Formula: Start with historical anecdote, preferably drawing on the early Industrial era. Then, segue (via drawn parallels) into a commentary on a current event appearing on the front page of the Times business section. Generalize into a thesis which is then tested with selective present-day anecdotes across business disciplines. Finally, suggest how economic policy and business behavior should adjust to embrace Surowiecki’s thesis as an action-item “takeaway.”

This formula gets his points across alright, but I wonder if any of you other readers out there are getting a bit chafed by his near-singsong plugin prose.

I’d be curious to hear how well this book reads, specifically if Surowiecki manages to mix up his style enough here to avoid monotony across all 300-odd pages.

Regarding the matter-antimatter concern, you could always have Amazon split up the order into two separate shipments. Or at least have them sandwich a copy of Fathers and Sons between the two titles. With all that Russian nihlism in close proximity, the two books would shrug the other off and go “ehhh…”

Just watch out for spilt vodka; it tends to dissolve offset ink.