Rating: 
Summary: You were right all along!
Review: I bought this book when my mother died in 1995 and never read it. Now 6 years later I finally got around to reading it after a string of toubles had me down. For me, Seligman gave me back the faith I had lost in the validity of my own time-tested coping skills. Achievement, a high bias toward action, a low propensity to blame things on myself, and above all, an avoidance of ruminating about problems and events. I had been led to believe by people I respect that only medication and endless hours in therapy would help, dispite the fact that they never have. After reading the book I think Seligman is right, this is a lot of self-serving bunk on the part of the psychology industry, except for really severe and biologically based disorders. I found his treatment of the subject of pessimism and optimism very balanced and his rigourous research approach definately shows through in his writing. I appreciate the time the book spent explaining the research that supports Selegman's theories as I am a skeptic, especially of 'pop' psychology books written for mass comsumption. The book demonstrates that his is solid clinical and experimental psychology and not pop psycho-babble. Without this comfort level I would have tossed the book. Bad info is worse than none. It is toxic. This is good info and was greatly appreciated. Thanks 'doc'!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: The only way you're going to find out how great this book is will be by buying it and reading it.So buy it, and read it. You won't be sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many targets
Review: When I started to read this book I had in mind that it deserved a 5 star rating. Now I've read it through I feel that 2.5 stars would be more appropriate, but rounded up rather than down. So why the change of mind?
Basically because I feel that the author has divided his attention between two quite separate targets - and in consequence doesn't really score an "inner" on either of them. My initial reaction was based on two points:
Firstly I didn't spot this immediately as a book on cognitive therapy, and
Secondly, as a sometime hypno/psychotherapist myself I thoroughly enjoyed Seligman's description of how he overcame the champions of behaviourism and sold his own discoveries on 'learned helplessness' to the psychological/psychiatric/mental health establishments. It must be said, however, that apart from three self-tests, this description takes up the first 208 pages of a book where the main text only runs to 296 pages (including the introduction).
For those interested in the experimental validation of the theory, this amount of detail is, I guess, entirely justified.
On the other hand, given that the book's subtitle is "How to Change Your Mind and Your Life", it seems rather unsatisfactory that the "How to" section only constitutes less than 30% of the text - and even then, Chapters 12, 13 and 14 (about 74 pages) are essentially three versions of the same information. I was also less than impressed by the fact that, although the current (1998) edition has an updated Introduction, there are several places in the text where no attempt has been made to update information on crucial experiments from the original (1990) edition - see the study of cancer patients (page 184), for example, or the East Berlin/West Berlin comparison (page 202) where a footnote offers this teaser: "As I edit this manuscript (April 1990), I find myself wondering to what extent the explanatory style of the East Germans over the last few momentous has changed." And so, I suspect, do your readers, Dr Seligman! As a history of the development of one portion of the cognitive therapy movement, for those readers interested in the subject, I would up my rating to *at least* 4 stars....
Rating: 
Summary: Acquired Optimism
Review: Martin Seligman explores two different ways of looking at the world. We all look at the world as either a pessimist or an optimist. He explains how pessimists view the world negatively, while optimists view the world positively. He also says we can "change ships" so to speak. There is a way to chart a new course, but we have to change the way we think. "One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think." --page 8 Seligman believes you can choose to unlearn pessimism ad acquire the skills of looking at setbacks with optimism. He refers to Cognitive Therapy, which I also believe can stop pessimism. He shows his patients how to recognize negative thoughts and how to dispel them by refuting them and also making up new explanations. While the basis of this book is a good one, I truly believe that a belief that life is a journey will also help you stay optimistic. Yes, we have to change our thinking, but it occurred to me that the greatest hopelessness may in fact stem from the lack of purpose many people feel as they walk the earth. If you se this life as simply a section of the map to eternity, it becomes a journey. A journey in learning. That in itself can make life have more meaning and purpose. I also highly recommend the "Yes, You Can!" book., which is excellent for making your life completely more positive in every area. Smile :). Life is good! Perhaps you are just learning a lesson on your journey. You will survive the lesson, no matter how difficult. It will be a test, but you can pass it. We all have gone through things we think we will never survive, but we are all still alive :).
