5 comments about The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.

1. This book is a MUST READ if you are serious about taking control of your time and your destiny. Tim's writing style is engaging, humorous and provocative. He offers a unique approach to work-life balance and he challenges you to think outside of the box and to live life on your terms.
   
   The Four-hour work week is packed with tools and resources to help you design the lifestyle you desire. If you're ready for an "Extreme Makeover" for your life, I highly recommend this book.



2. I read some of the arrogant reviews and have to tell you read this, and if you don't get from it what I did you are not ready for the game. I have read over 100 books on business, personal development and success and this trumps them all combined. please do not be led by the un-successful amazon book reviewers, who have much personal bias in their reviews and no real world experience. I come from the school of hard knocks and I will tell you me and Timothy Ferriss will have beers together one day. Read it no matter what you do or what are your plans, there is "naked" wisdom in there. Take it to heart and enjoy your journey, I have and will. Dan



3. Great strategies for optimizing, streamlining, and minimizing the amount time spent producing results. This book is for the business person who wants to produce, produce, produce. The tips in this book give a good framework for defining what you do and why you do it and progress to give the reader the tools for getting maximum results with minimum effort.
   
   While it's a catchy title, don't think that your goal has to be to only work 4 hours a week. In fact, you can still "work" as much as you want to. But you will come to find that this book will help you redefine what it is you call "work" and what it is you call "life" and will even help you merge the two.
   
   This is the first author that I have read that has embraced the new wave of technology and has seamlessly incorporated traditional business goals and metrics with high technology to create an endless capacity of productivity and scalability. The first 100% mobile business model realized.



4. I really have to wonder if the author has honestly spent enough time on anything to really gauge whether or not he has truly been successful using his mantra. Any new thing, if marketed correctly, will take off, but sooner or later depending on how much of a commodity it is, will fizzle out and die. Outsourcing is fantastic in theory - but does it really work? More than likely only for really huge corporations who can take a hit - the reason why? Nobody cares about your business as much as you do. Well ok, if you're only working 4 hours a week, maybe you don't really care too much about it either!!! Honestly, this dude has shown us how to make bucks while working only 4 hours a day - write some arb book with a catchy title, market it, put on an air of success and Bob's your uncle, he's rich. And you're probably not - rich or working a 4 hour day:) Guys, let's get real here - let's look at the real business people, they did not do it on 4 hours a day, in a hammock with a cocktail, nor did they do it writing some book about it. I bet in 5 years time, he'll be onto the next "big thing". Save your $$.



5. Let me start by saying I'm an entrepreneur, running a profitable internet startup.
   
   The author neglects to mention that the vast majority of people who've achieved a 4 hour work week got there after years of working 70 hour work weeks.
   
   The author's sexism was insufferable. He assumes all his readers are men, and there are many "in jokes" at women's expense. I put the book down when I got to the line: "practice picking up girls in order to build your confidence - even if you're married". Now there's some really bad advice.

5 comments about The Dance of Change (abridged).

1. This book is touted as a "resource" to the Fifth Discipline, but my view is that it could itself stand on its own steam as a handbook for change management. With articles contributed by a variety of authors, the book looks at the challenges of triggering, initiating, aligning and sustaining change and the various diverse ways to confront and solve those challenges.
   The challenges that the book identifies are the challenges of:

   Orientation, Generating Profound Change, Not Enough Time, No Help, Not Relevant, Walking the Talk, Fear & Anxiety, Assessment & Measurement, True Believers and Non-believers, Governance, Diffusion, Strategy & Purpose.

   The book is choc-a-block with tools, explanation of jargon and
   references to other resources. An orientation to Systems Thinking and looking at organizations as complex systems would help in clarifying the book more. Hence it is desirable to read "the fifth discipline" before you read it.
   However, the delightful nature of this book ensures that you can flip open any page, read a little bit and keep it back, and feel refreshed and not thirst for more.
   For people who look at organizations as communities, as networks and as human systems in addition to just being an economic entity this book will delight and scare.
   For others, this book will act as a provoking way to look at change and organizations in search of equilibrium.




