Rating: 
Summary: Great expansion of MBTI
Review: I first read this book after I had already familiarized myself with Isabel Briggs Myers' work. The constructs that Keirsey invented -- most notably, the temperament groups SP, NF, NT and SJ -- are a very helpful expansion of the MBTI theoretical base. I believe Keirsey's portrait of an ISTP is the finest summary I have ever read for that type. It fits my brother to a "T". I identify most strongly with the ISFP, and Keirsey's characterization of that type is surely the most flattering ever penned. Though some will not agree with Keirsey's speculations about the temperaments of long-dead historical figures, there is much to admire about this volume. I did feel that the book is quite verbose, and needed stronger editing, but this complaint didn't detract from my enjoyment of Please Understand Me. This book will help you figure out so many people in your life. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: "Please understand me"
Review: Keirsey's explanation of the different temperaments was a real eye-opener for me. Finally I understand why people get upset with certain of my character traits, and why I always felt so misunderstood by some people. It was a big relief to know that after all, I'm "normal", and so are the others. Where there used to be resentment on my or the others' part, we now knowingly smile at each other, saying "ah, there shows your J again, can't help it, can you?" Keirsey introduces us to four basic opposite tendencies in temperament, then describes the temperaments, and applies this to the areas of relationships, work, children, and learning. The book starts with a questionnaire that you can take to determine your type. I would strongly advise not to just read the part about your own type, though. The real aha effect comes when you read about the others, too. You won't even need everyone to take the test, you'll know just by what you've read what types you're dealing with. It's fun to realize our differences and see them in a new light.
Rating:
Summary: If you only knew
Review: If everybody had the chance to read just one book, this one is packed full of information on understanding yourself - but mostly others - better. You learn those little things your spouse and kids do are really NOT meant to drive you crazy; they're just hardwired differently than you. I have read many books on this subject and this one, along with Type Talk, are the best. This first version is perfect for the lay person; there is a newer, updated version but it gets into a lot of psycho babble which most of us not in the field would find difficult to digest. I am thrilled the "older" and original version is still available; I've ordered multiple copies and handed them all out already. It's time to replenish my supply. Great for managers who are hiring, but take the time to really absorb the information.
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating book for people fascinated by themselves
Review: I really enjoyed this book and find myself thinking in terms of it still many years after having read it the first time. Unfortunately, the only people who are likely to get really taken by it are Keirsey's "NF"s, the people on a constant mission of self-discovery. The rest are, as Keirsey writes, not only disinterested in what makes them tick, but wholly unable to understand why NFs are so devoted to the search. In fact, if the book became popular among the other temperaments, it would almost serve to paradoxically prove the book wrong. (What would an extroverted SP be doing inside reading a psychology book instead of out playing extreme sports?) Keirsey's book adds to the basic Briggs-Meyers test a truly engrossing discussion of temperament groups, but his attempt to bring the whole thing into the world of business management strikes me as a somewhat offensive gross over-commercialization. Not that there isn't a strong place for understanding motivation in the workplace, it's just that the discussion adds unnecessary weight to a book more useful, I think, if kept in easily consulted handbook style. And I can't help but feel it was tacked on just to get the book onto business seminars' curriculum -- and we NFs don't like to feel like our search for ultimate truth is being exploited! The book is worth a look, though, for the test itself if nothing else. The test can be eye-opening if taken seriously (as the NFs will -- for awhile at least) and is at the very least fun even if approached in the most casual way... supermarket checkout line magazines have long made a living off people's enjoyment of "testing" themselves, their friends, and their mates. And if by accident we get a little deeper understanding into human interrelationships, that's got to be worth a few bucks, doesn't it?
Rating:
Summary: ON TARGET!!
Review: As a Dating, Marriage, and Divorce Counselor, as well as a Staff Placement Consultant for professional corporations, my expertise is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. I have personally interpreted one-on-one more than 1,500 Indicators. Please Understand Me is the book I recommend all those who take the test to read first. It is simple. Well-formatted. To the point. Informative. Accurate. It is wonderful to see light bulbs come on in people's heads when they read about themselves through this book. Thank goodness for Keirsey and Bates who took the time to write this book! I recommend it highly for people who desire to learn about themselves. The most terrific thing is that the reading is not only simple, it's lots of fun!! Dr. P.
Rating:
Summary: very informative & interesting
Review: Despite its cheesy title, this book is not only a lot of fun to read and test out on friends and family, but it's also helpful and informative. It was given to me by a guidance counselor while I was in high school, and being an INFJ, it helped me understand myself and others better. I think we should be discussing this stuff in classrooms, especially classrooms of young kids, not as a model of absolutisms or concrete scientific fact, but as a method for teaching tolerance for different types of people. I really think these temperments are legit, and it inspired me to read about Jungian psychology. I've taken the test a few different times over the span of the past several years to see if my type had changed as a way of testing the Myers-Briggs-based test itself, and I've always come up w/INFJ. At the risk of sounding narcissistic, I also find that when I compare INFJ w/other types, the profile of INFJs most closely describes me so I think the test is accurate. It's not an exact science, but it's still useful.
