Tory Burch on Shopbop

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.50

Save: $10.01 (57%)

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 401 ratings

A revolutionary look at how what we pay attention to determines how we experience life

Acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher's
Rapt makes the radical argument that much of the quality of your life depends not on fame or fortune, beauty or brains, fate or coincidence, but on what you choose to pay attention to. Rapt introduces a diverse cast of characters, from researchers to artists to ranchers, to illustrate the art of living the interested life. As their stories show, by focusing on the most positive and productive elements of any situation, you can shape your inner experience and expand your world. By learning to focus, you can improve your concentration, broaden your inner horizons, and most important, feel what it means to be fully alive.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review


Amazon Exclusive: Winifred Gallagher on Rapt

A wise research psychiatrist once told me that he had identified life's greatest problem: How to balance self and others, or your need for independence with your need for relationship? Since writing Rapt, I've come to believe that we now face a fundamental psychological challenge of a different sort: How to balance your need to know—for the first time in history, fed by a bottomless spring of electronic information, from e-mail to Wikipedia--with your need to be? To think your thoughts, enjoy your companions, and do your work (to say nothing of staring into a fire or gazing dreamily at the sky) without interruption from beeps, vibrations, and flashing lights? Or perhaps worse, from the nagging sense that when you're off the grid, you're somehow missing out?

Science's new understanding of attention can help shape your answers to this question, which pops up all day long in various forms. When you sit at your computer, will you focus on writing that report or aimless web browsing? At the meeting, will you attend to the speaker or to your BlackBerry? Research suggests that your choices are more consequential than you may suspect. When you zero in on a sight or sound, thought or feeling, your brain spotlights and depicts that "target," which then becomes part of the subjective mental construct that you nonetheless confidently call "reality" or "the world." In contrast, things that you ignore don't, at least with anything like the same clarity. As William James succinctly puts it, "My experience is what I agree to attend to."

The realization that your life—indeed, yourself--largely consists of the physical objects and mental subjects that you've focused on, from e-bay bargains to world peace, becomes even more sobering when you consider that, as the expression "pay attention" suggests, like your money, your concentration is a finite resource. How can you get the highest experiential return for this cognitive capital? By focusing on some screen or on playing your guitar? On IM-ing your old friend or joining her for a walk?

Considering the Internet's countless temptations and distractions, deciding how best to invest your time and attention when you're online is particularly challenging. Left to its own devices, your involuntary, "bottom-up" attention system asks, "What's the most obvious, compelling thing to zero in on here? That e-mail prompt? This colorful ad?" Fortunately, evolution has also equipped you with a voluntary, "top-down" attention system that poses a different question: "What do you want to focus on right now? Ordering that new novel, then checking the weather report, then getting back to work, right?" Sometimes, it's fun to just wander around online, allowing your mind to be captured by random, bottom-up distractions. In general, however, it's far more productive to focus on top-down targets you've selected to create the kind of experience you want to invite.

Along with making clear choices about what things merit your precious attention online, there are some other simple ways to protect the quality of your daily life from technological interference. Remember that your electronics are your servants, not your masters, and don't let them choose your focus for you. Abandon vain attempts to "multitask," because when you try to attend to two things at once—phoning while checking e-mail—you're simply switching rapidly between them, which takes longer and generates more errors. When you need to concentrate on an important activity, try to work for 90 minutes without interruptions, because rebooting your brain can take up to 20 minutes.

Most important, as you go about the day, bear in mind that by taking charge of your attention, you improve your experience, increase your concentration, and lift your spirits. Best of all, enjoying the rapt state of being completely absorbed, whether by a website or a sunset, a project or a person, simply makes life worth living. We cannot always be happy, but we can almost always be focused, which is as close as we can get.

From Publishers Weekly

Gallagher (The Power of Place, Working on God) couples personal ruminations and interviews with experts to explore the role of attention in defining consciousness, identity and the human experience: "who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love-is the sum of what you focus on." From paying attention to your inner dialogue (helping eliminate negative thought patterns) to bucking the myths of multi-tasking (says cognitive scientist David Meyer, "Einstein didn't invent the theory of relativity while multi-tasking at the Swiss patent office"), Gallagher draws practical conclusions from her examination of conscious ("top-down") and unconscious ("bottom-up") attention strategies. Though her claims to "a psychological version of... physicist's 'grand universal theory'" are a bit outsized, Gallagher takes illuminating forays into the evolution of the species and the global diaspora, looking for instance at how "Western individualism" emphasizes top-down focus while the Asian mentality encourages a broader, contextual perspective. A fascinating psycho-social look at human motivation and the power of focus, Gallagher's latest is worth paying attention to.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001V6P12E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (March 9, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 564 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 401 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Winifred Gallagher
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
401 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and helpful for psychology enthusiasts. They find it readable and valuable, especially for teens and young adults. The writing style is well-received, with some finding it engaging and thought-provoking, while others feel it's repetitive.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

35 customers mention "Insight"35 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and helpful. They say it summarizes research in an understandable way. It's a great book for those interested in psychology or how we think. The author provides an interesting view of life that could be useful to many people. The writing style combines her personal views and observations valuably with the wide range of experts.