2. While I enjoyed this work and read it from cover to cover, it did begin to seem like too much of good thing. Some of the organization information seemed dated and some of the people who are offering advice are probably no longer held with such high regard in their former organizations. In any case, I would recommed it to anyone who is doing graduate or post-graduate work in organization and management or just wants some insight into how organizations really work.



3. This book is written as a resource book usable in conjunction with co-author Peter Senge's book, the Fifth Discipline. This book explores the challenges to sustaining momentum in a learning organization.
   
   The authors of this book describe the processes that help to reinforce change and those processes that conflict with change, thereby limiting an organization's ability to make change. They begin this by reexamining and reviewing the "five disciplines" of learning from The Fifth Discipline: personal mastery, mental models, shared visions, team learning, and systems thinking.
   
   In order to maintain the momentum for change, they expound on what they identify as the three fundamental reinforcing processes required sustaining real change: enhancing personal results, developing networks of committed people; and improving business results.
   
   The main focus of this book is the ten challenges the authors see as the most likely challenges a company will experience when attempting to sustain change. These challenges are the challenges of:
   
   1. control over time.
   2. inadequate internal resources
   3. relevance
   4. management clarity and consistency
   5. fear and anxiety
   6. negative assessment of progress
   7. isolation and arrogance
   8. autonomy and power
   9. the inability to transfer knowledge across the organization.
   10. organizational strategy and purpose.



4. .
   
   When 'The Dance of Change' was published in '99, Senge's work was already reaching the end of it's relevancy. A brilliant thinker, he's had difficulty sustaining creative thinking since 'The Fifth Discipline'. Not surprising. With such a brilliant, breakthrough book like his 1990 masterpiece, one tends to get trapped by one's own fame. Thus is born The Fifth Discipline Industry.
   
   The Dance of Change contained nothing new in 1999. By 2006 the ideas contained in 'Dance' are so passe for most industry. Many others have built upon Senge's work in far more effective ways and your time is better spent with them. While you can skip 'Dance', 'The Fifth Discipline' still is a must read, especially if you're working on organizational change in education or human services, two industries that remain stubbornly stuck in the 80's.
   
   
   .



5. In "Dance of Change", Peter Senge and his co-authors argue that the key to achieving and sustaining significant change lies in changing people's basic ways of thinking. This is a big challenge as organisations have to grapple with some deep seated ways of thinking. Peter Senge did an excellent job of confronting this challenge and suggesting some practical and useful ideas to achieve change in people's mindset and organisational practices. The book explains the processes that help to reinforce change and minimise resistance to change. This fascinating book explains and provides advice on how to initiate, sustain, and redesign and shape new ways of thinking.
   
   The book methodically, step-by-step discuss the ten key challenges to profound change. The authors buttressed their arguments and conclusions with some notes on successful organizational change initiatives highlighting the specific approaches taken by the likes of British Petroleum, Ford, GE, Hewlett-Packard, and Dupont. The book also includes round-table discussions, team exercises, case histories, checklists, and helpful guidance.
   
   Peter Senge is the renowned author of "The Fifth Discipline" which had a profound impact on the notion of organizational learning. The "Fifth Discipline" is still is a must read for receptive and motivated readers, especially those working on organizational change, training and human resource development in all industries.
   
   In fact, "Dance of Change" starts with an insightful review of the "five disciplines" of learning from "The Fifth Discipline" namely personal mastery, mental models, shared visions, team learning, and systems thinking. Hence this book makes an excellent resource to the Fifth Discipline, although it is so well written and presented that it can stand on its own feet as a handy and useful handbook or reference material for effective change management.

No comments about Marketing Research : A Practical Approach for New Millennium With Data Disc.

5 comments about True Work: The Sacred Dimension of Earning a Living.

1. Other than finding true love, finding true work is just about the most important thing we can do to feel fulfilled. True Work helps you discover your passion, look for synchronicities along the way, and realize that the path to true work is a journey, not a destination.



