Rating: 
Summary: Well Written, But Poorly Thought Out
Review: Although the writing style was clear and coherent, the content, unfortunately, was not.I believe that this book will serve primarily as a "feelgood pill" to those that were not blessed with (the more "rational") intelligence. It is useful to realize that intelligence, as measured by IQ and SAT tests, is composed of multiple facets. But to create a different, and competing standard of intellect, and attempt to raise it above the level of reason and knowledge, is simply disingenuous. While the writing style is good, I think that this book simply plays to the current, rampant American anti-intellectualism, rather than to common sense. Nobody denies that a healthy emotional life is important to happiness, but until we Americans realize that what we need is not more "fuzzy thinking", spiritualism, and credulity -- rather, what we need is to put our noses to the grindstone, so to speak, and take our place as the world's leading INTELLECTUAL superpower, as opposed to just the world's leading MILITARY superpower -- until that day, we are doomed to a slow slip into second-rate status. Books like this are just sour grapes, showing us that we "didn't want all that intellectual stuff, anyway."
Rating: 
Summary: Significant topic, questionable presentation
Review: The importance of emotional intelligence was proven to me early on in this book, especially with the author's neurological explanations of the brain. Daniel Coleman used a variety of approaches to prove the importance of emotional intelligence including: neuroscience, biology, and case studies. Yet, some of the directions the author chose to take lost my interest. The case studies could have been abbreviated and maybe the classification of emotions could have been expanded on. The book demonstrated the dire consequences of not learning emotional intelligence and sometimes used extreme examples which seemed unnecessary. However, this pioneering book (albeit somewhat outdated) deserves attention. For me the book started well with references to Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," making a connection between the wisdom that Aristotle exalted and emotional intelligence. The book went on to explain how the physical components of the brain affect emotional behavior; here the amygdala is explained, which is the control center for emotional behavior, and is referred to throughout the book. This biology and neuroscience clarified how rudimentary emotional behavior is in the human brain. In part three, the author showed progressive thinking in his belief that the medical profession must consider emotional factors. Since the book's publication, medical schools have agreed with him. On June 10, 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported that graduates from all 126 medical schools in the U.S. will take a standardized test that will rate "bedside manner." According to the article, this test will "gauge what multiple-choice questions cannot: a graduate's ability to communicate with patients..." In parts Four and Five my interest waned as the author discussed how emotional training can save society. Although the author suggests key improvements to pedagogy, the case studies and extreme examples of what can go wrong with the emotional brain belabored the topic for me. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is closely analyzed, as is trauma, abuse, and bullies - all valid areas for discussion but beyond what is needed for demonstrating what emotional intelligence is and why it is important. Violence, social aggression, and certain neuroses resulting from emotional problems could have been explained in a shorter section. But the author deserves credit for offering solutions, and has an interesting theory that modernity is the cause for a worldwide trend of melancholy. I would have liked more of the book devoted to the challenge of defining emotions. Of interest to me was Appendix A because it revealed the classification attempts made for emotions. The section considers a handful of "core" emotions with all other emotions being a blend of these; there also might be families of emotions with many nuances affecting moods and temperament. This book reveals a big-picture outlook of the human brain and the emotional activity that is an intrinsic part of it. The thesis that emotional intelligence can be more important than IQ is well supported, but the author is not saying that it is necessarily better! (Previous reviewers of the book have created an EQ-versus-IQ contest.) Both are critical facets of intelligence that must work together and neither can be dismissed.
