Rating: 
Summary: Lacks the "how to"!
Review: The book is an excellent reference for the scientific or the person doing research on this subject. Howver, if like me, you would like to develop your own skills and are not already relatively good at it, look for an other book.
I would recommend this one to someone interested in the medical and scientific background and research on emotional intelligence. For practical applications look further.
Rating: 
Summary: Refuting the IQ View
Review: It is the author's contention that we are not measuring an individual's true intelligence without factoring in emotion. Along with the purely rational, we need to account for the power of emotion over rational thought. As the author states, "...intelligence can come to nothing when the emotions hold sway." As an educator, I find Parts IV and V most relevant to classroom life. Armed with the knowledge of the importance of emotional intelligence as put forth in this book, I think we can better serve to develop our students as total human beings by considering their emotional health as well as academic achievement. In light of tragedies such as Columbine,we need to look at integrating emotional health into our academic programs, not as a separte subject but as an ongoing process of education in all subjects. This book is an important read for fostering responsible human interaction not just in schools, but at home and in the workplace as well.
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Summary: EloQuent and UnEQuivocably Useful
Review: I'm a personal life coach and also an EQ coach and have done career counseling in the past. You can't help but notice people with high IQs and excellent educations who just don't seem to be able to make it in the work world, and who aren't really going to subject themselves to traditional analysis or deep exploration of their psychodynamics to explore the reasons why, nor am I equipped to deliver it. Fear of success? Deep-seated authority conflicts? This book gave me something I could really USE. It's written for the public, but we are the public, and those of us who work in the helping professions are working with the public. It generally boils down to the fact that the person simply doesn't know how to get along. They don't read social cues. They can't tell when to talk and when not to. They alienate people and have abrasive personalities. They zig when they should zag. In the dance of interpersonal relationships, they're stepping all over other people's toes. And they keep digging themselves in deeper. I believe the vernacular is that they're "clueless." (If you want to see the sad extreme of this, read about Asperger's Syndrome.) The most important news in the book is that EQ is not fixed at birth, but rather can be developed over the lifespan, and generally does. The author tells you why, and how, and what you can do about it. It's especially important to read this book if you have children and care about their future. Can they save their raisins for Sunday? It will matter later on in life.
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Summary: From a recovery counselor
Review: A lot of what is in this book relates to what I teach my clients who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. It is important to be able to identify emotions, but perhaps even more important to know what to do with those emotions. One of the main messages of Emotional Intelligence is that we need to raise our children to learn to think before they take action. Goleman gives many examples of people in our society turning to violence, and uses this as a justification as to why emotional intelligence is so important. I feel that whether or not someone is going to that extreme, knowing how to manage emotions is important in our daily lives. One thing I liked about this book is that he refers to many authorities in the field of psychology, citing both clinical opinions and research studies. I read this book just as I was finishing a master's in counseling psychology. I found the references to the various theories a great refresher of what I learned in my program. This book went into more detail and depth than I had anticipated. I appreciate that.
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Summary: Emotional Intelligence--Fields Where This Is Good
Review: Emotional Intelligence By Daniel Goldman This book should be required reading for people who depend upon their rapport with people for the practice of their profession. Doctors who have a very high IQ and very little emotional intelligence should work in research where the lack of emotional intelligence will not count so much. But doctors who work with patients should have, or have to have more than the normal quota of emotional intelligence if they want to be successful. Then we get involved with the ego of the doctor and the patient and it becomes more important for a doctor to have rapport with his patients. This book does more than that; it goes into the brain and describes the functions of the parts that make up emotional intelligence in a language that can be understood by the layman. Being able to get along with people-that is 90 percent of emotional intelligence. Being able to hold your temper and count 10 before blowing up. If you think about it you may not have a reason to blow up. If you think about it and are still angry you may have a reason to be-then you are angry with your intelligence in gear. The amygdala is the seat of emotional intelligence. A person can be taught or drilled in the correct emotional response, but who does not have the necessary IQ (cognitive elements) to make a good decision. We have to suppose that a person will know his or her own limits. This is a good book for the person who needs to know, and wants to know something about the all-important human 'set of drivers' (the brain).
