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Summary: You can't read a more important book
Review: Perhaps what this work will be remembered for most is that it has solved a problem that not even Jung could solve: what personality should you marry? There are a lot of books out there claiming to have the solution to this problem. But Keirsey's claim that Idealists should marry Rationals and Guardians should marry Artisans is the only theory that holds any water in the long run. This information alone makes this book worth reading. Sure, some may say this book is not as good as the first one. But I say it's better because Keirsey has expanded his temperament theory even farther.
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Summary: A reference manual for understanding others.
Review: First off, I'm a skeptic, a scientific thinker in the CSICOP mold. I first encountered David Keirsey's writings on the web site, Keirsey dot com, and thought: A classification system that divides people into sixteen "personality types"? Sounds like astrology -- and I count myself among the firm unbelievers. But I was still curious, and the online questionnaires yielded a reasonably accurate description of me, so I bought the book and dove in. I went straight to the profile of my own type (INTP) to see how much of it I could write off as universal generalities.I was stunned. Keirsey hit some crucial nerves. There's one passage especially, about the Rational temperament's perception of time, that described me uncannily and does NOT fit non-Rationals I know. It was like cracking open a fortune cookie and finding my suit measurements. This knocked down my resistance, and I began reading other profiles pertaining to people close to me -- which was easy to do, because each type has its own self-contained section with all the relevant details. Now, many personality types have details in common, and as a result, Keirsey repeats himself a lot. This can be understandably irritating if you're trying to read the book cover-to-cover, but it serves well for skipping around, for quick reference -- which is the book's greatest strength. It's not a narrative, it's a reference. In addition to laying out type and temperament details, Keirsey relates the history of four-element personality theory, starting with the ancients and culminating with Jung, Myers, and Briggs. And he emphasizes the danger of what he calls the "Pygmalion Project," our tendency to interpret others' differences (from ourselves) as faults or misunderstandings to be corrected -- to try to change other people's basic nature, an endeavor which can only cause worse problems. Personally speaking, I've learned from Keirsey to better understand my wife (and vice versa), my mother-in-law, many friends (and I've learned why I chose these friends), my boss...once you get a feel for this stuff, it illuminates all sorts of relationships. The book has chapters on love and marriage, too, highlighting the special dynamics between particular paired types. (More often than not, one's ideal mate is NOT a carbon-copy, but a contrasting type who speaks the same language.) I've learned to ease off from struggling against people's basic ways of thinking, feeling, working, and communicating. Better to learn to speak their language and to understand their motivations, which may be radically different from yours. It makes a big, positive difference. Admittedly, Keirsey is a Rational himself -- logical, unsentimental, about as un-Oprah as you can get -- and he unabashedly writes that way, which can make the text a bit dry and technical at times. (No disrespect to Oprah. I understand and respect her a lot more too, thanks to Keirsey.) But I believe it's worth the effort for anyone to read at least selected parts of this book, because the insights are so very useful. Consider it a reference manual for understanding other people. You might like manuals or they might drive you crazy, but when you find that one part that answers your question, the reward is worth the work.
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Summary: "Please Understand Me II" is Keirsey at his best.
Review: I almost didn't buy this book because I thought it was just a new version of Keirsey and Bates' "Please Understand Me." The appeal of Keirsey and Bates' original work was that it covered much of the information upon which the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based is a very readable manner. Rather than reading like a psychological treatise, it read like a book written for the general public. I am glad that I bought "Please Understand Me II." It exceeded my expectations. Keirsey's new book is much better than the original Keirsey and Bates book. I had read Keirsey and Bates at a time when I was taking an MBTI qualifying course, and I found it had value to me because it brought the concepts of personality type more alive than the text from the Consulting Psychologists Press. Although we were also using Kroeger and Thyssen's "Type Talk" and "Type Talk at Work," Keirsey gave me an added dimension. I liked it so much that I purchased Stephen Montgomery's "Pygmalion Project: Love and Coercion Among the Types : The Guardian," to get more information. The basic appeal of a book on personality type is to gain a better understanding of ourselves, our "significant others," and people with whom we work. You might go so far as to say that it gives us an insight into what makes people tick. However, the real purpose of the study of personality type for the layman is to develop an understanding of what Isabel Myers called the "gifts differing." Each personality type has certain qualities that are unique. An understanding of those values adds dimension to interpersonal relationships, whether they be relationships within a family, significant others, or within a work group. The strengths of some members of a group add value to that group, compensate for weaknesses of other members, and make the group more effective. Rather than work with Myers and Briggs's 16 psychological types, Keirsey emphasizes the four temperaments which he developed from the scholarship associated with the MBTI. That was the fundamental strength of Keirsey and Bates' original book, and Keirsey advances that construct one step more by including information about certain "intelligences" associated with the temperaments. I found that "Please Understand Me II" is much more than a self-help psychology book. It goes to great lengths beyond the original Keirsey and Bates publication to provide additional depth to the concept of psychological type, both from a historical background establishing the scientific basis for the study of psychological type, but also from the point of view of the scholar in making the study of psychological type much more understandable. I feel that this book has value not just to the general public, but also to students of psychology, personnel and human resources personnel, as well as the clergy and mental health professionals. People who read this book should also read Stephen Montgomery's "Pygmalion Project," Isabel Myers' "Gifts Differing," and Kroeger and Thyssen's "Type Talk" and "Type Talk at Work."
