies has become wildly popular (along with another, [Whatever] for the Complete Idiot). Of course, these books are for neither "dummies" nor "idiots", but rather for the common guy/gal, the "average Joe", the lay person who wants to get the gist of a topic, a working knowledge, without having to wade through a bunch of complicated extraneous matter to get to the heart of the subject, and get a grasp of it, a good working knowledge that will be USEFUL. And this is exactly what Richard Brodie has done. _Virus of the Mind_ could be retitled "Memetics for Dummies" and probably sell tons more books (cuz hey, the 'for Dummies' buzzword is a pretty successful meme, eh?). I've read several reviews here where 'intellectuals' were slamming the book, cuz maybe it's "not technically correct" about some aspects (in their opinions) of memetics, or it's "written at a high school level", or it uses "cute cartoons" to get some points across. Hey, that's what makes it accessible to so many more people than some of the "loftier tomes". This book is what will (has?) spread the Memetics mind virus throughout the "masses", like a cold spreading through a crowded room!! Hurrah for Richard Brodie.
Rating:
Summary: Kobolds Laying the Smackdown at Burgermaster
Review: This book is the ultimate Memetics Manual, the first is the best. It gives you specific details on monsters. Being that I only have 2 hit points, I have to pick my monsters carefully. Once, while at Burgermaster, a kolbold threw a burger at me with his sling. He rolled a 20, a critical hit, and the burger did 2x the normal damage, knocking me out for 2 hp! As I lay unconcious, a gelatinous cube slowly slimed my burger and fries up. When I came to, I saw him slowly digesting my burger and fries and I exclaimed "How rude!" But the Gelatinous cube just rumbled his gelationous bulbous stomach at me. I would have kicked it's ass, but luckily the Monster Manual told me that would've been a bad idea to use my hands. So instead I used my bic lighter and he apologized for eating my combo #1.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book now!
Review: This is an incredible book! It's a fascinating subject which offers a new perspective into the way we think and the propagation of ideas. Regardless of reality, if we are convinced that an idea is true, our behavior reflects that belief. We are only able to change our behavior and control our own destiny by understanding why we believe and how others convince us. I've never read anything else that gave me such a clear vision of the power in ideas - not to mention advertising! Richard Brodie has a conversational style of writing that I particularly enjoy. I've always been frustrated by authors who find it necessary to weigh down their writing with a lot of dry and heavy prose. Richard does a great job of explaining some fairly complex and little known ideas in clear, simple language. Science doesn't have to be boring. Apparently, when an author loves his subject, it can even be a lot of fun. That's the case with this book. The author doesn't try to pretend that he invented the idea of the meme. We are taken along on his quest for enlightenment about this mysterious concept. Once we gain a general understanding of the meme, he supplies further information into its character. We learn how it can be used against us, and how we can use the meme to our own advantage as well. This book opened my eyes to the concept of a very influential method of communication. It's a fascinating topic written in a style that is fun, easy, and quick to read. It gets my top rating as a must read. Don't wait. This is a technique you won't want to be the last to know!
Rating: 
Summary: Forget this product . Don't u have better things to do?
Review: This product was a waste of the obvious. The book is joke. How are you going to teach using the "adventures of eggbert" and making example which are irrelevant to your point? Plus most of it is theory and very opinionated. Very opionated. He himself is infected with the "money" meme. He constantly shamelessly promotes his book "getting past okay". The book was designed for a person with a reading level below average. Unless you like to read inaccurate outdated information don't waste your money. I would suggest to u don't buy this book . Try getting another book. One actually written with someone with a PHD in that department , not by a second rate hack who got removed from micosoft. After all wat does a programmer really know about pyscology compared to a PHD pyscology proffesor like David J. Liberman?
Rating:
Summary: Easy-to-read, light-weight intro. to memetics
Review: Virus of the Mind wants to piggyback on Richard Dawkins' concept of the meme but it is done at a very superficial level. The author is probably targetting the consumer of pulp science and, from that viewpoint, he does an OK job. The worse side of this book is that there is little effort to provide hard evidence on its theories. (What's Richard Brodie's background on genetic evolution or biology!?) If you like science in general and want something really light to read during summer by the swimming pool, then this book is alright. However, readers wanting to have a better understanding of memetics are better off by checking Susan Blackmore.
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