Nonfiction Books - Page 16

Wild at Heart

John Eldredge

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 614 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not Christian; it's a "Pop Psychology" 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

/ WILD AT HEART (WAH) by John Eldredge

John Eldredge is not a Christian, but he does like to put on the act, because when one is selling Pop Psychology by way of personal testimony, the foreshortened theological propositions must be couched in terms of personal conviction. One need only indicate that the Error of Ecclecticism is evident in WAH, because Theology and Psychology do not share a commonality of core assumptives. His greatest asset is the vast number of unthinking readers who follow populist movements for New Age delusions, such as Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret" and Gary Zukav's "Seat of the Soul" and it is indicated by the typical review which indicates an epidemic of Americans who don't actually think. They "feel" and they continually confuse FEELING with THINKING.

They will tell readers that People-either-Love-or-Hate-the-book. Obviously, not everybody "thinks". They have been educated only to "feel". Only in such an environment can an author actually deny Jesus Christ, yet still be regarded as a Christian.


Many reviewers have indicated that Eldredge seems to repeat the Robert Bly memes regarding "Iron John" and that is probably true, since New Age authors frequently perpetuate the ...er....paradigm. However, careful reading will show that Eldredge is perpetuating the Pop Psychology and THERAPY-SPEAK of Abraham Maslow, who died 20 years before Robert Bly published his "Iron John".

In this regard, it is important to understand that Maslow's Pop Psychology was an attempt to RE-INVENT religion, even if it means turning religion entirely upside down. Maslow called it "SELF-ACTUALIZATION" and careful comparison will show that Eldredge simply repeats Maslow's meme.

For example, there were Ten basic principles identified by Maslow and the critical principle to reverse the Theological doctrine of Original Sin, was Maslow's meme that "MAN IS BASICALLY GOOD, NOT EVIL". Thereafter, everything Maslow writes is a proposal that the NATURAL MAN is the equivalent of the SPIRITUAL man of the Holy Bible.


John Eldrege picks up the proverbial Pop Psychology ball, and has run it into the End Zone for a touchdown. Of course, that his Pop Psychology is irrational, inconsistent, and contrary to Christianity goes without saying.

In writing this review, I wanted a fresh approach. It isn't necessary to point out that the theology is flawed, because sufficient reviewers have identified the flawed theology and unChristian doctrine. I wanted to address more the psychological approaches of Gnosticism itself.

Many years ago, I was struck by the proposition that there are few new ideas in human history. Instead, we only see the same old ideas repeated over and over. Ideas literally do recycle.

New Age works like "Wild at Heart" have all of the hallmarks of ancient heretical gnosticism. In this perspective, fact will show that

(1) WAH claims to be Christian
(2) WAH redefines Christian terminology
(3) WAH ignores doctrinal propositions e.g. Sin or reinterprets the doctrine.
(4) WAH identifies vague goals, but the goals are most certainly earthly goals, rather than heavenly goals.
(5) WAH mocks Jesus Christ, while claiming to teach Christ

Most certainly, John Eldredge does not teach "Jesus Christ" and salvation by grace. In fact, Eldredge is not even teaching SALVATION, or rebirth "from above. This is why it is essential to identify Eldredges "gospel" as a Pop Psychology first. This is where Maslow's meme, that "MAN IS BASICALLY GOOD, NOT EVIL" becomes apparent.

Eldredge, no less than Abraham Maslow, is simply affirming the NATURAL MAN, casting aside traditional Christian doctrine.

There are reasons why this is effective and works for John Eldredge. For one thing, Eldredge is not selling a TRUTH. Eldredge is selling a convenience, which is what a "Pop Psychology" is. It doesn't last long, but while it does last, a lot of money can be made, and a lot of prestige can be acquired.

It is not unlike a popular novel by John Updike from years back, "Rabbit Run" where a character was describing the philosophy of a fast food restaurant, saying; "Spare the meat, and give'em the grease."

In this sense, "Pop Psychologies" like WAH are the Fast Food Franchises of human ideology. Obviously, they are going to be unhealthy. Moreover, that the Blind-Lead-The-Blind is a proverbialism is also apparent.

I believe however, that there are benefits derived when careful readers observe the workings of the mechanism of New Age or Gnostic enterprises. Eldredge frequently employs ridicule of Churches and of Christians generally, to prepare the image of his following as innovators of a nouveaux radical chic. The game of "insider trading" is ideologically astute of Eldredge, even if phony as hell.