Rating: 
Summary: Many interesting things to consider, but becomes monotonous
Review: I must admit I'm torn between a thumbs up and a thumbs down for this book (hence, 3 stars). Author Daniel Goleman does a fine job of employing a vast library of behavioral research in support of the premise that emotional conditioning plays a dominant role in what we perceive as "intelligence." Even though one can learn lots from Goleman's work, the overriding theme here seems to me to be ridiculously simple: good nurturing (rather than aptitude) is more likely to produce exceptional humans; bad nurturing creates people with a bunch of problems. The book starts off great, with a look at what happens in the brain at the molecular level under all sorts of emotional experiences. That's Part One (Goleman recommends skipping this if you're not into neurological details), which turned out to be the most interesting for me, as I had never before learned much about the emotional "architecture" of the brain. In Parts Two through Five, the author expounds on feelings (e.g., anger, empathy, passion, depression), personality, upbringing, aptitude, and treatment, etc., citing study after study to show that today's children are most decidedly a product of how they were treated in their earliest years, but nevertheless are winding up far less able then their ancestors were to handle even the slightest emotional dilemma. In fact, the further on you read, the more you'll realize that "Emotional Intelligence" is a book about children. Why is their character deteriorating, and what can we do to mold them into more emotionally strong (intelligent) beings? That's okay: if you're a parent, educator, or child psychologist, definitely buy this book. It will help. As for me, I appreciated Goleman's connection of personality with science in an unexpected, enlightening way. However, except for Part One, I got so bogged down in page after page of studies and stats, all concluding the same thing over and over again, that it became a chore to plow through to the end. Overall, this is a monumental work, but I can't recommended it to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: How to understand emotions and make the most of them
Review: I read this book in 1997 and was fascinated with the content, especially information about "flooding" ie. when we are emotionally overloaded and we can't respond effectively. I was also particularly interested in Dr. Goleman's research into the components of emotional intelligence -- self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, zeal and self-motivation, empathy and social deftness. Dr. Goleman explains what happens to us neurologically when we experience emotions and why emotional intelligence is important. After reading his book, I was left with questions such as, "What do my emotions mean? How do I deal with my emotions when they occur?" These questions are specifically answered in Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self by Dr. Rosalene Glickman. Dr. Glickman explains why and how each emotion is experienced, the messages they bring, and questions to ask yourself and others to best resolve emotions and achieve emotional mastery. In my opinion, these books belong in every family and in every workplace.
Rating:
Summary: Contentious, But Interesting and Provocative on Emotions
Review: Daniel Goleman is to be congratulated for raising the general reader's awareness of the importance that emotions play in our personal and social lives back in 1995. Prior to 1995, I don't know of any book addressed to the layperson that explicated these matters as well as he did with the information he had at his disposal. That said, I had many problems with Goleman's exposition. First, it is not altogether certain nor important, as he insists, that the brain's amygdala is the locus of all emotions, a highly disputatious claim. Secondly, he never quite comes to define what an emotion is other than a "feeling," which is hardly revelatory or insightful. Are they cognitive judgments of value, or are they something the amygdala emotes separate and distinct from ratiocination, or are they the passions separate from ratiocination (which seems to be the case)? By comparison, Martha Nussbaum in "Upheavals of Thought" is far more explicative of what an emotion is, how it develops, and each emotion functions - both healthily and destructively.
He does, however, explain a variety of emotions function and how they help a person either function or dysfunction in both their personal and social domains, and for this alone, the book is helpful. His project is (1) to make the reader self-aware of his emotions; (2) help the reader understand what it means to be engulfed by them; (3) accepting of emotions, especially those that reward the self and others. This strategy is part of his "know thyself"and is fundamental to his project of developing emotional intelligence. He also makes the reader aware that too much attention has been spent on ratiocinative development at the expense of emotional development; whereas they ought to go hand in hand. He cites a number of very good and helpful examples.
Subjects covered (but by no means exhaustive) include impulse control, the cost of misattunement, passionate versus indifference, empathy, represssion, and other emotional factors that either facilitate or debilitate the individual in leading healthy lives. In many instances, he shows the reader why one emotions can be destructive, while another instance on how "reprogramming" the mind can make the emotions beneficial rather than destructive. Given that other books on the market are either more exhaustive and/or more directly helpful, I can't recommend this book other than for its perusal value. For someone who wants a detailed analysis of the emotions, I recommend Nussbaum's tome (supra.); for someone who wants to get control over their emotions, I recommend Elliot Cohen's "What Would Aristotle Do?"
Rating: 
Summary: Missing the Point
Review: In emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman attempts to find solutions for problems he doesn't understand the basic root causes of. He believes the difficulties we are facing today, such as children's misbehavior, teen violence, and an ever increasing divorce rate, are due to the rapid change in society and the slow pace of evolution. According to him our brains aren't yet developed enough to handle the pressures we face and the knowledge we have obtained. Our moral decline is due to chemical imbalances and inherited genes. He makes it very clear throughout the book that he believes, given the "facts", it is the responsibility of public schools to step in at an early age and train children in morals and ethics since many parents aren't doing it right at home. He focuses on programs that teach relying on self and, except for a few outside quotes, dismisses faith in God as a possible solution. He is wrong.
