Rating: 
Summary: the book is not the map is not the territory in not the.....
Review: After years of NLP study with anybody who was anybody in that day and age, I reluctantly came to the conclusion that the NLP model was critically flawed. In some cases it would produce results, in too many others the results were ambiguous or transitory. John Grinder took it to mean one thing that was wildly different from what Richard Bandler took it to mean, and the divergences proceeded apace. NLP itself is founded on deep presuppositions. For reasons unknown, likely that no parties involved want to rock the boat too hard, rather typical late phase conceptual institutional silt up of previously free running energy ducts... for instance, there is a operant model that the mind uses distinct
submodalities, (a grandiose term for the way you represnt your thoughts) that have crisp distinctions between Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory, Gustatory, etc... "presentations".... however, these modes never were as cleanly delineated as the instructors held that they were...much thinking appeared to be a shifting organsism that had elements of these categories, but were not purely and distinctly one or the other. The entire NLP Establishment has failed, in my personal view, to adequately question the accuracy of this piece of NLP gospel... are motivations, prejudices, beliefs, attitudes, self image, REALLY so neatly encoded and so easily manipulated ? I rather suspect not. The brain appears to be remarkably dynamic and elusive. Certain internal sensations-orientations, as those generated by the Vestibular system, seem to have an essential part in the organizing of the personal world, by vestibular work has been relegated to a more or less insignificant corner, as neither trainers or trainees have much idea what to do with it. Obviously, this nattrering could continue at length. The most trenchant criticism of the idea of a Users Manual For The Brain is that the descriptive power of the model does not equal the pretensions of the model. The model implies a "last word" understanding of how the mind does what it does. The truth is that this is a limited, dated technology that may have value as one possible cluster of techniques within a larger universe of methods.
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Summary: Great manual for the NLP Practitioner or student!
Review: As a student of NLP (and certified NLP Master Practitioner) - this book (manual) breaks down all the information for the NLP Practitioner to learn and become proficient. I wish I'd had this book when I went through my NLP Practitioner training - It would have been a heck of a lot easier for me. It is a part of my NLP library that gets used a lot. And I continue to find new things and others that I have forgotten about.
Rating:
Summary: Great manual for the NLP Practitioner or student!
Review: As a student of NLP (and certified NLP Master Practitioner) - this book (manual) breaks down all the information for the NLP Practitioner to learn and become proficient. I wish I'd had this book when I went through my NLP Practitioner training - It would have been a heck of a lot easier for me. It is a part of my NLP library that gets used a lot. And I continue to find new things and others that I have forgotten about.
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Summary: The most comprehensive and in-depth NLP manual to date!
Review: Finally, I found a real comprehensive manual for the wide field of NLP. I have been involved in the field since 1985 and felt that a thorough manual was missing. The reader can find scientific bases and conceptual explanations as well as exercise and practical tips about the main NLP developments. I was delighted with the chapter on presuppositions, which in most nlp books is a mere listing, whereas in this book you find enough material as to do something parctical with them. They wrote exercises to incorporate the nlp presuppositions on yourself. An excelent structuring of this Manual makes the understanding and practicing of NLP more available to the readers. In other words, it makes the picture complete enough to draw a more realiable "map" of the rich NLP world. The chapters presenting the Meta Model and its relationship with Milton Erickson hypnosis model are clear, with lots of explanations and linkages of the components. Again, you find plenty ideas on how to apply things. Part Three is dedicated to the Neurology Model of NLp and the different techniques on how to manage your own mind-body system.Part three offers the reader quite a group of advanced techniques including time-lining, that is the ways to restructure your minds ways of representing time in your life. Don't miss this book if you already are or are planning to be an NLP Practitioner in any field.
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Summary: The NLP Practitioner's Manual- Unabridged
Review: I began my qwest for the Holy Grail about three years ago. It lead me to NLP. I read everything I could get my hands on. Every book had something to offer, a hint here, a tidbit there. I didn't find anything that really put it all together. And so, I took the training for Practitioner's and Master's certification. It was all good. It all helped. I added a couple of training manuals to my growing library of NLP works. Then I came across "The User's Manual for the Brain" and I realized someone had finally put it all together in ONE book just for me. (Yes, it is ALL about me. ;) ) After reading it, I cleared my bookshelf of NLP guides and intros,...the training manuals used in my courses,...grade school effort,...gone. The UMB is by far, the most concise, well-written, NLP manual I have had the pleasure of setting my mind to! (I don't mean to step any instructor's toes here, but, buy it and see for yourselves!) If you are new to NLP, considering taking a course, or are already certified and practicing, get "The User's Manual for the Brain" and the advantage is definitely yours!