Rating:
Summary: Examples from the book
Review: I think the best way to learn about a book is to see some examples. There are sixteen types, with eight letters, and the following two types provide the words that go with the eight letters:
INFJ=Introvert Intuititive Feeler Judger
ESTP=Extravert Senser Thinker Perceiver 1. NFs (intuitive feelers) often report more pleasure in anticipation of romance than in consummation of it. They hold out for the possiblity of a perfect relationship, and some will work hard to create it. 2. SJs (sensing judgers) are very responsible, and willing to sacrifice a great deal to meet their responsiblities. They're the nurturers of society's traditional, respected institutions (churches, schools, civic organizations, etc.) They like order and predictability in home life, and are often very good employees. 3. SPs (sensing perceivers) are adventurous, spontaneous, and often end up married to SJs. They and SJs outnumber all the Ns three to one. 4. NTs (intuitive thinkers) are driven, intelligent, concerned with mastery, and often seem emotionally aloof. They hate to state the obvious or seem redundant, therefore, expressions of affection will not come often, because their commitment is already established. 5. Children who are Ns like stories that have a lot of fantasy and metaphor. They like to hear or read the same stories over and over. Children who are Ss (most children seem like Ss because of their need for action) like action stories with plot progressions and straightforward meanings, and like new stories rather than the same ones over and over. 6. Is (introverts) are slower to learn, but learn more deeply, and think things over at length. They're slower to learn social skills and slower to approach new things or people. Es (extraverts) have an easier time socially. They outnumber introverts three to one, and are more favored in our society, which encourages gregarious, social behavior. (In Japan, I've read, introverts are more popular than extraverts.) 7. Ss (sensors) are in the here-and-now. They observe their environments, remember facts, and they like straightforward language. Ns (intuitives) are dreamers, prefer their gut instincts and inner experiences, and are fascinated by ideas and fantasies or theories. They're often detatched from the factual world somewhat. 8. Ps like to work whenever, and don't make decisions easily; Js like deadlines and promptness and make decisions easily. I've enjoyed this book a great deal. Reading it makes me interested in reading Jung, who introduced personality types to us. I got a lot out of it. (Incidentally, I'm an INFJ.)
Rating:
Summary: Please understand yourself!
Review: Everyone wants to be understood, loved, respected. But, few understand themselves to begin with. Know thyself! These two words are full of so much mystery. If you want to crack the code of your own psychological DNA, this book is a great start. It is a great interpretation and practical application of the Myers Briggs test and psychological theory. The test in the book is as accurate and detailed as any test you can take online. What is good about taking the manual test, is that it really improves your understanding on why you scored the way you did on each of the different four psychological axis. When you take a test online, it typically spits out a result, but you don't get to review the underlying data that you just inputted. This book can save you thousands of dollars in expensive psychological testing,and psycho analysis.
Rating:
Summary: Know Yourself Better
Review: If people came with an instruction manual, this would be it. I've taken the test 3 times over 12 years, and have arrived at the same temperment type each time, with varying degrees of intensity. I'm an ENFP married to an ESTJ. We both took the test while we were dating, and thought that LOVE could overcome ANYTHING, especially the differences in our temperments. Besides, how accurate could this book possibly be??? Well, 8 years later I now know that the book was right....opposites may attract, but they're not always compatible.
Rating:
Summary: I'd recommend this book in addition to the second edition
Review: PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME is the original edition of the more famous PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME II. If you are someone who is very interested in typology then I would recommend buying both editions. Otherwise, I would recommend forgoing this version and buying the revised edition. The reason I enjoy this original edition is because it addresses the concept of "opposites," which is not addressed (to my recollection) in the second edition. Keirsey writes that whatever personality type you are, you possess within yourself the opposite type. But that opposite side will remain more primitive and less differentiated and will seldom come to the surface. Keirsey writes that occasionally children will be influenced to perform a type of "falsification of type" wherein they live through their opposite preference. Keirsey quotes Jung as saying that such a person will often encounter certain challenges later in life in regard to how they should interact with the world. This topic of opposites is of relevance to me because I am a "Counselor Idealist" INFJ and I only recently realized that during my childhood I was often pressured to live out my opposite type, the "Promoter Artisan" ESTP. The difficulty this has presented me in later life is that occasionally that ESTP in me comes forward and I behave in a way that an INFJ would never dream of behaving: I say exactly what is on my mind and don't care what others think; I live spontaneously; I want to make a scene and get people's attention ... and then I become exhausted and need days to recharge, and am often ashamed of the way I have behaved (Counselor Idealists are preoccupied with diplomacy, which is of little importance to the Promoter Artisan). I would estimate that for every hour I spend as an ESTP, I need a day to recover. And yet I am somewhat fond of my ESTP side and have come to accept that it may never fully disappear. Keirsey's work has helped me understand my opposite type, and understand why it occasionally "erupts" within me. I also like the fact that PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME says, "INFJs have vivid imaginations exercised both as memory and intuition, and this can amount to genius" [page 171]. This description - not found in the second edition - makes me feel good. :)
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