OK, I tried it. (should I leave off there? Nah!)
I can make fire happen anywhere, anytime. My folks feared that I would turn out to be a pyromaniac (I once set the house on fire).
I set it up in the Lopi stove I use to heat my whole house and lit it off. I got busy on another task for a few minutes and when I came back noticed that it had happily burned through all of the kindling....and promptly burned out.
I set it up again with pretty much the same results (a little better but not what I was expecting). I fiddled with it and made it into a fire and it was good for the rest of the night.
I guess my preference is an upside-down upside-down fire. Borrowing from the basic principle that you have to raise materials to the combustion threshold before you can have fire, I build my fire exactly the opposite of the illustration starting off with the kindling. As it ignites and burns it raises the temperature of the larger pieces and induces them to burn, which in turn fuels the even larger ones.
Perhaps it is the wood I am using. I have access to (very) seasoned cedar and spruce 4x6 which I cut into 15" lengths. Combine that with cedar kindling and I have a nice moderate heat, moderate duration fire. I do have to feed it more often than when I use a mixture that includes hardwoods, but the wood is free so I don't complain.
I'll try it again tonight and see if (I) can teach an old dog a new trick.
I wouldn't have been surprised to find the same initial result -- the kindling burning and then going out -- but the whole shebang got going right away, as "advertised". Building the usual way required a lot more paper and kindling to get going -- I'm too stubborn to use the "Firestarter" blocks; feels like cheating.
We've got a lot of oak, some elm, and some poplar, and all of it has been drying out for some time. (No pine, it mucks up the chimney.) Most of it came from right on our property; a few of the oaks had to come down as they were dying from the inside. Healthy trees, I have found, regularly sacrifice limbs for the good of the whole, and this stuff all free for the small amount of labor in gathering and breaking up. Even for kindling, all it takes is a stroll around the place to pick up what's fallen since last time. We've a lot of wooded area and Mother Nature is messy.
Since we got the insert, I have found my own inner pyromaniac.
eta: I do have a trick of sorts. Instead of throwing the t.p. and paper towel rolls in the recycling bin, I stuff 'em with paper and use them to fire up the kindling instead of just balled-up paper.