Rating: 
Summary: A Helpful book
Review: this is an excellent book on understanding people, behaviors, actions and reactions. it is so precise and clear in a way that you can see the people described while reading about them. I enjoyed it a lot, and believe I could use it as a frequent reference when needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the trouble.
Review: This book wasn't what I expected. I'd wanted a book with academic validity that would discuss the nuances of human behavior in everyday life, particularly from a standpoint of our evolutionary past. I suppose it's my own fault. I picked it up while browsing an airport bookstore and failed to take the time to scan it properly. So instead of getting what I wanted, I got a book that's a little bit Martha Stewart, a little bit psychology 101, a little bit common sense, and a lot of best-seller baloney. [I suspect Jo-Ellan realizes the shoddy nature of the book's academic value, as she has prominently displayed "Ph.D." next to her name on the book's cover, presumably in an attempt to give it more validity than it deserves.]Jo-Ellan and her co-author are from the legal profession, and have participated actively in some rather high-profile cases like the O. J. Simpson trial. She makes her living by helping lawyers stack the jury. Of course Jo-Ellan would never actually put it that way. In fact, I'm sure the authors would disagree with that characterization. On page 12, for example, Jo-Ellan says: "I have only one goal: to assemble a group of people who will listen with an open mind to my client's side of the story." That's the talk, but she doesn't walk the walk. After telling us her high-minded religion, Jo-Ellan proceeds to give one example after another showing how open mindedness is the last thing she wants in a jury. What she really wants (and this is how she makes her money) is to find jurors who will vote for her clients regardless of the facts. For example, on page 35 the authors explain how they "conduct research to identify predictive traits, characteristics likely to have the greatest influence on a juror's beliefs...We record their age, sex, and race....From their replies we determine which traits most frequently appear in people who view the case a particular way [their way].... After studying the information obtained from the mock jurors, we prepare questionnaires for the real prospective jurors.... We can't ask them in advance how they would decide the case [but presumably would if they could], but if we know how others with similar traits would have decided it, we can make an educated guess [that will help us stack the jury in favor of our client]" Although it's enough to turn a fair-minded citizen's stomach, the author's descriptions of the shenanigans that go into jury selection are among the book's most informative aspects. If you ever wanted to know how to get selected for a jury - or how to get kicked off of one - this book will be an invaluable resource. There is no new information in the book. It's mostly how to use common sense, mixed up with lots of rules based on stereotypes and things your mother might have told you. In fact, the author's even solicited anecdotal stories about how to read people. They suggest a future book with all your insightful comments "see your story in print." So look for their future edition, or read the cover of supermarket tabloids (whichever comes first). I found the blunt description of stereotypes (including racial and ethnic stereotypes) rather interesting, especially in the context of the O. J. Simpson trial. Here we have the defense explaining how they used stereotypes to select a jury that then disregarded the material facts in the case and rendered a verdict of not guilty because of defense hype about stereotypes used by the police. The book also offers lots of examples illustrating problems in cognitive reasoning. Jo-Ellan is obviously proud of her ability to pick the right jurors for the case. In doing so, however, she seems to overlook almost completely the roll that material facts have (or should have) in court cases. In her mind, it seems, every time a case is won it's because she picked the right jurors. In fact, she makes a point of saying that the reason she knows that her method of reading people works is because her cases have all been so successful. What's she's missing, of course, is any information about how the juries would have voted if all the people she dismissed based on stereotyping had been allowed to remain on the jury. This is classic logical dissonance. If you are interested in this sort of fallacious reasoning I suggest "How we know what isn't so," by Gilovich. Throughout the book Jo-Ellan applies her distinctly cosmopolitan standard to reading people. For her the most important clues are shinny shoes, a primed haircut, pressed pants, and how you behave at dinner parties. Even the tissue you keep around the house says something of your character - more sensitive people use softer tissue, you know. As you may have guessed, I don't think much of the book. Duwayne Anderson Saint Helens, Oregon. November 19, 1999
Rating: 
Summary: Good Introduction on Reading People
Review: This is a very good book if the concept of reading people is new to you. It tells you the proper attitude to have when doing you read. It helps you avoid hasty generalizations and does not classify people into narrow catagories. If you absorb and apply the principles in this book you will be fairly good at understanding people. However, if you're looking for something more advanced then this book is NOT for you. It seems meant to be a general introduction to people who traditionally were not accustomed to reading people or did not understand their actions. The only way they could have improved this book (and it's the same with most people reading books) is that they NEED PICTURES! It's so much easier to learn this way, rather than having to visualize what the authors are saying from their prose.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing New Here
Review: If you're reasonably intelligent and observant, you have nothing to learn from this book. It's incredibly bland and generic. There's barely enough information here to justify an article, let alone a book. If the author is indeed an expert, she certainly doesn't share any secrets here.
Rating:
Summary: Should be called "Everything You Already Knew"
Review: What an incredibly disappointing piece of work. This woman skyrocketed into the national consciousness via OJ Simpson, and that's all you need to know. From this book we learn things like (paraphrasing)"if someone has watery eyes, is tired and on edge a lot, he/she may be using drugs." DUH! The book is filled with so many observations of this type that it ought to be titled "How to Be a Master of the Obvious". As a sales professional, the idea of reading people and predicting their behavior is of paramount importance. Based on her notoriety and the provocative title, I bought this book for my entire staff, as well as myself. We all felt the same: The amount of knowledge gained from this book was a shade above zero. An absolute waste of time and $$. Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: A must for anyone interested in psychology
Review: As a college sophomore I've been straddling the fence on what I want to major in. Computer Science interested me, but after reading this book, I realized just how much I love psychology. Reading People, if read in full and practiced, will give you a wonderful insight into the thoughts and actions of others based on all the clues that so many overlook. Personally, it's given me a lot clearer look at the people around me and the reasons they do what they do.
Rating:
Summary: Should be titled "Relying on Stereotypes"
Review: This book entreats the reader to rely on his or her ingrained stereotypes; any conclusions about people are arrived at by careful consideration of the snap-judgements the reader makes. Keep in mind that this woman makes her living picking juries--that's making a living by judging a book by its cover. Readers would be better off with books on body language, neurolinguistics, and a book called "Never be lied to again."
Rating:
Summary: Better spend your money on some of the charities.
Review: This book confirms that how you position yourself in market place is much more important than what you really know, presuming that the author did not keep any secrets. The only reason why I gave it one star is because there was no "no-star" option. Message of the book: be alert about people. This book feeds into stereotypes, encouraging petty and selfish behavior. Vanity that author mentioned so many times in the book is the quality of anybody who practices what the book preaches about. If books like this make NYT bestseller list, I wonder what quality of books do we all read?
Rating: 
Summary: Stereotypes American
Review: The book shows you how to predict behaviour response based on stereotypes for Americans. But what if you're travelling and trying to read someone who is from a different culture in a different country?
Rating:
Summary: Dimitrius knows her stuff...but she doesn't teach you
Review: The title sounds nice. Wouldn't we all like to "understand people" and "predict their behavior--Anytime, Anyplace"? Sure, but you won't find the answer here. The message of the book is to "pay attention" and evaluate all clues in the context of the other factors. When it came to specifics, the book includes list after list of things to look and listen for...and keeps saying that those factors may or may not tell you the real story. I love listening to interviews with Dimitrius. She knows her craft. But this book utterly fails to deliver on the promise (as embodied in the title). Don't waste your money on this one. If you really want to learn how to understand people, it will take a lot of work...and this book won't be the map you'll want to follow.
| 
