The Sonic Boom: How Sound Transforms the Way We Think, Feel, and Buy

Whether or not you consider yourself a sound/music person, a visual person, or don't think in those definitions, The Sonic Boom is a fascinating look at sounds in our lives. The Sonic Boom is about how sound affects people’s mood and perception of atmosphere, and how sounds can evoke emotions and create brand loyalty. The primary concept of the book is the “boom moment”, which is defined as the right sound or music used to convey information and create connections through the use of memory and creation of new experiences. Boom moments are also described in The Sonic Boom as ways sound is used to, “spark memories, tell rich stories with incredible efficiency and most importantly elicit feelings”. I found this to be a very interesting perspective. The Sonic Boom describes how sounds and music provide information, reinforce messages, and create positive or negative environments – including the concept of “sonic trash” and how to get rid of it in your life. It’s a very engaging read, and definitely made me think about sound in a new way.

This book is alright. There are some really interesting stories that get to the heart of the topic (and keep you reading), but a lot of the book seems like self promotion for Joel's company. It could also benefit from an appendix of links where readers can go to hear the things he's talking about. I kept finding myself Googling jingles or sound effects to try to put a sound with the story.He could learn a bit from Malcolm Gladwell for how to make these kinds of topics more riveting and concise.

So many of these books are analytical treatises looking at physiological and psychological impact of sound. This is a practical day to day analysis of how sound effects us. Written by people who have lived this experience themselves. I teach Sound Design for Live Theatre and one of the biggest difficulties I have at the intro level is turning the students ears on, making them aware of the sound environment they live in. I have found no other book that is as accessible for people who are just beginning to understand the impact of sound in their lives and how we can use it to focus the attention of others.While almost exclusively anecdotal, it took me a long time to read. Not that it is complicated material but so much of what they write about is available on the internet in various forms. I would find myself reading a couple of pages and then stopping to look up videos of the topic being addressed.For those if us who are analytically minded or have been working in this field for a long time this is a fun reminder that we live in a real world where the use of sound can have a real impact on our day to day lives. For those who are just beginning to understand how sound effects us it is an eye opening way to turn your ears on.

This book was very frustrating to read. The writer might be a good audio tech, but he doesn't know how to organize information into a logical flow. I found the writing to be a random collection of experiences and concepts, rather than one statement or idea that flows nicely into the next, and it was also somewhat repetitive. I kept reading page after page in the hopes the next chapter would improve in form. But even though the content was interesting and the descriptions brought up good images and ideas for creating unique sound identities, I was bothered by the writing performance so much that I shelved the book halfway through. Glad this is over.

Insightful and clearly written. Powerful examples, strong points and great sub topics to really deliver the point home. Overall I found the read to be relevant, entertaining, and educational.

This was soooo interesting. All the things related to sounds in my life suddenly made sense. And now I understand how the business world is getting my attention (and money) with their choice of music and other sounds. Thanks, Joel Beckerman.

I found it very interesting and insightful.

Some of the other reviews are right on the money. There's too much repetition about how important the sonic environment is and how little attention we pay to it and not enough technical data for those of us who are deeply interested in the sonic environment. It's still worth a read.

Great book about music and sound for media. Joel writes with wit and clarity and gives many examples and facts about how sound can enhance visuals in media in so many ways. A good book for musicians but one that should be read by marketers too. Those musicians from the behind the screens and scenes can do more for advertising and branding than meets the ears of audiences today.

Very insightful book. Definitely recommended reading.

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