Rating: 
Summary: an intellectual diversion
Review: I will not dupe you into thinking that B.F. Skinner is a master novelist, and that is the only reason I docked B.F. one star. However there are so many interesting ideas in here that you really need to read it if you would like a book that is enjoyable, but also leaves you with something to think about for months after you've read it. Whether you agree or not, you should read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Ahead of his time!
Review: If you have half a clue this book should change your whole outlook on life. The concept is brilliant but the reality of it is far off. This is a book that should be required in school education.
Rating:
Summary: Very Worth Reading
Review: If you're a thinking person, read _Walden Two_. When I first picked it up, I expected a boring piece of behaviorist propaganda by a stuffy man in a lab coat. I was wrong. In the end, the book is about where humanity is vs. where we might like to be--and, most importantly, how to get there. Whatever you think of Skinner's answers, his book is worth reading for the questions alone. (Note--the criticism that _WT_ isn't much of a philosophic novel along the lines of _1984_ is correct; it much more reminds me of a Platonic dialogue. Not a bad thing, if you ask me.)
Rating:
Summary: Impacted my life. 2nd Greatest book ever read
Review: If you're into Utopias, Philosophy, psychology, or any hybrid of the two, Walden II is for you. As a teenager it enlightened me on the pinpoints of teenage behavioralism. A must read for the intelligant human being. The productive member or society. But beware you may come back a changed man
Rating:
Summary: A look into a fascinating yet frightening idea!
Review: Imagine a world where you got to choose what you did every day (as long as your four daily labor-credits are completed), where, as everyone is equal to everyone else, the words 'thank-you' are never used and where education, which is never forced, is something your kids just WANT to do. Is this better living through operant conditioning?This fictional community is the brain-child of the famous (and imfamous) behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner. Skinner believed that all behavior can be controlled by modification and 'positive reinforcement.' Well, here it is. A Skinnerian utopia. The book itself has no real plot to speak of. The central characters,a group of 2 university professors, 2 twenty-somethings fresh from army service, and their two girlfriends that have been invited to take a tour of the Walden Two community. The book (narrated by one of the professors) is the fictional account of the tour which gets extraordinarily specific. The communes education, commerce, child-rearing, and governing practices are well-examined and this book, whether you agree with good ol' B.F. or not, will have you constantly thinking from new angles. If you're anything like me (frightening thought!) you might find yourself actually talking back to the book. What a rare experience! The four stars are for both the writing- Skinner does much better than most psychologists crossing over to fiction- and for the wealth of ideas which are sharp, challenging and scary. Although in the end, I disagree with just about every idea Skinner remonstrates, this is a book that I'm sure I will reread and ponder over quite often.
Rating:
Summary: a novel theory
Review: In this book Skinner presents his blueprint for a utopia based on behavioral sciences. While someone who is just looking for a entertaining story may be disappointed or even call this book boring, I'm pretty sure that you'll like it if you have some serious interest in Behaviorism or behavioral engineering. Even if I have a master in cognitive sciences, I didn't find Skinner's ideas *really* "incompatible" with what I know, even if much of it probably remains to be proven, but the only way to prove it would be to set up such a community. Some other reviews call it a communist model, but the book actually includes chapters pointing out the differences between fascist and communist models, and Skinner's analysis shows, some 40 years before the Berlin wall collapses why the Soviet Union wouldn't survive. I wouldn't call this book "unscientific" or "outdated" as some other reviewers did. True, I would enjoy some footnotes to connect Skinner's ideas from this book to the rest of his writing and I'm wondering what would happen if we "upgraded" this book to take place in the modern internet society and taking into account all new things cognitive sciences and emotional intelligence have brought us over the 50+ years since this book has been written. This book will give you enough "food for thought". ...
