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Rating: 
Summary: An eyeopening experience!
Review: Daniel Goleman is one of the most insightful experts on the mind in recent times. This book provides us with an excellent account of the nature of consciousness, attention, and arousal and how they all interact with one another. Like many great writers, he presents this material in a storylike manner to retain our interest and attention. I have learned more things about how the mind works from this book than I have in any Psychology textbook I have read. The only exception to this would be the book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. This book by Sato is perhaps the most insightful and accessible book on consciousness ever written. In any case, Goleman's book is still top notch.
Rating:
Summary: A Vital Book With Simple Truths
Review: Goleman states his thesis using three premises in the early pages of his book: (1) The mind can protect itself against anxiety by dimming awareness. (2) This mechanism creates a blind spot: a zone of blocked attention and self-deception. (3) Such blind spots occur at each major level of behavior from the psychological to the social. (p. 22)With these principles as his map, Goleman writes an excellent study of human psychological behavior that, whether the reader approaches it as a journal of self-discovery (like me) or as a explanation for social "groupthink" (like me, again), it proved to be very helpful. I enjoyed how Goleman supported his ideas with recent research and how he used quotes and references to support his ideas. Mapping out why we cover our anxieties with delusional behaviors, well, I think it is fascinating and the applications are immense.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tool for Sharpening Critical Thinking Skills
Review: Have you ever been burnt in a business deal by someone you thought you knew well? How many times have you taken action only later to find out you ignored key facts that were right in front of you? An early book by the author of the best-seller Emotional Intelligence, this work focuses on the many ways in which our minds play tricks on us. Goleman uses a series of short vignettes, from business, political and family scenarios, to illustrate his arguments. For example, he shows us how Nixon aide John Dean seemed to drive from his awareness the fact that he was not as important to the President as he asserted in his Watergate testimony. The chapter, "The Intelligent Filter", gives us a clear concept on how we so often screen out ideas and information that do not fit our assumptions. Reading this section can help us understand why innovative ideas get rejected without consideration, as we filter out new pieces of information even before they reach our awareness. From the perspective of Executive Community, applying what Goleman sees can help us untie the knots that develop in our business communications and block understanding and collaboration. Even more importantly, careful study of these concepts can help you be a better critical business thinker and a more effective leader. For those who want to delve deeper than the latest management fad book, Vital Lies, Simple Truths will give you several hours of intellectual challenge. This is a good tool for "sharpening the saw", as Stephen Covey might say.
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