Preview
  • Brain Trust

  • 93 Top Scientists Reveal Lab-Tested Secrets to Surfing, Dating, Dieting, Gambling, Growing Man-Eating Plants, and More!
  • By: Garth Sundem
  • Narrated by: Garth Sundem
  • Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (243 ratings)

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Brain Trust

By: Garth Sundem
Narrated by: Garth Sundem
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Publisher's summary

Blind them...with science!

How much better would your life be if you had an army of Nobel Laureates, MacArthur "geniuses", and National Medal of Science winners whispering tips in your ear about your body language, or how to resist that impulse purchase you’ll regret tomorrow, or when to sell your car - or even helping you trick your spouse into doing the dishes?

With this mighty little audio tome, you can have the next best thing - because Brain Trust is packed with bite-sized scientific wisdom on our everyday challenges, hand-delivered to you direct from the galaxy’s biggest brains. Based entirely on interviews with an incredible lineup of luminaries from the fields of neuroscience, economics, anthropology, music, mathematics, and more, Brain Trust is full of cutting-edge science that’ll help you see the real world better - and smarter.

Discover:

  • what advanced math can teach you about getting all your chores done today
  • how creating a "future self" can help you shop smarter at the grocery store
  • what prairie voles can teach us about love
  • how the science of happiness can help you trick lawyers into doing charity work
  • the components of gullibility, and how they can help you scam-proof yourself
  • the secrets to building your very own army of cyborg beetles
  • how memetic information can help you exploit altruism for good…or evil
  • why eating for eight hours can help you lose weight
  • the behavioral economics behind selling your junk for big bucks on eBay
  • how to get more pleasure for less price

…and much, much more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2012 Garth Sundem (P)2012 Random House
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What listeners say about Brain Trust

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    77
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
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    60
  • 4 Stars
    63
  • 3 Stars
    57
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    24
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    9
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    11

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Science, Facts, and Fun, Oh My! A Must Read

Where does Brain Trust rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top. I don't usually like books when the author is also the narrator, but Garth Sundem does a great job.
He sounds like he is having a blast, and his enthusiasm is contagious.

What did you like best about this story?

There is an immense amount of valuable information. That is I found both practical and useful.

Which character – as performed by Garth Sundem – was your favorite?

This question does not apply to this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Did I cry? That would be a big NO. Did I laugh? That would be a big YES!

Any additional comments?

I would highly recommend this book. It was both entertaining and educational.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Super fun and informational

Listening to Brain Trust felt like I was hanging out with one of my nerdy, but knowledgable, best friends. I highly recommend it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not for me

Of the 93 items listed, I only found about 15 helpful to me. I would say this a book for someone under 40. People over 40 may find many of these items boring or a bit childish.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

92 funny secrets, and one silly one.

I found this interesting and funny. Little wizard ways to improve your life in a myriad ways, and well told.

Find out how to hack your life, but bring a notebook, for here the secrets come fast and hard.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, not life changing

I enjoyed this book, it held my attention and provided an interesting look into some amazing research. However, interesting is the only word I have for it. I feel like it could have been more. Garth Sundem attempts to explain how the research could affect our daily lives, but the conclusions are so short and so simplified it's almost easy to miss them.

I could have used a lot more "So...what?" in this book. How should this research affect my approach to life.

Still, enjoyable book, interesting concepts, far from a waste of time.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but on an inconsistent basis

Any additional comments?

This is a great book for the curious mind. I was bored through certain sections, such as "how to win at scrabble" and excerpts relating to diagrams should have been edited in an audiobook. However I did learn some pretty interesting things. One recommendation I would make to the listener. Book mark the sections that you find relavent to you so that you can refer back to them. I am going to have to relisten because there are a lot of facts that I have already forgotten. Narration was good tho.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, not practical

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Depends. Though the material was interesting, there wasn't much practical information that you can actually use. If I were rating this as a book on trivia, I would have rated it an overall four star. (I felt that some of the information was a little too complex for the average layman.)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and Enlightening

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book so much, I ordered three hard copies for my audibly challenged friends. It highlights some very interesting and startling facts in a non-political, entertaining way. And it reminded me of some of the more laughable moments of family life.Thanks to Mr. Sundem for an entertaining read!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too many "Refer to PDF" comments for an AUDIObook

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Too many references to a "PDF" file. Not really useful for an audio book.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

No real ending. Just a collection of unconnected sections.

What aspect of Garth Sundem’s performance would you have changed?

When you convert a book to "AUDIO", don't forget to remove all the "refer to PDF" and other references to non-existing references.

Was Brain Trust worth the listening time?

Yes.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

PDF?

Where does Brain Trust rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a fantastic audiobook that gives a ton of great and interesting advice for understanding and conquering the world around you. The only thing holding this book back from a 5-star review is the attached PDF mentioned in the book, which does not appear here. Dang.

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11 people found this helpful