The oldest game of hucksterism in the proverbial book, is to teach people that they are "sick" or that they "have a problem". That established, it isn't very difficult to sell them the "solution" or "cure".



*ANOTHER POP PSYCHOLOGY*

So Eldredge perpetuates another Self-Help POP PSYCHOLOGY, that of THOMAS A. HARRIS, MD who authored "I'M OK, YOU'RE OK" and which made the New York Times BEST SELLER list in 1972.

"I'M OK, YOU'RE OK" is a guide to what is known as TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS, which is important to know in order to understand the works of John Eldredge, because what Eldredge does is offer a TRANSACTION. One part of the transactionis to identify the blanket status of being OKAY-JUST-AS-YOU-ARE upon everybody. It is also a contractual arrangement in which he proposes to act like a "MAN," and his readers propose to learn the act of "MANLINESS" from the author.

All such Pop Psychologies intend to Re-Invent-the-Wheel of Religion.

So there really is nothing new in WAH. It's a rehash of earlier POP PSYCHOLGIES and a bit of THERAPIST-TURNED-GURU by way of Theology Patterning, or at least a presumption that it is derived in some vague sense from the Holy Bible.

Judging the tree by its fruit serves as an excellent moral. Jesus Christ taught his followers:


"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."--Matthew 10:8, KJV

There is no FREE GIVING here, because what Eldredge sells, he hasn't acquired from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eldredge advances a solipsist doctrine premised upon something referred to as HEART, which is suitably vague, because when all you have to market is hot air and rhetoric, nobody comes away with anything deeper than a sense of emotional intoxication.


*FAILURE TO IDENTIFY GOOD & EVIL

( or, The Common New Age omission )

One the the key distinctions of genuine Christian writing, is that without qualification, Good & Evil are identified with specificity. Not so with New Age writings however. In the New Age writings and seminars, Good & Evil are never identified. If for example, Eldredge recognized Good & Evil, his followers would have to fault themselves for their shortcomings and hold themselves accountable to God, but there's no money in that, so why bother.

Neither can Eldredge actually suggest that his followers change themselves, because that would involve an identifiable principle, and require an objective moral standard.

No, Eldredge calls for people to change not at all in terms of reality, but merely to shift their perceptions around, and thereby manipulate appearances so that the individual is made to appear a victim of history, a victim of family, a victim of relationships, a victim of modern culture, a victim of gender stereotypes, a victim of religion and church, ad infinitum.

Thereafter, all the sheep have to do is to point to the flaws outside themsvelves and proclaim they are fixed.


---In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Bruce R. Bain

Editorial Review:

God designed men to be dangerous, says John Eldredge. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in the heart of every boy: To be a hero, to be a warrior, to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly, most men abandon those dreams and desires-aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a 'nice guy.' It is no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death. In this provocative book, Eldredge gives women a look inside the true heart of a man and gives men permission to be what God designed them to be-dangerous, passionate, alive, and free.

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (Golden Bestsellers Series)

Richard Scarry

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 142 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My grandson loves the book. He's into trucks, etc., and the abundance and variety of moving vehicles is fascinating to him.

My daughter loves The Goldbug Hunt 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My 2-year old daughter *loves* this book, especially finding Goldbug. Although now she's done it so many times, she remembers where he is on each page, so even though it's still fun for her, it's lost a little of the mystery. Can anyone recommend any similar proto-'where's waldo'-type books for toddlers?

Children's book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I got one of my favorite Children's books in good shape and it came quickly.

Beloved Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My 17 month old daughter received "The Best Word Book Ever" as a gift and immediately loved it. I purchased a couple other Richard Scarry books and "Cars and Trucks" has surfaced as the favorite, mainly because she loves searching for the gold bug in every scene. The other Richard Scarry books we own have the worm and bug hiding out here and there, but this is the only one that I've found, so far, that has the "where's gold bug" consistenly throughout. She loves it and I know that as she grows, she'll learn to love it for other reasons, including the kooky characters and funny storyline.

Editorial Review:

The Pig family takes a road trip to the beach for a picnic. The road is packed with hundreds of cars and trucks, vans and motorcycles, tractors and buses. The Pigs find chaos and adventure on the way to the beach and the opportunity to see vehicles they have never seen before. It's an exciting day!

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

Steve Coll

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 143 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Highly Informative, Not Well-Constructed, and Unfortunately Biased 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I recommend this book, in spite of its flaws, because it is a very useful history of CIA involvement in Afghanistan, from the end of the Carter administration until the day before the 9/11 attacks.

