Rating: 
Summary: My college students use this book to learn to be happier.
Review: I have used Carson's book for seven years in my college social psychology course entitled Self and Others. I have been amazed at how many students use the ideas in the book to make real changes in how they think and feel about themselves,and how they interact with others. I laugh, cry and cheer when I read many of their papers. Thank you Richard Carson.
Rating: 
Summary: Will work for some, not for others
Review: I heard Rick Carson on NPR some time ago and was impressed with that he had to say. I had never heard of his book until then and I immediately wrote down the title so that I could buy it at a later date.Now that I've read the book I'm trying to figure out why what I heard him say is so different than what I'm reading. My problem with this book started right at the beginning with his "trademarked" Gremlin-Training Method (all caps, just as he does in the book). This seemed contrived to me, absolutely false. It was like reading a book talk about the author's patented passive solar windows as their own trademarked "Sun Energy Capture Device." In other words, like an infomercial. This intial reaction was confirmed as I continued to read. The tactics and topics Carson raises are extremely simplistic. Practical perhaps, but hardly worthy of a "trademark." The other problem I had with the book is that Carson uses his metaphor to excess. This is a danger he should have been aware of. A Gremlin is a workable metaphor for most people as long as you make it abstract. That is, that voice in your head which puts you down. As soon as you start describing its supposed physical nature (the minister, the coach, the monster, etc.) the metaphor starts losing its audience. Not everyone wants or needs to describe that nasty voice in such terms. I wished Carson had backed off the metaphor somewhat, backed off from from the hard sell on his "trademarked" method, and just gave an in-depth analysis of people's internal negative voices, where they come from, how to control them, etc. I don't want to read something that makes me feel like I'm buying a used car or the next TV control clapper. This book, based on many previous glowing reviews, works for many people. No doubt that is true. Criticizing this book is rather subjective - if it works for you, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't. You can't debate it. My recommendation is to really look at the text before buying and THEN decide if you want to purchase. You might find that you like it, or you might not.
Rating:
Summary: Will work for some, not for others
Review: I heard Rick Carson on NPR some time ago and was impressed with that he had to say. I had never heard of his book until then and I immediately wrote down the title so that I could buy it at a later date. Now that I've read the book I'm trying to figure out why what I heard him say is so different than what I'm reading. My problem with this book started right at the beginning with his "trademarked" Gremlin-Training Method (all caps, just as he does in the book). This seemed contrived to me, absolutely false. It was like reading a book talk about the author's patented passive solar windows as their own trademarked "Sun Energy Capture Device." In other words, like an infomercial. This intial reaction was confirmed as I continued to read. The tactics and topics Carson raises are extremely simplistic. Practical perhaps, but hardly worthy of a "trademark." The other problem I had with the book is that Carson uses his metaphor to excess. This is a danger he should have been aware of. A Gremlin is a workable metaphor for most people as long as you make it abstract. That is, that voice in your head which puts you down. As soon as you start describing its supposed physical nature (the minister, the coach, the monster, etc.) the metaphor starts losing its audience. Not everyone wants or needs to describe that nasty voice in such terms. I wished Carson had backed off the metaphor somewhat, backed off from from the hard sell on his "trademarked" method, and just gave an in-depth analysis of people's internal negative voices, where they come from, how to control them, etc. I don't want to read something that makes me feel like I'm buying a used car or the next TV control clapper. This book, based on many previous glowing reviews, works for many people. No doubt that is true. Criticizing this book is rather subjective - if it works for you, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't. You can't debate it. My recommendation is to really look at the text before buying and THEN decide if you want to purchase. You might find that you like it, or you might not.
Rating:
Summary: Gremlin Taming and the Coaching Profession
Review: I love this book! I especially like the way Carson makes mindfulness a practical experience rather than a lofty spiritual concept. I couldn't help but notice however that some people seem to have the impression that Carson borrowed the term "gremlin" from the coaching profession. Carson borrowed nothing from the coaching world. They borrowed the term "gremlin" from him. Taming Your Gremlin has been an international success, making a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people since its publication over 20 years ago (1983). It explicates a uniquely streamlined, practical, and powerful approach to inner contentment and successful living and pre-dated the emergence of the coaching movement by many years. Taming Your Gremlin has, however, greatly impacted the coaching world and is used extensively in some training programs. As a certified coach myself, I heartily recommend this work to all of my clients and to anyone interested in experiencing the difference between a good life and a GREAT life!
Rating:
Summary: Gremlin Taming and the Coaching Profession
Review: I love this book! I especially like the way Carson makes mindfulness a practical experience rather than a lofty spiritual concept. I couldn't help but notice however that some people seem to have the impression that Carson borrowed the term "gremlin" from the coaching profession. Carson borrowed nothing from the coaching world. They borrowed the term "gremlin" from him. Taming Your Gremlin has been an international success, making a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people since its publication over 20 years ago (1983). It explicates a uniquely streamlined, practical, and powerful approach to inner contentment and successful living and pre-dated the emergence of the coaching movement by many years. Taming Your Gremlin has, however, greatly impacted the coaching world and is used extensively in some training programs. As a certified coach myself, I heartily recommend this work to all of my clients and to anyone interested in experiencing the difference between a good life and a GREAT life!
Rating: 
Summary: Boilerplate
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. I found it to consist of boilerplate meditation and awareness text and exercise, such as I have seen in so many other books! I would have appreciated more thought being put into this book! I am frustrated about spending my money on it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover
Review: I wish I would have listened to my gremlin before ordering this book. I thought the cover of the book was pretty neat and that it would prove to be an amusing interesting book based on that and the sample pages. My gremlin tried to warn me that it was probably going to be just another book I'd end up being sorry I bought, but I wouldn't listen to him! Well, it turns out he was right! The best and only thing about this book that I liked was the cute cover; it was all downhill from there. I give it two stars because it you can wade through the poor writing, and the gross examples he sometimes provides (like his teenage ... while looking up a cheerleader's skirt) then you might find some things that will help you; like deep breathing, mindfulness (living in the moment) etc. But there are plenty of better written books about these things and there is nothing new or dramatic in this book to make it worth the hype it gets by so many other reviewers here.
Rating:
Summary: Very Useful
Review: I'm only about half way through this book, and am not a habitual reader of self-help stuff (my sister recommended this), but I'd have to give this one a serious thumbs-up. I made a funny connection to an old novel by Colin Wilson called "The Mind Parasites," which also posits the existence of a hostile voice within us that kills joy and sows self-doubt. I think it's interesting that the author distinguishes the Gremlin from Freud's superego and Berne's inner Parent -- as one of the reviewers said above, the notion that the Gremlin is really not us is very interesting and potentially liberating.
Rating:
Summary: Loved the book
Review: In 1983, Carson gave a name to the voice that others have only recently began discover. In this new edition, he has expanded on the Gremlin Taming method that really works.
Rating:
Summary: The best "help" I've found for curing my Gremlin blues..
Review: Now I don't have to worry about that little voicethat often tells me "I can't" and "not good enough" This book tells you just how to overcome that little voice of defeat that lurks inside of all of us.
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