Rating:  Summary: This Book Is Profoundly Destructive Review: The entire contents of John Gray's books repeat the same tired old anecdotes and dogmas. In his view, men are mute, dumb, inarticulate cave-men who can only comprehend mindless action-activities as a form of bonding, i.e., sports, butting heads, hanging out with 'buddies' over a beer, etc. In the bedroom, they are rapacious savages-- demanding and poor at satisfying their partner's needs. Men put out love in relationships only to get sex. Women, in his view, are on the other hand moronic complainers, seeking a warm body to shelter them. Women put out sex in relationships only to get platonic love and protection. Women, in his view, far from being intellectual, want to pour out their feelings endlessly; we just want to talk, not act, according to Gray's quackery. The solution, he holds, that will enable these two inadequate and polarized psychopaths to survive in a marriage, is MUTUAL SELF-SACRIFICE. Men, be patient if she is a frigid, passive complainer who leans on your protection in return for love. That is simply the nature of women. Women, tolerate his ape-ish habits, patiently sitting through a football game, or washing dishes while he retreats mutely into his anti-social "cave." As you can see, John Gray's... ideas do not represent serious phychology or serious research. His ideas do not promote mental health and self-improvement, only mistaken characatures of men and women. His feel-good psychology, which evades personality problems and psychotic behaviors, under the guise that they are merely "masculinity" or "femininitiy" is pathetic and dumbed-down. Don't buy his books. Instead, check out Dr. Ellen Kenner, Dr. Nathaniel Branden, or Dr. Edith Packer. They offer solutions, not self-sacrifice.His book should be renamed "Psychopathic Women Are From Venus and Inadequate, Stupid Men Are from Mars." Don't buy the book if you have an above-average I.Q. or an effective, normal personality.
Rating:  Summary: Men should Read this book all over the world Best read ever. Review: Reading this book was the best thing I ever did. The reason I say this is that I am a male and I was very hopeless at being one until I read this book. It taught me the facts in easy understandle terms of how to 1.Understand me 2. Express my self Clearer 3.Most improtant of all how to understand women in a very thoughtful way and in a way I had never looked at before. I have loved this book so much I tell every women and man about it infact I have had 4 copies and I have given them to friends who are struggling with their relationships and told them to read it to help. I have also the book on CD=ROM which is awesome too. This book is well written, very easy to understand and the best read ever. To sum up if I had heaps of money and I would buy it for all of my friends over the world and send them a copy. this book is written to both sexes and address a lot of issues and gives you practicle ways of achieveeing it and it also helps to understand each others languages in how we might express ourselfs or how we might act. It changed my thinking and attitude and also turned my life around it can also do the same for you if you let it.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent book no matter what shape your relationship's in! Review: The best endorsement I can give this book is that I took it out from the library and I want to give it to my spouse to read. When I read this book I was apalled that I could be married for so many years and still have such a poor understanding of women. This book gave me a lot of useful insights into why she tries to be helpful and I intrepret it as nagging, or I don't listen enough to her talk about her problems and she interprets it as my not caring. The best parts are the sections that tell you "When she says... she really means" and "When he says... he really means." Although admittedly my spouse probably understands me a lot better than I do her, I think this book will at least provide the foundation for a more meaningful dialogue. Definitely required reading for husbands! It gets an enthusiastic "thumbs up" from me. P.S. The woman who wrote "Self Absorbed Males Get Excused Again" totally missed the point.
Rating:  Summary: Relates to both genders and improves yourself first. Review: Gray's comparison about men being from Mars and women being from Venus is very reasonable. It helps to explain why they are so different. Men and women view situations very differently and respond in different ways, and Gray helps the reader to see what the other is thinking at times. Although while reading this book and trying to use the information it can be frustrating because every relationship is not uniform and does not work the same way. This is where Gray also shows that it is a relationship and it takes both people to keep the love going. You yourself has to make changes it can't be a one-way street. He encourages the acceptance of the other gender's way. Fulfilling loving relationships and the emotional needs is what Gray wants the readers to realize. He shows both not only have to be able to ask for support but also return it. Gray wants the reader to learn how to keep the love alive by giving situations and what to do when a problem occurs. He also shows what each one can do in order to prevent an argument. This helps to show the reader that it is useless to fight over petty things. Gray show us one of the most important things is to be understanding and considerate, and the relationship will improve tremendously. When a person is negative and doesn't enjoy their position in the relationship it takes them nowhere, therefore proving Grays logic it started of to make each other happy. No matter how hard a person trys they can't make a reltionship work without love. I think the book is great. It helped me to see what is really meant and how to solve problems. I think couples should read it together in order to help improve their relationship to a new level. It would not hurt to take the step and see what the book could do for the relationship. You never know how it could help until you try to improve it. If you don't want to try then maybe it wasn't meant to work.
Rating:  Summary: Self-absorbed males get excused again! Review: If all you want to learn is how to tolerate the self-absorbed male you live with, have at it! Yet another in a long line of books designed to convince females that it's okay if he's an oafish, selfish, non-communicative fixture who believes the only needs that count are his own. So he's in his cave again? Surely you can take care of all the problems that crop up in a household, by yourself, because he needs his cave-time. Hog wash! When women get equal cave-time, communication problems will resolve themselves. Meantime, don't waste your money on this sexist tripe.
Rating:  Summary: Eye opener. Everyone needs to read this book Review: This book open up my eyes. I didn't know there was a big difference between men and women. I knew there was but not as big as I found out while reading the book. Everyone should be required to read this book.
Rating:  Summary: One of my least favorite books. Review: Though John Gray does offer a couple of interesting insights, I consider the majority of this book junk that is unfit for reading. I found his writing style simplistic and insulting. And his attempts NOT to stereotype the sexes is a failure. I found this book very sexist, overly-simplistic, and perpetuating arguable oppresive gender roles. Obviously, it is also very heterosex-centered. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:  Summary: Popcorn self help Review: The one good thing about this book is that it is well organized. It is poorly written and low in substance. It left me feeling that the author understands neither gender more than a lay person. Its popularity, in my view, makes it a marketing masterpiece.
Rating:  Summary: Read Susan Hamson's Counterpoint! Review: Some readers claim that John Gray has helped save their marriage. Others argue that his views are shallow, sexist and condescending to women. One certainty is that there is no way that John Gray's book(s) can be fully appreciated without reading Susan Hamson's informative (and at times scathing) counterpoint. This can be achieved by visiting her website, creatively titled "The Rebuttal from Uranus" < or by reading her views along side Gray's in "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality," edited by Robert T. Francoeur and William J. Taverner. Bill Taverner Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality
Rating:  Summary: BAD Review: This book is superficial and stereotypes people. It is the worst of the pop psych genre. For really good books read THE ANGRY MARRIAGE BY DR. BONNIE MASLIN. This is the best of its kind and it really can open your eyes to the self defeating patterns couples can get locked into. Debra Tannen is also worth a read.
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