The book is divided into three parts, focusing on the Soviet occupation and mujahideen resistance, the Afghan Civil War, and the Taliban era, respectively. Coll commands a truly impressive list of source-interviews, and has clearly devoted considerable research time and effort. I suspect that few authors indeed could have had access to all of his information. If you can read the book through the end, it will be worth it.

But there are a few problems, which are significant:

1. The narrative tends to jump around in terms of geography and chronology. To some extent this is a necessary evil; in order to understand Afghanistan over the past three decades, one must understand Soviet/Russian, Iranian, Pakistani, Saudi and American involvement, because modern Afghanistan did not happen in a nutshell. And in order to understand those nations' involvement, one must know something of their history, and the personalities which drove decision-making. Unfortunately, Coll does not quite manage to pull everything together in a clear, readable narrative. The book can be slow-going, especially if you are new to the Middle East and Central Asia.

2. Coll very obviously doesn't care much for Republicans, and goes to some lengths to defend Democrats (without completely absolving them of responsibility). This is odd, given that the vast majority of the post-Soviet/pre-9/11 era happened under Democrat watch. Perhaps this is due in part to Coll's access to sources: it appears from his endnotes that he relies heavily on Clinton's administration for information, which is precisely the group with the greatest incentive to white-wash their actions. If most of the people you talk to are liberals, you will end up with a liberal version of history -- it's understandable, but regrettable.

3. The book has extremely little focus on Iran, and few details on the 9/11 hijackings. If you are interested in information on these aspects of Afghanistan, look elsewhere.

Again, I do recommend the book, which is valuable for its strengths in spite of its weaknesses. But the reader is advised caution, and might do well to start with a general history of Afghanistan or the Middle East before picking up Coll's book.

Editorial Review:

To what extent did America’s best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Coll details the secret history of the CIA’s role in Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the failed efforts by U.S. forces to find and assassinate bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down

Kaylene Johnson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 137 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good short view 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"Sarah" is a short book that gives a good view of the woman who became a National figure overnight. It gives some depth to the references Palin made on the campaign trail before the election. The book is easy to read and can be finished in a few hours. Do not expect an in-depth analysis of anything. Still, it will remain a book of interest to those who follow a certain brand of Republican politics.

Editorial Review:

In 2006, an angel-faced but tough forty-two-year-old former small-town mayor named Sarah Palin became a long-shop candidate for Alaska governor demanding a higher ethical standard in state government. The timing of her reform message and a widening scandal produced a tornado that reshaped the political landscape. Surprising everyone, Palin thumped by wide margins both a sitting governor in the Republican primary election and a former governor in the general election to become Alaska's first female chief executive and its youngest ever. Through the campaign, and early in Palin's first term, the energetic and attractive mother of five achieved near-heroine status in her state. At one point, the new governor's approval rating reached 90 percent, prompting the Fox News Network to describe her as "a politician with eye-popping integrity" and some national GOP leaders to tout her as a prototype of the "new Republican."

Hurry Down Sunshine

Michael Greenberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

HURRY DOWN SUNSHINE TELLS THE STORY OF THE extraordinary summer when, at the age of fifteen, Michael Greenberg’s daughter was struck mad. It begins with Sally’s visionary crack-up on the streets of Greenwich Village, and continues, among other places, in the out-of-time world of a Manhattan psychiatric ward during the city’s most sweltering months. “I feel like I’m traveling and traveling with nowhere to go back to,” Sally says in a burst of lucidity while hurtling away toward some place her father could not dream of or imagine. Hurry Down Sunshine is the chronicle of that journey, and its effect on Sally and those closest to her–her brother and grandmother, her mother and stepmother, and, not least of all, the author himself. Among Greenberg’s unforgettable gallery of characters are an unconventional psychiatrist, an Orthodox Jewish patient, a manic Classics professor, a movie producer, and a landlord with literary dreams. Unsentimental, nuanced, and deeply humane, Hurry Down Sunshine holds the reader in a mesmerizing state of suspension between the mundane and the transcendent.