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Summary: Excellent book, and here is another INFJ
Review: The criticism of this book in other reviews is basically saying that the problem with this book is that it isn't another book. Either it isn't Keirsey's first, or it isn't something by Sandra Krebs Hirsch. While the other reviews made me curious about Sandra's books, I can't help but think it's unfair to this author that his work isn't reviewed on its own merits. Is it really necessary for me to read Sandra before I give Keirsey five stars for this effort, or for me to read Please Understand Me before I rate this one? That can't be right. I learned a lot from this book. It's the second Meyers Briggs book that I bought, and it gives me a much better handle on the subject than the more coffee-table first book I bought. I don't often learn much of anything from "self help" books, and I'm easily disappointed. But this book taught me a lot about people. Like most of the other reviewers here, I'm an "NF" Idealist. According to this book, we are rare, only ten percent of the population, but we are particularly interested in self discovery, so it is to be expected that we'd jump on a book like this. The main thing I learned is the system of dividing us into Artisans (which I prefer to call Action Seekers), Guardians, Rationals, and Idealists. Those familiar with astrology will quickly see a correlation to the four elements, fire, earth, air and water, respectively. The Action Seekers are fiery, the Guardians earthy, the Rationals intellectually airy, and the Idealists watery, emotional, adaptable. Keirsey doesn't mention this, and obviously believes that astrology belongs on the junk heap of superstition. Let me inform him that Sir Isaac Newton defended his belief in astrology by saying that he had studied the subject, while its detractors hadn't. One can't fall into the trap of mistaking daily horoscope crap for the real thing. The faults of this book are nothing when compared with the knowledge offered. One can understand why the world is in the mess it's in considering that 80% of the population is either a self centered Action Seeker or an authoritarian Guardian. The idealists and the thinkers are badly outnumbered. I don't mean to insult any individual Action Seeker or Guardian, but the world could use a lot more compassion and reason, a lot less selfishness and power mongering. I highly recommend Personality Types by Don Richard Riso. It offers a different but related system called the enneagram, which has nine different personality types. I say "related" because Type One is going to have a "J" in the Meyers Briggs system, Type Two will have an "F", Type Three an "E" and "T", Type Four an "N", Type Five an "I" and "T", Type Seven an "E" and "P", Type Eight an "E" and "T", and Type Nine an "N" and "P". Those of you who are familiar with both systems will know exactly what I'm referring to.
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Summary: INFJ speaks up!
Review: This is one of the first books I bought when starting my journey into the understanding of personality typing. Each type is listed and discussed separately and then some interacting/relationship types are discussed in the latter part of the book. This is reference material that I have gone back to time and again, but as I gain more and more knowledge, I find the discussion of the types in this book lacking in depth discussion about the meanings of the dominant, auxiliary, tertiary and inferior aspects and how that relates to the spiritual growth of an individual. In other words, this is a great reference book for understanding the types and looking at their differences and a great first book on understanding personality typing. Books that lead to more indepth "meaning" for each personality type and how it is affecting you, your relationship and your spiritual path would be: Soul Types: Finding the Spiritual Path that is Right for You by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and Jane Kise.
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Summary: As an E.N.F.J. IDEALIST - - This is an excellent book!
Review: We see the world as WE are, not at the world is. Although we are all unique and individual humans, there are significant and observable commonalities in the way we communicate, interact, and see our place in the world. Dr. Keirsey's book is an invaluable resource when one desires to understand one's spouse, children, co-workers, boss, parents, etc. After reading and re-reading my own copy, I've purchased at least 2 dozen other copies to give as gifts to people in my life. In my personal list of favorite books, this one is in the Top 15.
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Summary: Interesting Book But There's a Better One to Read First
Review: This book is interesting but also somewhat esoteric and opinionated. A much more useful book to start out with is LIFETYPES by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and Jean Kummerow. They also cover Myers-Briggs temperament preferences but in a more straightforward, readable, and immediately usable way. I am a psychologist and I have found LIFETYPES to be perhaps the most personally and professionally useful book I've ever found. If, after reading it, you want to explore different approaches to temperament and explore the topic in greater depth, then David Keirsey's work would be of interest.
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Summary: I never read the first one.
Review: I never read "Please Understand Me" and really had no clue what the Meyers-Briggs personality test was prior to a chance encounter with a test by the author. When I saw the results, my jaw dropped to the floor.There on the screen were all the traits I, an INFP, had denied and fought for years. Maybe the first one was better. Maybe there are other books on the subject that are more informative and/or are easier to read. All I know is that this book in one week answered questions that I had agonized over for years. For that reason I am recommending it.
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Summary: Disappointing compared to first edition
Review: I liked Kiersey's frst version very much, and used it frequently with my clients (I am a psychologist) as a good MBTI introduction. I think the revisions in this 2nd edition complicate the work too much and make it less targeted and clear. I'd still recommend the first Kiersey version.
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Summary: A must read!
Review: This book is a must read for managers; although, it is not classified as a management book. It provides a framework to objectively evaluate oneself - a skill that very few people have mastered. By understanding temperment and character, as related to various personality types, overall communication can be enhanced. This needs to be the primary goal of management. Employees no longer work for organizations, they volunteer. Communication is the key to keep them wanting to volunteer their time!
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