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Summary: The Best NLP Practitioner Manual
Review: I have been involved in NLP for some time and teach NLP in Canada. This is the manual I use when I'm teaching my NLP Practitioner courses and the one I recommend when people ask for a book to help them understand NLP. It is well written, clear and succinct. All of the major exercises are here and the instructions are excellent. It is obvious that Bob Bodenhamer and Michael Hall have used this material extensively and their book reflects this. They have a deep understanding of their subject matter and how to present it. If you want to know about NLP, understand how it works and what a practitioner program entails, get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Desappointment
Review: I thought it would be a good book to organize my knowledge of NLP. I was desappointed in 3 ways:
(1)-it has some conceptual mistakes, like defining co-dependency as second perceptual position (page 56 if co-dependent person went second position he or she would know how bad the other person would feel about her). Or coding with a one-to-one correspondence with the representational system (page 3). (2)-Many ideas and concepts are not really defined: the authors talk about something using many words to say how its so fantastic, but they do not really define it
(3)-Instead of describing the basics of NLP, the authors add a lot to it, so that you cannot tell real NLP from the authors creation over NLP.
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Summary: The Best NLP Textbook In Existence!
Review: I've been interested in NLP since the early 1980s, but discovering this book a few years ago brought it all together for me. As others have pointed out, many of the other books on NLP are simply edited transcripts from seminars. This one is different -- it is a college-level textbook, used for that purpose in a community college setting. It is comprehensive, explicit, and extensive. Like learning anything, you will need to do the exercises and practice in a safe setting. And to get certified as an NLP practitioner, you'll need to attend a certification training. This is the place to start, though -- learn to run your own brain with this book and "Secrets of Personal Mastery" and you'll be well on your way.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent up-to-date manual
Review: Manuals for training programs are usually considered trade-secrets. If you want to buy them, often you have to pay exorbitant prices. This comprehensive, up-to-date, very well-organized manual is a very good buy indeed. Those who want to seriously study NLP will find this book a great resource. Others who are familiar with NLP can still find in one book a vast amount of interesting discussions, clear presentations, exercises, and new concepts. You get clarifications on Michael Hall's "Meta-states" and submodalities, 5 perceptual positions, 21 presuppositions.... The relationship of Chomsky's Transformational Grammar (TG) with the Meta-Model is briefly summarised thus: "...the Meta-model does not have a marriage with TG--only an affair. In the fling, it only appropriated the language of linguistics and the idea of levels of information processing." You can easily detect the depth of immersion in linguistics to come to this conclusion. The whole manual reflects a similar depth of mastery of NLP in all the key areas covered for a Practitioner Course. The detailed Table of Contents gives good leads. If forced to find fault with the manual, I hope that in another revised edition, there will be the provision of an index also.
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Summary: NLP without the mystery
Review: New to NLP? This is a clear, concise, detailed and at times weighty and advanced digest of NLP. NLP isn't a walk in the park or a 21 day magical mystery tour; save the certification and the seminar seat until later-delve into this. Old hand? Its mostly here in one book. The authors have done a real service for those familiar with NLP concepts and those NLP neophytes searching for "one stop shopping." The manual could be used:
1-most effectively as a text/teaching tool for a lengthy NLP course at a University,
2-as a resource for NLP practitioners-as a dictionary, encyclopedia,or for finding the "bridge" between various aspects of NLP,
3-as a means for the thirsty, confused, and curious to find a reasoned, intelligent, discussion of the history, principles, and tenets of NLP. Beware: There are aspects of this discipline that are common sense, questionable,laughable even, that are foisted on an unquestioning population. There is an "emperor with no clothes" floating around all of this NLP ephemera. There are those legitimate proponents of NLP-the effort it must have taken to author this book would lead to the presumption that these are people who take this discipline seriously. The Manual, while throwing in its own bit of obfuscation (takes one to know one), is a remarkable compilation of principles, suggested individual and group exercises, historical reportage, examples, and explanation of segments of NLP. The down side is the absence of an index. The omission of the index is a curious addition to the imperfect and seemingly unfinished NLP books, tapes and other media. In a discipline that parses communication, linguistics, meaning, processing of information, feedback and the kitchen sink it is incredible that an important and powerful tool isn't there. This is especially noteworthy where a "manual" functions in part as an encyclopedia, glossary and study guide. On balance, this is an important, excellent compilation of the many facets of NLP. I highly recommend it.
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