The problems we have today are a direct result of the environment we have created through selfish choices and sinful desires and they all began with the notion that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Therefore, there are no set boundaries for which our children can rely on to guide them through life. There isn't one true God, but many, just pick one that makes you feel good or none at all, every option is equal. We have destroyed the family. Not only have we made breaking up the family easy and acceptable through "no fault" divorce, but we have redefined the family to include any combination that feels right to the people involved no matter how degenerate. We have become a society of excuses where violent crimes are no longer due to evil but to some childhood trauma or chemical imbalance. Through millions of abortions, the sacrificing of embryos for stem cell research, and the popularity of preaching the benefits of euthanasia, we have created an environment where life is no longer valued. Our children are constantly being sent mixed messages such as don't have sex, but if you do it's okay as long as you use a condom and stand up for what you believe in but if you speak out against homosexuality it's hate speech. Children are taught that there is no place in school for God, only the scientific facts that the teacher decides are accurate. The Theory of Evolution reduces our children to accidents of nature that ultimately will not be held accountable for their actions since they are merely animals evolved to a higher state. Liberal education has raised us to believe the strict child rearing of the past is obsolete and that children are our equals. Parents have become their children's buddy rather than their disciplinarian. Through feminist teaching, the traditional roles of men and women, in which we were created to fulfill, have been made to look wrong and outdated; therefore our children grow up in daycare learning how to live life by a stranger instead of in a secure home environment. Is it any wonder why our children are confused and we are losing control?
As a Christian parent with kids in public school, this book is offensive. Goleman's book is not objective but anti-religion propaganda. His lack of belief in God as a legitimate option for fixing today's problems is apparent throughout the entire book. The only science sited is that which reflects his belief system, whether it has been disproved in other studies or not. His true feelings are explicitly displayed in Appendix B where he describes religion as "logic of the heart" along with poetry, psychosis, children, dreams, and myths. He also considers Buddha, a man who abandoned his wife and son to selfishly seek enlightenment without God, equal to Jesus, the sinless Son of God that died for our sins and was resurrected so that our souls could be saved not through ourselves but through forgiveness. I am teaching my children that they do not have to rely on themselves or the latest self help program to get them through life. They can rely on God no matter what the situation. They are never alone and always have someone to turn to. They are being taught proven science that upholds creation and dismisses evolution as fraudulant. Further more, they are being taught that there is absolute truth and that the definition of right and wrong is clear in the Ten Commandments and does not change due to personal opinion or frequently used excuses. I would hope that I could send my children to school to learn English and Math without having to worry about whether their fundamental belief system of relying on God and not themselves, was being torn down by educators that, though are probably well meaning, are dangerously in error and stepping far beyond their bounds.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look at social problems
Review: This is not the book I thought it would be. It looks at several interesting subjects such as why children with high Emotional Intelligence are more likely to earn more. It also covers the development of depression and how rage affects our ability to make decisions.
Emotional Intelligence is really the ability to understand, control and react accoringly to our emotions. This topic could have been covered more in depth, but otherwise this is a great book for business people and psychologists alike.
Rating:
Summary: The Groundbreaking Book On Social Intelligence
Review: Our success in life can depend more on our emotional development than on our IQ. Sometimes persons of high IQ flounder while those with modest IQ do surprising well. You will learn what it means to be smart in the ways of social development. Unlike IQ emotional intelligence is not fixed at birth.
Rating:
Summary: All you need to do is look around
Review: You don't need to be a psychologist, look at studies, real "science", vodoo, journals or any meta-anaylisis to know if the contents of this book is for real or not. This is not complicated: All you need to do after reading this book is sit for awhile, take a look at yourself and the people around you (family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.) Think of how you relate to them and they to you.... and get to your own conclusions. You will be surprised at what you find.
Rating:
Summary: Social intelligence
Review: This great book will help you to get along with other people. It is a brilliant modern-day version of "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I don't understand why this book is called "Emotional Intelligence" because it should be called "Social Intelligence." Dr. Goleman does explain the neurological basis of emotions but doesn't offer information about how to deal with specific emotions. If you want to understand the messages signaled by each emotion, how to best deal with them, and be emotionally self-reliant, I definitely recommend "Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self."
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