Listen free for 30 days

  • Scan Artist

  • How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed-Reading Worked
  • Written by: Marcia Biederman
  • Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
  • Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Scan Artist cover art

Scan Artist

Written by: Marcia Biederman
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $20.15

Buy Now for $20.15

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

The best-known educator of the 20th century was a scammer in cashmere. "The most famous reading teacher in the world," as television hosts introduced her, Evelyn Wood had little classroom experience, no degrees in reading instruction, and a background that included a collaboration with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, a nation spooked by Sputnik and panicked by paperwork eagerly embraced her promises of a speed-reading revolution.

Journalists, lawmakers, and two US presidents lent credibility to Wood's claims of turbocharging reading speeds. A royal-born Wood grad said she'd polished off Moby Dick in three hours; a senator swore he finished one book per lunchtime. Fudging test results and squelching critics, Wood's popularity endured even as science proved that her system taught only skimming, with disastrous effects on comprehension. As apps and online courses attempt to spark a speed-reading revival, this engaging look at Wood's rise from missionary to marketer exposes the pitfalls of wishful thinking.
©2019 Marcia Biederman (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
True Crime Professionals & Academics World
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Scan Artist

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.ca reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Roberta W

A dark horse - wth franchising lessons

This book is a bit of a dark horse. Cloaked as a biography of the woman who invented speed reading, once you get past the (rather tedious) early chapters on her Mormon upbringing, this book is an enlightening history of the roots of franchising.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!