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Summary: One of the best books on human relations ever written.
Review: Fascinating stuff! Should be a required course in school. You will gain a tremendous amount of insight into your own behavior and that of those around you. ( I've pulled this book out during small gatherings and everyone loves it. )
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Summary: A Book for All Seasons
Review: What can I say - the Granddaddy of them all, this book is the (should be) primary source for any personality "typing" that you are going to do.Easy to read and fun to explore with others around you, this book gives you a clear, precise, and dissected view of why you are the way you are. Based on the popular Myers-Briggs sorter, this book offers advice and insight where other books leave off. A MUST HAVE for everyone interested in temperament, character, and multiple intelligences.
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Summary: A good theory book, but it's all too lifted from reality
Review: The book gave very good overview of temperaments. What's missing is some statistics or scientific evidence to keep the very good theory connected to reality. I think most of the book presented an ideal theory, theory that got romanticized by the author. A shame, IMHO, because I 'believe' in MBTI personality typing. Nevertheless, a very good book.
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Summary: An Owner's Manual for our Mind
Review: I've always been the odd ball - I've even taken some pride in this. I see the world differently than most of the people I know, and I always felt that this gives me an edge! So imagine my surprise when I discovered that I'm NOT as unique as I thought! The description of my 'type' fit so well that it brought (not kidding) tears to the eyes of our dinner guests (from hysterical laughter) as my husband read it aloud. I also discovered much about my husband, friends and family. This book is easy to use, easy to read, and it will floor you with the accuracy of the type descriptions. Not only does Keirsey give you great insight to each type's behavior, but he also explores how each type interacts with other types. How we parent, who we mate and how we behave under different situations. Using the information inside this book, I've improved my working and personal relationships. This book has had a profound impact in my perspective of others. I've since purchased several great books on MBTI, but this one is by far the best!
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Summary: Excellent starting point for learning about the MBTI
Review: Easy to read, detailed, couldn't put it down. Includes Keirsey Temperament Sorter so you can test yourself without paying $[price] at the [their] site. Very interesting history of the 4 temperaments, in-depth profiles of the 16 personalities. ...
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Summary: From another INTj....
Review: Much of the psychological literature consists of voluminous compositions orbiting disorders that manifest themselves among mortals. Have you ever inquired about the idiosyncracies that are apparent in normal, healthful people? If so, you will like this book. How different personalities develop from different temperaments is a primary theme of this book. Each of us has an inherent propensity to project our own personality– expectations, language, values, social norms – basically a person’s entire orientation towards life– onto others. The value of this book lies in its ability to bring out appreciation, acknowledgment, respect, and understanding between differences that arise among people in all spheres of daily life. The audience Keirsey is looking for is general. The book is most easy to read. His presentation is clear and organized. One can skip around to locate pertinent information with a high degree of celerity. I found that his examples comport with reality. This has been useful in my private life, for it has helped me understand why people around me behave the way they do. This is hardly a book on human nature – quite the opposite! It celebrates the diversity of personality that exists in the world. With the test – it may be biased towards the N type over the S, but given the sound descriptions of each type, it should not be difficult ascertaining what constitutes one’s personality type under this paradigm. Even though there are 16 types discussed, Keirsey groups them all into four categories – the Rational(NT), Idealist(NF), Artisan(Sp), and Guardian(Sj). This generalization is based in part on Jung’s archetypes– supposedly innate ideas or patterns that appear in the human psyche, which usually express themselves as basic symbols or images in literature, art, dreams, et cetera. In the second chapter he gives a brief historical overview of how these four types have been discussed among thinking people. Comparisons with art, non-western societies, popular culture, et cetera, would have made a great edition to the book. Take Star Trek for instance. What types are Mr. Spock, the Klingon Worf, et cetera, caricatures of? I feel the groupings into four types are completely arbitrary. One could do ST and SF, or Nj and Np. Keirsey senses this and tries to logically justify the four temperaments based on word usage and tool usage. I feel this explanation is inadequate – those are descriptions, not causes. There are a few things with the MBTI that could benefit from greater development. With the Sensing and Judging functions – would not the intensity of development in each play a role? I feel it may be possible for a person to have well developed sensing and intuitive behavior, while having feeling and thinking undeveloped. I understand that the S’s T’s, F’ and N’s are preferences, but development of each, or lack of, has to play a role in the composition of an individual’s personality. For example, Ayn Rand and Chevy Chase are both thought to be/have been INTj’s – but their personalities are divergent to some degree. People use their “gifts” differently; the personality descriptions in this book are not written in stone. Plus-- don’t forget other diagnostics! The enneagram has as a new agey feel to it, but is fun nonetheless. I have seen another diagnostic online that describes personality in terms of thoroughness, agreeableness, extroversion, emotionality, openness. Plus there is the MMPI and the 16PF which persons specialized in psychology use to assess personality. Overall, this is a very fun book! In the event a person finds Keirsey’s development a bit shallow, Isabel Briggs Myers’ “Gifts Differing,” ...is an excellent place to start if one want to go beyond how personality types behave and wishes to know why. Keep in mind– human nature is often divided into two types! (Men/Women) As we use more and more criteria to divide people into categories, 4, 16, et cetera – we gradually approach a limit where we are left with single individuals. Overall, this book gets a thumb up ... Enjoy!
