Messy

MESSY overflows with scenarios involving nature, elections, homophily, office space, and more to make its case that orderliness does not engender success and may, in fact, impede it. Given that Americans tend to equate a British accent with sophisticated orderliness, Nicholas Guy Smith might seem an odd choice to narrate an audiobook about the value of being disorderly. The obvious rationale is that author Tim Harford is British. Smith gives no other reason for listeners to question his selection. His reading is clear and engaging, with an understated suspense well suited to Harford's tendency to leave a story hanging, relate other anecdotes and facts, and then pick the story back up again. Smith and Harford prove to be a good pairing. Together, they neatly disrupt our preconceptions of what really drives success. K.W. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine