Book Review Who Moved My Cheese?

Book Review
Who Moved My Cheese?

There are a few books that everyone, regardless of their profession, should read.  Among these would be Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography; How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger; How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie; The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale; Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill; and this one, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M. D.

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Critics will tell you that this book is simplistic.  It reads very much like a child’s story book.  The critics would be right that it is simplistic and it is very much like a child’s story book.  Like Bill Cosby used to say at the beginning of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, “If you aren’t careful, you just might learn something.”

The book is divided into four parts.  The first part tells how the story and the book came into being.  We read a discussion of how applicable the book is in many different settings and how valuable the book is to read.  This is very much like preaching to the choir. 

Obviously, the reader has been sold on reading the book because they have already begun to do that at that point.  Some readers may find themselves skipping past that part of the book or, at the very least, thinking, “Just get on with it already.”

As the reader reaches the second part of the book, they read about a class reunion where people who knew one another years before come together to catch up on old times.

The friends talk about how life has changed and what they thought to be true years ago proved to be incorrect.  One of the friends mentions the story and how it helped them to deal with life’s changes.

The book shifts to the actual story.  In the story, the reader is told about four characters, two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two little people, Hem and Haw.

The four characters are all faced with the same situation.  They have cheese and then one day the cheese is gone.  Cheese is a metaphor for whatever it is in life the reader values.

How the different characters deal with the loss of the cheese is significant to the story and helps the reader learn more about themselves, and those around them, and how everyone handles change.

The book then shifts back to a discussion among the friends who discuss how they applied the story to their lives and what changes they were able to make in their personal and professional lives.  Discussion is made as to how the lesson could have helped had it been learned earlier and how it could be applied in the future.

The book is a very quick read and could probably be read in one sitting.  Long ago, I read it to my children and they loved it.  They learned from it and, for a while, the kids referred to different parts of the story and how it applied to current life events for our family.

I purchased this book from Amazon years ago and it has been an important part of my library ever since.  You may wish to borrow it free from your local library but, ultimately, you will want to obtain a copy for your own library.

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