"...I feel like this book will improve my experience of my recreation and family time more than my professional life...." Read more

"...is one of the primary points of the book, focusing, or paying rapt attention to situations...." Read more

"...A sprinkling of nineteenth century philosophy provides some context, but we are left with little more than the general idea that attending to the..." Read more

"...capacity for concentration, expands your inner boundaries and lifts your spirits, but more important simply makes you feel that life is worth living...." Read more

17 customers mention "Readability"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and useful. They say it's good for teens and young adults, with a good balance of anecdotes and data, making it thought-provoking and engaging. The style is captivating and makes you feel like life is worth living.

"...This would be particularly good reading for teens and young adults, if only you could get them to pay attention long enough to read it...." Read more

"...your spirits, but more important simply makes you feel that life is worth living.” The above quotes encompass the thesis of this book...." Read more

"Overall, this is not a bad book. It's a bit repetitive, but not overly so...." Read more

"...RAPT is definitely worth reading and gives many of us new tools for making decisions and clearing out the clutter in our lives that keep us from..." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing style"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's writing style. They find it well-researched and thoughtful.

"...Instead it is a well researched and well written investigation into and defense of the thesis comprised in the quotes above...." Read more

"...Gallagher's writing style is engaging and captivating. Not only have I read the book, but I then listened to it the audio version...." Read more

"Winifred has an award winning research and writing style that combines her personal views and observations valuably added to the wide range of..." Read more

"...It is thoroughly researched and well written. I'm getting a paper version for my wife." Read more

7 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's pacing. Some find it engaging and understandable, helping them enjoy quality time with loved ones. Others feel it's repetitive and boring.

"...back to and read again as it seems to have already enhanced my time with my two young children...." Read more

"Overall, this is not a bad book. It's a bit repetitive, but not overly so...." Read more

"...book to people who want to feel more rested and enjoy more quality time with their loved ones...." Read more

"...It summarizes the research in a way that is both understandable and engaging. I highly recommend it." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2015
    Some of the best moments are here and gone and in the past sooner than I'd like. Rapt helps me believe that even if I can't keep the best parts forever I can get the most out of them as they happen by striving for the focused life. This is one of those book that I hope to come back to and read again as it seems to have already enhanced my time with my two young children.

    I actually bought this hoping that it would help my teaching practice, by helping me understand my students with attention issues, but I got so much more out of this read. I feel like this book will improve my experience of my recreation and family time more than my professional life. I found myself highlighting quote after quote from Rapt, as this book is densely packed with great info and advice.
    11 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2024
    I bought this book after reading Deep Work by Cal Newport. I thought it was good but not as good as Newport's book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2009
    This book confirmed things I already knew or suspected but hadn't taken the time to really think about. That in itself is one of the primary points of the book, focusing, or paying rapt attention to situations. I have already noticed changes in how I go about my daily activities. This would be particularly good reading for teens and young adults, if only you could get them to pay attention long enough to read it. I was impressed enough that I am now starting on Winifred Gallagher's book "The Power Of Place"The Power of Place: How Our Surroundings Shape Our Thoughts, Emotions, and Actions (P.S.).
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2014
    Who we are and how are is largely shaped by where we focus, where we invest our attention. Although our minds are naturally (and often strongly) drawn to the dangerous and the novel, we have the ability to influence our focus. With or without intentional choice, attending to one aspect of our physical and mental environment causes us to ignore others.

    Rather than making a coherent case for where we should place our attention under what circumstances and providing techniques for controlling that attention, the author provides a journalist’s survey of the scientific work being done in the area. A sprinkling of nineteenth century philosophy provides some context, but we are left with little more than the general idea that attending to the right things will make us happier.
    19 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020
    “If you could stay focused on the right things, your life would stop feeling like a reaction to stuff that happens to you and become something you create: not a series of accidents but a work of art ... Paying rapt attention whether to a trout stream or a novel , a do it yourself project or a prayer, increases your capacity for concentration, expands your inner boundaries and lifts your spirits, but more important simply makes you feel that life is worth living.”

