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Tony Buzan has achieved the status of 'guru', an accolade accorded to very few. He has worked with: corporate entities and businesses all over the world; academics; Olympic athletes; children of all ages; governments; and high profile individuals, in teaching them how to maximise the use of their brain power. Whether he is working one-to-one or delivering a keynote speech to an audience of thousands, his ability to inspire, motivate and empower is awesome.
A prolific author, he has written more than 90 books, with sales in over 150 countries; his books have been translated into at least 33 languages. Details of most of his publications can be found at www.buzanbooks.com His latest titles are: Age-Proof Your Brain, published by Harper Thorsons in 2007; and The Buzan Study Skills Handbook, published by BBC Active also in 2007.
Mind Map® techniques are now being applied to language learning. Harper Collins will be publishing The Collins Language Revolution series in March. With a choice of beginner-level French, Italian or Spanish, buyers will be presented with a pack for each language, consisting of two CDs, a book and access to an interactive website, which aims to test and reinforce the learning.
One of his recent books, The Ultimate Book of Mind Maps, published by Thorsons in 2005, bears testimony to his universally famous invention, Mind Maps, and how their use can boost creativity and change lives for the better.
The Pocket-sized Buzan Bites, published by the BBC in 2006, is a series of three distillations on Mind Maps, Speed Reading and Memory - perfect for busy people who want to learn these exciting concepts and techniques quickly.
Tony's techniques are also taught via a global network of Buzan Licensed Instructors in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Further information can be found at www.buzancentres.com
Tony Buzan is a familiar celebrity on Radio and TV, both in the UK and globally, with a long list of credits to his name. His name is synonymous with all things cerebral and his knowledge is widely sought after by a media and public perennially eager to learn practical advice on how to improve brain function.
He has also found time in his busy schedule to create the World Memory Championships and is a prize-winning poet and athlete. Tony is living proof that his theories really work. He is a passionate advocate of healthy eating combined with mind and body exercise to achieve the most out of life, and is often to be seen expertly sculling in the early morning mists on the River Thames.
Tony's Biography
Tony Buzan was born at the Brookfield Park Nursing Home, Palmers Green, London N13 on Tuesday 2nd June 1942. His birth was registered on the same day.
A box of family memorabilia reveals a yellowing newspaper cutting, which announces the birth of Anthony Peter to his proud parents, Jean (née Burn) and Gordon Buzan, of Shangri-la, Western Drive, Shepperton. To me, the name of their house leapt from the print like a neon sign. Tony's favourite hotel is the Shangri-la in Singapore, and it has become a veritable home-from-home whenever he is there. It appears that this imaginary utopian valley, or certainly his own version of it, has been a constant presence on his life's journey. This is reflected in his perennially optimistic nature and positive attitude towards other people in encouraging them to achieve their potential.
Amongst the other treasures in the box is The Progress Book, which the young Jean Buzan started to complete in 1946 (she meticulously notes...'Up to 4 years of age records have had to depend upon memory and available notes as book only purchased then'...). Tony's mother refers to 'Truby King' on page 71, in reference to feeding. Child rearing in the 1940s reflected the more scientific approach advocated by Professor Sir Frederick Truby King, and later, also by his adopted daughter's (Mary Truby King) book published in 1934, entitled Mothercraft. Being a Truby King baby myself, I am not surprised that Baby Record books per se were more didactic in tone than those we are familiar with today.
However, it is precisely this template for nurturing that makes The Progress Book such a revelatory volume, packed with fascinating facts and background information about Tony's early years. (Click here to see a selection of pages from The Progress Book).
Was Tony destined for fame and fortune? Well, this does seem to be the case. Each year, from 1947 until 1963, Tony has recorded his signature on the 'Annual Autograph Record' page. He had pretty much perfected his signature by the age of 17, when it became 'Tony' instead of 'Anthony'.
Perhaps the best indication of Tony's burgeoning talent and the direction his life would eventually take, is shown in his mother's own words:
...'Has shown intelligence beyond his years from a very early age.
Extremely logical and literal mind... Extraordinarily exact memory'...
Jean Buzan also notes that, as a baby, Tony had enjoyed coloured beads and wooden disks but that he 'never took much notice of soft toys at all'. However, it is clear from his first-ever book, A Book About My Pets by Anthony Buzan Aged 8 years, that he adored the real thing. Paddy the cat and Pongo the rabbit were close friends for a long time but then the sad day arrived when Pongo died. Tony records that:
...'Dear old Pongo has died and I am saving up £5-10-0d for him to be stuffed by a taxidermist'...
This was a pretty determined decision for Master Buzan Aged 8 years, so I decided to check with Tony whether he had been successful in putting Pongo's physical departure on 'hold'. He told me that he had indeed been stuffed, and that Pongo had accompanied him on many of his travels until 1982 when his condition had deteriorated to such an extent that a decent burial was needed. So, Pongo was finally laid to rest among the bluebells by the banks of the Thames, the setting for Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows. Tony's sheer force of will meant the loyal rabbit companion of his boyhood had remained with him until he was in his 40s.
The bond between Tony and his cat, Paddy, was equally strong (although Paddy did not make a visit to the taxidermist). His mother wrote that when stroking Paddy, he had said:
...'it makes me nearly have tears in my eyes - he's so sweet and I love him so'...
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