Scan Artist: How Evelyn Wood Convinced the World That Speed Reading Worked By: Marcia Biederman

Author: Marcia Biederman
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

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.

6.2M	00. Prologue.mp3
18M	01. Charm School.mp3
20M	02. Third-Reich Interlude.mp3
19M	03. Habits of Highly Effective Readers.mp3
16M	04. We Have Liftoff.mp3
18M	05. The Kid Farm.mp3
14M	06. Bunk and Debunkers.mp3
12M	07. Civil War.mp3
17M	08. Consulting the Oracle.mp3
19M	09. Times Are A-Changin'.mp3
16M	10. Snake in the Grass.mp3
16M	11. White Knight.mp3
15M	12. Rehab.mp3
16M	13. Carved in Stone.mp3
5.3M	14. Epilogue.mp3
108K	Marcia Biederman - Scan Artist.jpg
222M	total