Rating: 
Summary: Good read, but not really very hopeful
Review: One of the things the author points out in this book is the importance that hopefullness and a positve outlook play in the success or failure of living. What he fails to do is provide a real sense of either by falling into the trap of overestimating the importance that genetics and early childhood experiences have on ones emotional makeup. Granted, he does point out that those of us who may have been born with less than optimal temperment further [messed] up by poor parenting and childhood trauma, can relearn or overcome these hindereances (although there doesn't really seem to be much written on how to) he goes on to offer study after study of how you either have it or don't by the age of 4! Overall, it had some very interesting tidbits in it, like how monkey's behave and show empathy for fellow creatures, and how good parenting skills can help children have better emotional skills (as if any intelligent person hasn't figured that out yet!) but there isn't much here on how to cultivate good emotional health and heal from emotional damage. Perhaps that wasn't really the focus of this book, but rather it was to point out the importance of emotional intelligence, leaving the opportunity to write another book, on how to cultivate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Emotional Intelligence
Review: This book helped me to understand the importance of emotions. I learned that when someone is raging to stay away because their neurological system is fired up and they can't be reasonable, even if they want to. This was an important discovery for me. My next important discovery was an incredible book called Optimal Thinking: How to be Your Best Self which gave me a comprehensive understanding of every emotion, and questions to ask to master them. I recommend each of these books one hundred per cent.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally Smart
Review: I was disappointed as this book came highly recommended to me by my Boss. If you are looking for a practical step by step guide, you will not find all the relevant information. However, Daniel Goleman must get credit for simplying the concept of Emotional Intelligence. Daniel has made the subject interesting by applying psychological thought and analysis to previous news clippings that most of us rarely do a cause and analysis on. He explains the importance of inculcating Emotional Intelligence at an early age and also quotes several academic studies to justify his claims. I wish I had read this book earlier!
Rating:
Summary: He put Emotional Intelligence on the map
Review: This is a classic. He described all the different ways in which human beings express unique aspects of emotional intelligence. He makes a strong case that overall emotional intelligence is more important than IQ regarding reaching overall happiness and success in life. You just have to look all around you in every day life, and observe that what he is saying holds true. If human beings were solely intellectually intelligent, they would eventually all be replaced by a good computer with a good decision making software package. Watch out the Matrix would take over. Fortunately, this is not so. Our lives are far more complex, and can't be run by binomial decisions. Everything is associated with judgment calls. It is all shades of gray. In such a domain, emotions, intuition, empathy, sensitivity, and awareness rule. The intellect is just a wonderful tool serving these other masters. The Matrix will never rule.
Rating:
Summary: Ground breaking book about emotions
Review: In a society that devalues emotions, this book is a refreshing change. Goleman defines emotional competence with various criteria which include impulse control, self-motivation, empathy and social efficacy. His approach is unique and compelling. As the quality of our lives is often determined by the emotions we experience, I believe it is in our best interest to value each and every emotion and learn how to best deal with them. To value and make the most of emotions, I recommend Optimal Thinking -- How to Be Your Best Self by Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D. You are provided with a roadmap to deal with disturbing emotions in general, and a roadmap for specific emotions. You learn you how to use emotions as optimization signals. I am convinced that if you read and use the information in these two books, you will master your life. They worked for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Guide to an emotional healthy world?
Review: It comes as little surprise that emotions are
important in human life. And I wasn't really surprised
by Golemans claim that emotional intelligence is
more important than just having a high IQ, when
it comes to how we do in life.
Still, the book was well worth the read.
Golemans many case stories and references
to ongoing brain research makes the
case for emotional intelligence both compelling
and very interesting. -Simon
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life for the BETTER. It Teaches.
Review: Wonderful book about how thought, emotion & will, effort determine our success. A great analysis of the human mind in society. Emotion and Emotional Intelligence is a binding factor in not only our happiness, but also how successful we are with our efforts & accomplishments. Definitely worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for Daniel Goleman*****
Review: Emotional Intelligence is an incredibly well written book; As a Psychologist I strongly recommend it. If you ever wondered why some academic geniuses never reached their full potential and why average people with average IQ's are successful? this book will give you the answers. This book surely redefines what it means to be smart! This is for anyone who wants to maximize their potential. 5 stars for Daniel Goleman. Also I strongly recommend you to read: Emotional Intelligence,Imagination,Cognition, and Personality. By: Peter Salovey
Rating:
Summary: are there other undiscovered forms of intelligence?
Review: A quick comment about "Emotional Intelligence"...The very first paragraph in the book struck me funny...Mr. Goleman mentions the "Black" bus driver as his first example, as if to imply that his "blackness" was part of the information that we, (as readers), needed to understand the irony of the situation. He states that the black driver had an infectious, positive attitude, which was in sharp contrast to the sullen disposition of those who got on the bus. To the uninformed reader who is white, there would be nothing strange about this, but to me, as a black person, it seems that this was written for a white audience that would instantly "understand that this man was demonstrating emotional intelligence, even though, to some folks, an unfortunate stereotype remains that a black person may not be as highly "intelligent" in IQ as the white passengers...
My point regarding this example is that while emotional intelligence is significant and important, there may be other forms of "intelligence" that come into play in life. For example, what kind of "intelligence", (or lack of intelligence) would we attribute to the great minds who shaped this country, such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others...all God fearing white men who created a brilliant constitution of "all men equal under God", and yet, they kept slaves and women had no rights...they simply could not see or realize the great inherent injustice of human bigotry at the time! It took America hundreds of years to overcome that basic "insensitivity to others different than us"...and even now we are not yet fully color, gender, or race blind. (In Football, the quarterback has traditionally been a "white" position, in part, because of this same stereotype that the black man is not "intelligent" in the IQ way...women still deal with the "glass ceiling"...and also, sometimes, I believe that our intolerance of other nations, religions etc., may be part of this lack of "another form of Intelligence", which causes people to see things in different ways because of which side of the fence they sit on....man, woman, black, white, Americans, Iraqis...)...
My point is this; Goleman, (who is a white male), may himself have written those words unconsciously, with a white audience in mind, knowing that they would appreciate the irony, but I think it is unfortunate that he did not see the potential insensitivity in his first example...could this be a lack of "another form of intelligence"? Otherwise...its a great book.
Rating:
Summary: a good thesis
Review: I liked the thesis of this book - that EQ is at least as important as IQ (whatever that is, assuming it can be meaningfully measured). Sadly, I didn't like the way Goleman presented his thesis. Like much of popular culture these days it is just short easy-to-assimilate grabs - depth is lacking in the writing. To be convincing - and I wanted to be convinced - I needed more substance and less of the yarns and anecdotes. For example, on page 90 there is a quote from a composer who is not named (although the source of the quote is cited). Because I have an interest in music I did find the name of the composer elsewhere in the book - another citation from the same source -not that I'd actually heard of him, which diminishes the credibility of the quote. I suspected, of course, that the composer was not Beethoven because the author would just have written: 'Beethoven describes ....' To quote an unnamed composer - not to introduce who he is - is just plain sloppy to me. And reduces my satisfaction at what I have read.
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