Product reviews for More Magic of Metaphor

Just like The Godfather Part II, More Magic of Metaphor is better than its predecessor. The simplistic title is its only weakness as it is in fact so much more than Nick Owen's previous book on the uses of storytelling and metaphor.

This book truly works on a number of levels, with lessons and insights embedded within both the storytelling process and the content itself.

On a simplistic but wholly useful level, we are presented with 60 stories which people can use to inspire themselves and others around them. These are grouped and structured so that leaders and motivators can choose an appropriate tale to make their point or, better still, create their own variant, drawing on the author's insights and notes on each area.

For individuals who want more depth, each story is analysed for its potential for leaders, influencers and motivators. There is also a guide to how the stories can help us develop and improve the way we relate to the world around us.

In the hands of another author, these ingredients may make for all overcomplicated, theoretical tome, but Nick Owen is a master in the use of metaphor, and he effortlessly weaves the elements together. As he says in the introduction when referring to his influences in this book, the metaphors are not the truth, but another useful way of looking at reality.



There is one final flourish which will endear the book to an even larger audience than intended. We are introduced to, and led through, each story and episode by a Harry Potteresque Learner and his Magic Assistant. This is a masterstroke as it not only captures a timeless but contemporary genre ” fantasy - but also allows the reader to learn and interpret meaning along with our Learner, rather than being lectured to by the Master. I, for one, was spellbound.