In my eyes one of the essential books to read as a musician trying to get into playing for a living. As stated by other people indeed there is a sense of basic knowledge everybody knows, but by actively thinking about those kind of subjects, you always learn more about yourself and your playing
I think that this book is great for beginner learners in the field of mental musicianship. For me, there were too many stories- the narrative style of non-fiction writing is not my favorite. I would prefer more data, more science, etc. took me 6 months to get through, and I already knew most of these ideas from other leading authors and scholars.
At last! I understand why music has such power! I also understand why this stupid song that I never liked haunts me all day long at times... Great book. By someone that has been on both the creative side and the analysing side of music. Worth the read, although I need to read it again to remember everything. Very good.