    The above quotes encompass the thesis of this book. It was what hooked me when I read the sample downloaded on my Kindle. I felt excited by how much this idea resonated with me and was eager to find out exactly how I could do this. How do I stay focused on the right things? What can I do to generate more opportunities for ‘rapt’ attention in my life? But this book is not a ‘how to’ guide. Instead it is a well researched and well written investigation into and defense of the thesis comprised in the quotes above. While there are numerous hints at things one might do to enhance capacity for attention and focus (start a regular meditation practice is a recurring one), the reader is left to figure this out on their own. I guess I was a bit disappointed by this. I thoroughly agreed with the thesis from the moment I read it. I was looking for advice rather than a convincing argument.
    16 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014
    After listening to an interview with the author of this book, I realized that I have been distracted and not totally focused on what is important in my life. I'm not good at multitasking, and this book is helping me to accomplish more by prioritizing and focusing. It's better for me to finish what I start than to have multiple projects and errands at the same time. I used to have time to spend with my friends but now I never see them anymore because I'm always busy, yet nothing seems to get done. I've just started reading the book but I no longer feel guilty because I didn't get through a 2 page to-do list on my day off. I would recommend this book to people who want to feel more rested and enjoy more quality time with their loved ones.

    The seller has a good variety of books to browse through and gave me very good service. The books were a good price and arrived in excellent condition. I'm sure I'll buy from this seller again
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2009
    With a world of busyness it is easy to lose attention on what is important. When that attention is lost income is also lost. This book does a great job of examining and explaining how attention and focus work. The best idea that I received from the book is that with everything that there is to focus on you must give attention and focus to your focus. Yes you may know that is what focus is but how many times have you forgot and moved onto the next thing without mastering the first one?

    If attention equals income then this is a book you must read.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2011
    Overall, this is not a bad book. It's a bit repetitive, but not overly so.
    Taking charge of your attention, especially with our ever multiplying
    distractions, is essential. Gallagher makes this point well. The spiritual
    side is not too heavy handed - indeed, I would not be able to tell
    her religious affiliation from the book alone.

    However, the discussion of science leaves something to be desired.
    It is akin to reading a string of press releases - results are
    interpreted in a very general sense, and there are no qualifications.
    I understand that writing more carefully about these results
    would make the book a lot less interesting. But, as with any
    popular science book, the reader should keep in mind that
    much of it is overinterpretation (if not misinterpretation).
    7 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Cliente de Amazon
    3.0 out of 5 stars Usado
    Reviewed in Mexico on April 1, 2023
    Lo compré nuevo y llegó usado, subrayado, eso si está bien cuidado
  • A Jadhav
    5.0 out of 5 stars this book is important
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2022
    Elegantly written with an ordinary message that has an extraordinary impact. I will be re-reading it again and again lest I forget its hard-earned lesson.
  • TercioRNA
    5.0 out of 5 stars Muito foco aqui
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 26, 2018
    Esse livro era o que estava procurando pra acreditar no poder da atenção concentrada; vai ao encontro do que já tinha lido ou ouvido falar sobre o tema. É um livro para aqueles aqueles que não conhecem o assunto e tem interesse na área.
  • Soumitra Ghotikar
    5.0 out of 5 stars A scientific yet Simple to understand guide to properly manage your Memory Bank !
    Reviewed in India on November 17, 2019
    The true story of the author

    First, I would thank Carl Newport, in his book "Deep Work", he has mentioned Winfred Gallagher & her book RAPT on many occasions, which ultimately made me buy this book.

    Perfect Tool to manage your memory

    David Schwartz, in his "Thinking Big" book mentions that high confidence is nothing but a systematically managed Memory. On a daily basis, from every incident, if we start depositing just the Positive thoughts into our memory bank, it offers the same Positive Solutions in complex situations where we are seeking for creative solutions to handle a challenge.

    Gallagher goes further ...

    Gallagher not just shares these principles, but the self-practiced-on-own-life principles with enough scientific case studies & examples, on how it works actually. And her own life examples proves "why it works"

    The neurological details make it very clear how storing just the Good Memories will service your life. Most recommended !
  • Paul C.
    2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of simplified information; tedious read
    Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2019
    Instead of outlining a clear concept derived from her personal experience, Gallagher chooses to quote one scientific study after another. Surely she accumulates a lot simplified information but it makes for an incredibly tedious read.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?