2. I found this book very insightful in a personal way. It has many real life stories and examples of people finding true meaning in what they do, as well as practical advice on how one can apply some of these lessons. Though it's not presented in a multi-step "follow these rules to success" manner, this book contains many pertinent insights on how we the reader can apply new points of view in our daily lives.



3. For anyone interested in finding and/or following your passion this book delivers a wealth of wisdom.True Work should be required reading for college students/graduates as well as anyone with a high school diploma.A real contribution!



4. I want to give a copy of this book to everyone I know: I kept having that thought while I was reading the book and moreso now that I have finished it. Which means to me, that I should not give it to anyone but to apply the ideas contained in the book in my own life.
   "True Work" is as important as anything that Joseph Campbell has written. It comes from Michael and Justine Tom's own life experience and contemplation of that experience.
   The book shows how to integrate work into one's fabric of life, because work is one of life's threads, but it is not the whole cloth. Again, it is a profound work.



5. Bought for a friend who was searching for work. Ending up keeping it myself when I started reading it (bought another copy for friend.) Poignant and relevant to more aspects of life than just work. A must read for anyone who is spiritually-oriented and committed to making a difference in life; for themselves, their family and friends, and the world. Extremely relevant to the changes we are currently and will be faced with. Truly uplifting, inspirational, and worth reading again and again. A MUST READ.

5 comments about Focus.

1. When I started up my business, AUDIN Web Design, I used this book as my bible. It has worked so well for me. Some people may find a lot of fluff in the book (which is true if you read all the other books by the same authors), but if you are fresh to the material you will find it invaluable. When searching for a name of my company, the book revealed to me that AUDIN should be the name of my Web Design Company. With that I focused and channeled my course of action. If only everyone abide by the laws set forth in this book, we wouldn't have everyone and anyone hawking everything under the sun (hint, hint: Amazon). Anyway, if you are in a small business an you are starting to lose your focus, get this book and read; read like you've never read before. Read until the cows come home. This stuff is gold, real gold.



2. Way back in 1994, I started a golf business with nothing more than a credit card and a $5k limit. I was doing both retail and wholesale. I had a hard time serving both markets until I read this book. I decided to serve only the wholesale market and turned away all the retail business. In 5 years I went from nothing to over $500k in sales a year. Not bad for a one-man operation.
   
   Trying to be all things to all people is just the wrong way to do business. Ries' example of your family doctor doing your brain surgery is probably one his best. Is it fluff because he doesn't give you data to back up an undeniable position that your family doctor can't hold a scalpel to your brain surgeon? I don't think he needs data to back up many of his points.
   
   This book is from the 50,000 foot view people. Yes there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, focusing is better than the shotgun method most of the time, for most businesses.
   
   Highly recommended to keep your eye on the prize. You cannot successfully chase every dollar out there.



3. Written in 1996, but still right on. Al Ries knows branding. Find also: 22 Immutable Laws. Favorite Chapters: Finding your Word. Narrowing Your Scope. Divide and Conquer. Fifteen Keys to a long-Term Focus.
   
   Differentiate or Die is a good companion to this.



4. This is an excellent book. It is a good reminder for those of us especially in smaller businesses to not try to be all things to all people.
   I found as I am sure some of you will that I was already doing some of the things right. It does however reinforce the specialization factor that we can eaily forget about.
   This book made me go back and reassess the things we do. We actually eliminated a couple of types of work we did based on this books suggestions.
   
   Some of the examples noted are out of date and the book should be updated to reflect that.



5. I have been a fan of Al Ries for years, ever since reading Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition" more than a dozen years ago. In "Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It (Collins Business Essentials)," Ries makes a compelling, well-documented case for finding a niche and staying with it. In case study after case study, he shows why companies that become known for a single attribute (e.g., Volvo for safety) continue to thrive while more generalized conglomerate falter.
   
   I do think the book was over-long. It would be equally (if not more) effective if it about 100 pages shorter. This version (published in 1997) is somewhat dated, and I have not read the revised version (published in 2005). However, the basic premise remains the same. As the book's title indicates: focus, your company's future depends on it.

No comments about Business Etiquette: How to Be Correct and Confident in Every Situation.

5 comments about Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play (audio).