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Summary: Essential read, if you want to consider yourself educated
Review: Keirsey is sort of the Adam Smith of Social Psychology. Please Understand Me II (different and better than Please Understand Me) synthesizes and draws out what Western Civilization has known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. All of us possess one of four general and distinct temperaments, and in turn also possess one of four specific and distinct temperaments from within one of the general groups. If such a thing as a "handbook" regarding human nature exists, Keirsey's book is it. Please Understand Me II gives a few chapters of background at the beginning (most importantly, the propensities for tool usage and communication, resulting in a simple 2x2 matrix illustration), and then the next four chapters are devoted to each different general temperament: Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, Rational. The rest of the chapters build on the former, covering Parenting, Childhood, Leadership, inter alia. It's difficult to emphasize how essential this book is to your personal library. The book is very approachable to the interested and intelligent reader (and according to Keirsey, who WOULDN'T that be...), especially considering Keirsey's rigorous treatment of an important and perhaps even previously neglected area of Social Science. The book may seem mostly theoretical to some, but after reading the book you will probably have no choice but apply the theory you learned to your interactions with others. Not only is the book helpful as a guide to observing and "reading" people, it also is an excellent tool for self-understanding (and even includes tests to help you determine your specific type). Excellent resource...fascinating topic...masterful treatment of the subject matter. I wholeheartedly (and thoughtfully, and excitedly, and steadfastly) recommend Please Understand Me II. econ
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Summary: Beyond MBTI
Review: This book goes way beyond the MBTI - prior knowledge is very helpful, i'd recommend reading the first book (Please understand me) before tackling this one. In true NT style keirsey examines and analyzes all 4 personality types (along with 4 subtypes of each main type) It is much wider in scope, and with prior knowledge of the MBTI this is a very usefull book.The book examines how the types interact, and more interestingly, delves into psychological motivations of each type, and how each type views the world, interacts with the world, and wishes to be viewed. It is a bit technically written, lots of vocabulary and presumed prior knowledge of the MBTI, so again, I'd recommend reading the first book, well, first.
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Summary: Almost five stars!
Review: I loved Keirsey's earlier Please Understand Me, although ...e.g., he said INFPs lie about their experiences. So I was relieved to see that his Please Understand Me II was considerably mellowed out toward these types. And I really appreciated his abandonment of the Greek mythological overlay on the data (calling types Dionesian, etc.) However, the spiritual dimension of human character, temperament and intelligence is STILL MISSING. And now that Keirsey's work is so much more profound and clear, the oversight is all the more distressing. Keirsey, although now allowing for an ESP dimension, does not allow for a moral spiritual sense involving choice, so--for example-- he over and over asserts that all SPs are HEDONISTS, and that is that. If there were no spiritually-developed SPs, I could understand that he hadn't experienced any, so how could he write of them. But I know MANY, and in fact SPs are one of the types most open to spiritual development, because THEY LISTEN TO THEIR HEARTS. And--as far as sales go--believe me, EVOLVED SPs will NOT want to share this book with anyone! Yet, to Keirsey, SPs are just sex machines looking for the next gratification. Maybe he is fixed on this aspect of SPs because he is fascinated by the animalistic SPs, as different from his typs as they are from moral SPs? I don't know. Whatever its cause, the lack of consideration of the effect of moral choice on human character, intelligence, and temperament makes this work a grave disappointment to those who had hoped that time would have led Keirsey to a greater understanding of the types than just the material, psychological, and emotional. And, for morally-developed people, it degrades this book into a humiliating list of character assassinations. slanders, libels, and defamations of character. The next edition of this otherwise-helpful book would benefit from Keirsey (or one of his associates) adding a section on The Types When Spiritually Developed, or some such heading.
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Summary: An eye-opener like no other book.
Review: If you are in a relationship that has its difficulties from time to time, it may be that you just don't understand what type of personality your partner is. Ever wanted to know why you think and feel the way you do? Or why your partner does what they do? This book will answer all these questions for you. I've had to buy about 20 copies in the last year because all my friends want to learn about themselves and their relationships. You'll find yourself saying WOW! over and over. You will honestly feel that this book was written just for you.
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