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Summary: Most Useful Psych. Book I Have Read
Review: This is a wonderfully helpful book, as well as a fascinating read. The part about how the author developed and tested his theory reads almost like a good novel. The techniques he offers is extremely helpful. I began to feel happier and more optimistic as soon as I followed the exercises in his book. The techniques have also helped me to cut down on unproductive brooding and put more energy into my work. I disagree with the reviewer who claims that Seligman's version of optimism is about passing on the buck. The problem with many victims of depression is that they often blame and criticize themselves relentlessly even when their share of the responsibility is very miniscule or non-existent. Moreover, a setback in one area of their lives can cast a dark cloud on everything else. Seligman offers the techniques for pessimists to cut down on unproductive brooding and to develop a more realistic view of how bad things are (e.g. does a disapproving glance from your boss necessarily mean you will be fired immediately?). Seligman does not advocate unconditional optimism in everything. He even says that a pessimistic outlook is essential for some tasks. What he wants to, and can, help us do is to prevent our darker visions from sapping too much energy and happiness from our lives. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. If I had an option to give this book 10 stars instead of just 5, I would.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good self-help book
Review: This book is NOT a good self-help book. The interested reader would be better off reading Richard Burns,Aaron Beck or Edmund Bourne. Rather it provides scientific evidence of how / why cognitive therapy works - Dr Seligman gives details of the various "experiments" he has conducted over the years and how he has put the results to good use in industry / sport and personal health. The evidence is clearly provided and well-written in an upbeat style. The actual self-help part of the book only lasts about 20 or 30 pages - most of the book gives the background and examples of where cognitive therapy has been used succesfully. If you need help with anxiety, depression etc this book is not the first recommendation (see above) - however if you are interested in the background of how cognitive therapy developed, along with the evidence to support its use then it is a quite enjoyable read.
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Summary: Seligman gives hope to those with depression
Review: Seligman presents a clear understanding of the nature of depression, particularly in women. He goes a step further, though, and hits a homerun by giving hope to the hopeless. Seligman makes enlightening arguments for why and how people with depression can change. Though simplistic in nature, the how-to for change is easy to facilitate and very practical. The book overall is meaty for those with little or no background in psychology, but for those willing to chew on it a bit, Seligman's informational sections provide an excellent background for a real premise for change. People who have dealt with depression will catch onto Seligman's explanations, theories, and proposals because they make sense. I have recommended this book to many people close to me who have dealt with or are dealing with depression, especially women.
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Summary: Can't go wrong with this book
Review: Dr. Seligman is the former president of the American Psychological Association and one of the important scientific pioneers when it comes to understanding the causes of depression. He describes a lot of the background research which some may find excessive, but it is really a fascinating exposition. His "how-to" is very, very good. I AM A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST WHO SEES CLIENTS AND I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO MY PATIENTS IN MY PRACTICE.
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Summary: Psychological insights into optimism
Review: I found this book to have some good insights into the examination of the "why" people choose to be optimistic or not. On a more practical level of personal transformation, I highly recommend a book called "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. For me The Kanes' book presents a humorous and enlightening way of looking at "how" and not "why" I operated in ways that did not faciliate my life being as great as it now. After attending many of the Kanes' seminars, listening to their great audio tapes, such as Magical Relationships, my life has become humorous and enlightened in ways I never thought possible.
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Summary: A pessimist's view
Review: I tried to approach this book with an open mind. It is comprehensive, insightful, and well written, by one of the pioneers of the field. But essentially the message of the book is that optimists externalise failure, internalise success. If I fail, it is only a short term setback, caused by someone else; if I succeed, it is all due to my inherent, permanent qualities. Now I am sure that this is an effective strategy, and I have observed it with some envy and wonder in many "successful" people, but there is something deep within me that recoils from this mindset, that finds it dishonest, bordering on nauseating. But then I find many so-called "successful" people dishonest and nauseating. If you can stomach a strategy of self delusion, and buckpassing I would heartily recommend this book to you. It will surely aid your quest for "success", at least materially. It merely reaffirmed my position as an unreconstuctable pessimist, but then even Seligman acknowledges that pessimists are the only ones with real self knowledge.
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