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Summary: Say hi to the grindstone for me
Review: Wow. Seattle's Sep. 24 '99 review is rather emotional for being written by such a traditionalist. Such defensive overtones'can we not be happy for the people with good social skills, and give the advantages of having said skills a little deserved consideration? If you are feeling excluded, please remember that the plasticity of the brain allows you to continue development of your own EQ. Maybe work a little on those introspection skills (Why do I become anxious when a different kind of intelligence is praised? ' Why have I allowed myself to be brainwashed into thinking standardized testing is a comprehensive and equitable method for evaluating how intelligent individuals are, when gender and race biases have historically been inherent in their design, and will remain so as long as the old white men designing them keep getting the big bucks? ' More importantly' Do I really know how to think for myself? Has society so easily tricked me into believing that I'm effectively thinking for myself as long as I challenge anything that might jeopardize the increased prosperity of the rich, at the expense of everyone else?) You receive your feel-good pills on a daily basis, as you obviously subscribe to the paradigm that prevails in this priority-disordered country; most everything present in the media, public policy, the education system, etc. is going to fall right in line with what you've been conditioned to believe is important (MILITARY POWER'INTELLECTUAL POWER'BLAH BLAH BLAH). It's natural you would feel threatened when a more holistic approach to the subject of intelligence receives a little attention. By the way your review says it's in response to the audio version, is that just a glitch or did you not read the book? I'm led to believe the latter, because otherwise you would not being referring to the book as 'showing us that we 'didn't want all that intellectual stuff, anyway.'' Goleman's message is extremely different than this rash and oversimplified impression; it places huge emphasis on the importance of both the rational and the emotional kinds of intelligence, and the benefits that come from using them together.
Rating: 
Summary: OK-There's more to life than brains
Review: Goleman has written a book for the general public. He makes a strong case for emotional intelligence (EI) as being as important or even more so a predictor for success than IQ (book smarts). Not only that, he even makes a good case for EI as being NECESSARY for a better IQ, & even for improving it. So its worth reading the book for these two points alone. I also enjoyed his addition of some brain neurology to make his points more effective. I think Goleman had a few flaws in the book- First off, his everday man's examples of a street shooting or a school attack to back up his points were not always to the mark. I'd read them and say, 'hey- that's not what I learn from the vignette. Your story makes a different point than what the chapter is about'. Second, he tries to unite the whole gamut of disciplines in one popular book, and so each specific field isn't detailed enough (how could it be?). For ex- I much preferred Joseph LeDoux's book on the making of emotions for the hx of how emotions were viewed in psychological circles, and for the neuro stuff about the fear/defense pathway. If you like a list of emotions for self improvement, this book is for you. I felt it got a bit redundant at the end. However, the descriptions of how these EI programs were used in actual schools was fascinating. I hope more institutions join aboard.
Rating:
Summary: emotional expose
Review: a solid book which reveals why we react the way we do to different situations. after reading it, i am now able to take a moment to understand why i react or why i shouldnt react . a smooth read. written in such a way that kept me interested--even through the descriptions of the brain's mechanisms which can be boring to read in other cases. 2 thumbs up
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Summary: Attempt at turning soft issues into tangible items
Review: I think that this author's research is worthy of a perusing. Although the reading is not very fluid, I find his concepts commendable. If more people would give the "soft stuff" a harder look, I think this world would be a lot better off. This author does a fairly good job at rationalizing the irrational.
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Summary: Great starting point for learning about relationships
Review: Yes, there are heaps of boring sections in the book...it ain't a fun read. But the heart of the message is incredibly insighful: That empathy is a key life attitude. If you work your way through the book you'll understand why I give it 5 stars...even though I forced myself to finish it. I'd recommend this book to ANYONE interested in understanding the human condition. Then I'd follow it up with any book by Thomas Gordon (Parent Effectiveness Training, Leader Effectiveness Training, Teacher Effectiveness Training), as these books show you exactly how to put to daily use the skills that nurture and develop emotional intelligence. I read Thomas Gordon's books first and then found Emotional Intelligence. But either way you're promised an eye-opening experience.
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