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This is a relatively short book, consisting of a rough explanation, justification, and a guide to the implementation of lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is a term the author is responsible for coining, and he uses it to describe a type of thinking about problems without relying on consistent or specific logical premises, and without the use of logical method. The traditional type of thinking he calls vertical thinking, which is the type of thinking we find most natural, and in most cases useful. Lateral thinking involves making use of chance associations, deliberate rejection of usual ways of thinking of things, and it produces answers which are often surprising. It is of most use when vertical thinking is not yielding an answer to a problem, or in cases when vertical thinking will yield an answer to a problem, but only slowly.
Lateral thinking is not meant to replace vertical thinking, rather he suggests it is something we should get into the habit of doing, as on certain occasions it can offer effective solutions that probably would not have been reached by logical thought. This book may appeal to people who are involved with solving problems, such as scientists, inventors, and business people. It will also be of interest and accessible to the general reader, but perhaps of more use to those who deal with problems as a profession. ( )