“The psychotic break of his fifteen-year-old daughter is the grit around which Michael Greenberg forms the pearl that is Hurry Down Sunshine. It is a brilliant, taut, entirely original study of a suffering child and a family and marriage under siege. I know of no other book about madness whose claim to scientific knowledge is so modest and whose artistic achievement is so great.” – Janet Malcolm, author of The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes and The Journalist and the Murderer

“One of the most gripping and disturbingly honest books I have ever read.  The courage Michael Greenberg shows in narrating the story of his adolescent daughter’s descent into psychosis is matched by his acute understanding of how alone each of us, sane or manic, is in our processing of reality and our attempts to get others to appreciate what seems important to us. This is a remarkable memoir.” – Phillip Lopate, author of Two Marriages and Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan

Cat in the Hat

Dr. Seuss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 177 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Two boys' review: Simply, a classic 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This silly story centers around self-responsibility. The children panic because they know their mother won't be happy if she comes home and find the house a mess. The fish fluctuates between being an annoyance and a voice of reason.

The story stars a well-meaning cat who tries to release the children from an afternoon of boredom. He brings excitement, which quickly devolves into chaos...or so it seems.

This is a fun bedtime story, nothing more, nothing less. My sons weren't looking for a debate about latch-key children and abandonment. We'll leave those reviews to the sociology graduates.

If your children enjoy this book, I also recommend, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.

I couldn't imagine our children's bookshelf without these Dr. Suess books, too:

The Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Lorax

Editorial Review:

To accompany the release of the live action movie of The Cat in the Hat, starring Mike Myers, HarperCollins are proud to present Dr. Seuss's original, classic tale of the coolest, hippest cat in history!When the Cat in the Hat steps in on the mat, Sally and her brother are in for a roller-coaster ride of havoc and mayhem! The Cat can rescue them from a dull rainy day, but it means lots of thrills and spills along the way. The wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat is one of the most popular characters in children's fiction, and this book is ideal for budding readers to tackle on their own.

The Elements of Style

Jr., William Strunk

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 369 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Reference 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE is a great little pocket reference for all writers (creative, essay, or nonfiction).

What is most amazing is how it consolidates a wealth of information into accessible, bite-size chapters that are easy to search on and then easy to comprehend.

The sections that I have found the most helpful are:
1) Verb Subject Agreement for the exceptions, "one of" and "each and every".
2) Why using the Active Voice is better through exhibition and not b/c it's the general rule.
3) Putting statements into positive form (something I had not considered).
4) And the entire section on "Approach to Style".

I think that for the price, you can not go wrong with this one. I have GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT by Stilman and SOLUTIONS FOR WRITERS by Stein, both of which I recommend, but if you had to choose the order in which to buy: ELEMENTS OF STYLE, SOLUTIONS FOR WRITERS (as it's not just about writing but the craft of story telling), and then GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT.

Editorial Review:

The Elements of Style is a classic work which is intended for use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters Two and Three) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript.

Rules of the Game

Neil Strauss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you want to play the Game, you've got to know the Rules.

In his international bestseller The Game, Neil Strauss delved into the secret world of pick-up artists--men who have created a science out of the art of seduction. Not only did he reveal the techniques that they had developed, but he became a master of The Game, and the world's No. 1 PUA, as Style.

Now, in his first follow-up to The Game, comes an extraordinary package: A lavishly produced, two-volume pocket-size set that every pickup artist--accomplished or aspiring--will need to have. The first book, The Stylelife Challenge, is the manual Strauss thought he'd never write: the ultimate guide to landing the woman of your dreams. Bound in white leatherette, it offers an in-depth 30-day program, Strauss challenges readers to confront their insecurities and overcome them through a process of rigorous self-examination, briefings and field missions.

In the second book, Strauss takes readers into the dark side of The Game. Bound in black leatherette, The Style Diaries offers a series of tales of seduction and sexual (mis)adventure. From accidentally getting married during a drunken night in Reykjavik, to luring a famous musician's granddaughter into a threesome; from conducting a keenly felt and tender relationship over email, to the stress and frustration of the torturous and highly unorthodox "30 Day Sex Experiment," The Style Diaries takes you further into the seduction underworld than ever before, and delves where The Game never dared to tread: into the even more complicated rules of relationships.

The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 510 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

My Former Bible 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Only two types of people have been and will be attracted to reading this book: those who hope it's about one thing and those who know it's about the other. The former belong to the timid, powerless, low-self esteem majority looking for the ultimate guide to gaining respect and admiration from their peers. The latter belong to the unscrupulous, dare I say sociopathic ever-growing minority whose end goal is to win at everything against everyone by any means. Once the book has been read and fully digested, one of two conclusions will be reached. The first is a sudden awareness of what a perfectly outstanding tool they hold in their hands and the limitless rewards it can afford them. The second is an absolute disgust and horror at what a dangerous volume this is and the malicious behavior it outright encourages. Interestingly, the timid are not always the ones repulsed and the ruthless are not always the ones aroused. The wave can break either way.