1. The intention of this review isn't to rehash all the reviews you see before you -- there are many detailed ones below and above that can give you some good details. I am hoping to shed some light on the reason I believe we have some who LOVE this book, and some who found it disappointing.
   
   I will confess that I purchased this book because I had to: my consulting firm (the biggest of the Big 3) made this a required reading. I ordered it from Amazon and read it over the course of four short flights.
   
   I loved this book. There is a lot of good common sense in here that is needs to be shared -- for some it's not news (and hence why maybe it didn't get a high rating from everyone), but unless we incorporate it into our thinking then we will continually be faced with either guessing what the client wants, or business development expenses that simply can't be justified.
   
   I would strongly recommend this book to anyone at a manager level or above in professional services. Absolutely.



2. "Selling is the second oldest profession, often confused with the first" is the quote on the back of the book. True, many see sales as prostitution, but this book helps show how it is really elevated.
   
   The book has great information on being client focused. The author does not miss anything, and every sales person will benefit from reading this book. I do have to warn the reader that is is a bit like a "text book", and not an easy read. However, it is worth it once you get through the whole thing, you will have a better appreciation for selling correctly.



3. Don't start your own service business without reading this book. Mahan's insights into common consulting problems and how to address them is amazing. This is the second time I have started my own consulting practice and this time, I am armed with much better information on how to sell, bill, and propose jobs. I keep rereading the book so I can absorb all of the great information. It is easy to read and understand.



4. This is the best business book I have ever read. If you are in any industry and in role within your company, you will gain value from the principles in this book. Mahan Khalsa is the master! I also recommend the complementing CDs.



5. I NEVER write reviews, but this book was so good I figured I'd pass the word along.
   
   With a bookcase full of sales books, I was very hesitant to spend the time reading yet another one. However, a friend strongly recommended Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play. Not only did I take his advice and read it, I found I LOVED it and have actually been putting the concepts into practice with tremendous success.
   
   The authors write in a VERY read-able style and provide great, real world examples. Most importantly for me was that the models and concepts taught are extremely practical and effective. These address every aspect of the sales process and offer a great, easy to implement process to follow when working with a prospect.
   
   Finally, the other aspect that sets this book apart from others I've read is the overall philosophy about sales that it teaches. "Getting Real" with clients and prospects is an incredibly powerful way to approach potential customers. This belief has already helped me to ask some very difficult questions and have some critical conversations with prospects and clients that I know I would have previously avoided.
   
   Good luck in your sales efforts and I hope you find the same value from this book that I did.

5 comments about Smart Speaking.

1. Very fun to read. SMART SPEAKING covers: "Tough Situations," "Awkward Moments," "We're Not Communicating," "Meeting Headaches," and so many more DO's and DON'Ts from a senior consultant with the Speech Improvement Company.



2. I must admit I had low expectations when I first picked up this book. Just check the title: "Smart Speaking: 60-Second Strategies for More Than 100 Speaking Problems and Fears." Come on! That sounds a little gimmicky to me. How could one little book treat over 100 speaking problems? And what's a 60-second strategy anyway?!

   The book is organized into chapters such as "My Presentation is Next Week - Help!," "Meeting Headaches," and "Awkward Moments." It's easy to look up your specific issue with catchy problem titles like "People don't think I mean business when I speak," "I've forgotten the name of someone who obviously knows me," "What if they ask a question I can't answer?," and so forth. ... I guarantee there's a problem in here (and a solution) for everyone!

   As for the solutions, I think the authors call them 60-second strategies because it takes you about that long to read each one. Implementation will take far longer, of course... CAVEAT: This book does offer very practical tips for very common speech and communication problems. That said, the tips are short and sweet. Some people will want a more in-depth look at their particular speech needs.

   So use this book as a springboard. It's a handy reference for anyone desiring to improve general communication skills and belongs on the shelf of any speech professional.




3. Everything about this book is quick to read and easy to apply. It is loaded with simple, practical tips covering angles and strategies for more than 100 communication problems. I especially like how it also covers social and performance fears that people need to address in order to communicate more effectively.

