Mind Map Mastery is written in a tone of breathless enthusiasm, which is only reasonable, since Buzan spent half a century promoting his idea. I'm a big fan of non-linear information organization*, enough so that I would up entirely reorienting my career around the idea of using social network analysis and graphs to understand research collaborations.

Mind maps are subtly different from other chart-like forms of presentation. A mind map starts with a central concept image, with curvy radiating branches going out in all direction. The first level of branches are thick and curvy, but subsequent levels trace graceful arcs. A proper mind map uses lots of colors, single word labels along the branches, and small drawings. Notably, a Mind Map is distinct from a spider chart, the more conventional graph with straight spindly lines connecting bubbles with words in them, and something I use a lot.

This book has some tables of exercises to help build your mind mapping skills. I'm skeptical of the absolute benefits in terms of memory, creativity, and organization that Buzan promises with his tool, and this brief book definitely isn't worth the $12 Amazon is charging for it (I got it for $3), but it's an idea that's interesting enough to make me track down some markers.

*Actually, the best form of data is bulk columnar, but every day Excel exists we stray further from God's Divine Light.