Rating: 
Summary: All The Lunch Trays Look The Same
Review: Man, I could not believe some of the ideas this author expresses. The whole notion of family is abolished, kids go to school away from their parents and are moved into BF Skinner's robotic idea of conditioning where individualty is discouraged. Husbands and wives live in separate rooms. Does Skinner not know that sensible people rebel against conditioning (ever seen the movie Cool Hand Luke?). Skinner's idea of society is almost like living on an uninhabitable planet where you cannot let the atmosphere penetrate. Where is the beauty in this? We should be encouraged to allow the human soul to express itself. Being different is OK. Why subscribe to Skinner's absurd notion of a bubble-like utopia? Family bonds make us who we are and the love and support we get from it is undeniable. How can you have Utopia without love? This book would be better classified as science fiction. If you are interested in Skinner's nonsense I am positive that you can pick up a copy for about five cents at a library sale.
Rating:
Summary: All The Lunch Trays Look The Same
Review: Man, I could not believe some of the ideas this author expresses. The whole notion of family is abolished, kids go to school away from their parents and are moved into BF Skinner's robotic idea of conditioning where individualty is discouraged. Husbands and wives live in separate rooms. Does Skinner not know that sensible people rebel against conditioning (ever seen the movie Cool Hand Luke?). Skinner's idea of society is almost like living on an uninhabitable planet where you cannot let the atmosphere penetrate. Where is the beauty in this? We should be encouraged to allow the human soul to express itself. Being different is OK. Why subscribe to Skinner's absurd notion of a bubble-like utopia? Family bonds make us who we are and the love and support we get from it is undeniable. How can you have Utopia without love? This book would be better classified as science fiction. If you are interested in Skinner's nonsense I am positive that you can pick up a copy for about five cents at a library sale.
Rating:
Summary: Skinner makes his point in entirely the wrong way
Review: Rarely has a book evoked such rage in me as this one did. It's not that I completely disagreed with everything that Skinner said about a Utopian society. While there are a lot of things--mainly to do with raising children and marriage--that I don't agree with, some of it could probably be beneficial. But the way that Skinner set up the book was not the best way to prove his point. While Skinner is a notable psychologist, I can't say much about him as a writer. The characters were all annoying (the only one I didn't loathe was Castle, who was incredibly anti-Walden Two). Frazier, the founder of the community, seemed so manipulative and power-hungry that I was put off to the idea of anyone living there. I couldn't help but feel that if the people in the community had known how much Frazier was manipulating them, they would've wanted to leave. The ending, where Frazier blatantly stated that he was like God and that his community was acutally better than what God had created just put the icing on the cake--I would not want to live in a community created by this man. The book is poorly written and any statements that Skinner might have made about Utopian societies were eclipsed by my anger towards the characters and their offensive behavior.
Rating:
Summary: Something ahead of time
Review: Rodger ("Rodge") and Steve Jamnik, two young men returning from service at the end of WWII, stop by the office of Professor Burris to ask if he knows anything about a man named Frazier, and the new society Frazier is trying to build. Burris remembers that Frazier was a classmate of his in graduate school, one with radical ideas. He sends a letter to Frazier and immediately gets a reply inviting him to visit the community. Burris agrees to take time off from his academic duties to accompany Rogers and Steve on a visit to "Walden Two," Frazier's community. Rodge's girlfriend Barbara, Steve's girlfriend Mary, and Burris' Colleague Castle, also come. The population of Walden Two is about one thousand people, all of whom seem to be healthy and happy. They live in dwellings, eat in common dining spaces, raise their children in a nursery, and grow and build much of what they need. The standard workday lasts only four hours, or less; no one is paid wages--but nothing at Walden Two costs money. Each of the visitors responds to the community differently. Castle finds it challenging he spends the duration of the visit arguing with Frazier about such a community like Walden Two. Burris, on the other hand, finds himself somewhere in the middle: he is skeptical that such a community could work, but he finds Frazier's arguments compelling and he cannot forget the evidence of success in front of him. Steve and Mary are both convinced that this is the life for them; they decide to stay at Walden Two. Rodge, too, is convinced, but Barbara is not; he leaves Walden Two with her at the end of their visit. Burris decides to return to his academic life. However, at the train station he suddenly realizes that he would rather try life at Walden Two, for whatever it's worth, than go back to the university. He walks back to Walden Two and begins his new life there along with the rest of the group.
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