Shortly after this book was published, I happened upon it in a bookstore and knew I had to have it. A blaze of energy electrified my body and pounded through the deepest recesses of my mind. I was on fire, I couldn't put it down and yet I knew I could never share it with anyone, the way a child might hide away their favorite toy. In truth I became obsessed. I had to learn and then master every element of every law and take supreme authority over every aspect of my life. Indeed, this book, The 48 Laws of Power, became my bible, the most passionate conquest I had ever sought to undertake.

Within its pages I met with the reflection of every gruesome bully and every merry manipulator I had ever known. Their power was uncanny and yet so mysterious, mostly because I could never fathom how such apparently absent minds could lay so cool yet strike with such venom. It was awe-inspiring, and I had to come to terms with their secrets. The secrets that earned them respect from their enemies and fear from their admirers. The secrets that won them the most buxom women, who always appeared so entranced by even their rudest and most audacious displays. "How could they get away with everything so smoothly?!" I had wondered. "How could they be so desirable?!" I had thought. "HOW?!"

Well...here is how. It is simple.

Some people are given to a heredity and/or an upbringing that nourishes what is commonly considered 'bad' behavior. Certain genes as well as certain parenting styles perpetuate an attitude of unruliness which leads in its purest variety to utter contempt for anyone else's thoughts, feelings, or needs. Their minds develop without a balanced set of experiences, leading them to deduce that the information they received must indeed be correct. This is also applicable to those who suffer violence in their youth, even if that violence is not carried out physically. The fact remains that whatever world with which one is presented is accepted as unmitigated truth. 'Bad' behavior is usually viewed by such a person as normal. Thus selfishness, cruelty, and manipulation are seen as strengths, while compassion, kindness and humility are seen as weaknesses.

Surely there are a bevy of other factors that cannot go without mention. High intelligence, a pleasing appearance, a particular talent, et cetra can all act as lauchpads for immorality if similar virtues in others go unrecognized as being equal. This sense of equality is what it all comes down to, in fact. The very idea of power assumes that another cannot or should not be in a position to where the perspectives of both can be viewed as equally valid. On the one end is the person who is possessed by their own image, on the other is the person who believes that they have no intrinsic worth at all. The two feed off of each other in a sadistic/masochistic symbiotic relationship. The point then comes to bear that a person who believes himself powerful only remains so long as the other believes the same thing. Put two people who both see power as the ultimate attainment and you have the setting for nearly every meeting in the business world. From here, only two things can happen. One party will cave, allowing the other to dominate, or neither party will cave, effectively precipitating resentment and rage in both. The former leads to a continuation of the cycle while the latter leads to war.

This book is extremely well-researched and exquisitely written, which is why I still give it three stars. But I warn you now to be aware of your true intentions. Buy this book if you don't care about anyone but yourself, and it pleases you to see another man crumble. Do not buy this book if you have even the slightest interest in saving yourself from years of unnecessary struggle. Remember that the wave does break both ways, and you do not know who you may become if you toss your ethics in the wastebasket. Needless to say, I was the timid one who was sick of being overlooked, but in the end, it was this book that I tossed into the wastebasket. Your call.

Editorial Review:

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. As attention--grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws teach the need for prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and many demand the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real life. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded--or been victimized by--power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Body Language (Overcoming Common Problems)

Allan Pease

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 94 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Available for the first time in the United States, this international bestseller reveals the secrets of nonverbal communication to give you confidence and control in any face-to-face encounter–from making a great first impression and acing a job interview to finding the right partner.

It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions. Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language–and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others. Now the world’s foremost experts on the subject share their techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life.

Drawing upon more than thirty years in the field, as well as cutting-edge research from evolutionary biology, psychology, and medical technologies that demonstrate what happens in the brain, the authors examine each component of body language and give you the basic vocabulary to read attitudes and emotions through behavior.

Discover:
• How palms and handshakes are used to gain control
• The most common gestures of liars
• How the legs reveal what the mind wants to do
• The most common male and female courtship gestures and signals
• The secret signals of cigarettes, glasses, and makeup
• The magic of smiles–including smiling advice for women
• How to use nonverbal cues and signals to communicate more effectively and get the reactions you want

Filled with fascinating insights, humorous observations, and simple strategies that you can apply to any situation, this intriguing book will enrich your communication with and understanding of others–as well as yourself.