   If one is looking for a comprehensive communication strategy reference, this isn't it. Instead, this is a series of short, peppy essays providing easy-to-remember, motivating advice for any speaking occasion - from formal to informal. It's smart. It's fun. It's indispensable.




4. For some, speaking before a large group - or even attending a small business meeting - is an overwhelming experience. Do your palms start to sweat, just thinking about it? Whether it's a job interview or a cocktail party - YOU are on-stage and in the spotlight.
   
   At some point in our lives and careers, each one of us experiences tough situations or awkward moments. Times when we are nervous and wish we could communicate better. Who hasn't wondered: Do I talk too fast? Too slowly? Is my voice too nasal? During a meeting, do you ever think: How do I excuse myself to go to the restroom? Why does someone else always say what I was going to say? What if someone asks me a question I can't answer? What if I forget someone's name? What if I dribble salad dressing on my shirt in front of clients? Why do people always interrupt me? Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me? Am I a good listener? The office manager told me to call, but now she doesn't remember who I am! People think I'm standoffish, but I'm really shy.
   
   Regardless of your profession, background, or level of experience, "Smart Speaking" provides an abundance of "60-Second Strategies" that will help you become more confident and a more effective communicator. (Reviewed by Marion E. Gold, author of the "Personal Publicity Planner: A Guide to Marketing YOU" and "Top Cops: Profiles of Women in Command.")



5. From one-on-one situations to presenting before a group, from face-to-face encounters to talking on the phone, Schloff and Yudkin cover all the bases.
   
   Sections I recommend to those who attend my networking seminars (which are designed for people who think they're too shy to network effectively) include "People Don't Think I Mean Business When I Speak"; "I Can't Remember People's Names..."; "How Do I Break Into a Group of People Talking?"; "Can I Tell Beforehand If Someone Wants to Talk to Me?"; "Some People Can Begin Conversations Anywhere: Why Can't I?"; "I Hate Small Talk"; "I'm Never Sure Whether Someone Wants to Keep Talking to Me"; "My Conversations Always Seem to Die"; "I Don't Know How to End a Conversation"; "I Hate Calling People I Don't Know"; "Is There a Quick Way to Get Rid of Nervousness?"; "I Can't Stand Having to Sell (a Product, Service, or Myself)"; "People Say I'm Standoffish, But I'm Really Shy"; and "I'm Not a Good Listener."
   
   Written in an engaging, lively style that makes for easy reading. Recommended.

5 comments about REINVENTIING LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO EMPOWER THE: Strategies to Empower the Organization.

1. The authors of this interesting work explore a new leadership style suited to the new characteristics of organization and the direction leadership is taking today. The ideas are presented as a lively dialogue between Bennis and Townsend; this format may appeal to some and turn-off others. While we found it added some pizzazz, at times it gets in the way of the content. The book covers such topics as: developing leadership traits, the personal side of leadership, empowerment, and choosing a leader. Also included is a self-development plan. The number of books on leader seems to be infinite but this is one that is informative and worthy of your time. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, HR consultant.com InfoCenter and Stern & Associates.



2. Several insightful and practically applicable info, almost all from Townsend. Theoretical info provided by Bennis is of little use. Some useful advice includes: (1) how to select leaders and (2) protecting your group from unnecessary busy work from the top (3) delegate when someone can do the job 50-70% well and (4) promote from within



3. Bennis and Townsend compiled here a great collection of pithy sayings and insights into how leaders make an impact through their influence, not because (only) of their position or status. This is a very useful work into the difference between leaders who change the world and managers who sustain stability. The two need each other, and here are a few favorite quotes:
   --Leaders are people who do the right things and managers are people are who do things right. Leaders are interested in direction, visions, goals, objectives, intention, purpose, and effectiveness--the right things. Managers are interested in efficiency, the how-to, the day-to-day, the short run of doing things right.
   --A manager tends to think of his people in terms of how much they cost and how little he can pay them. A leader tends to think of his people as resources and wonders how much they can earn and how he can help them become heroes.
   --
   The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
   The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
   The manager has a short-term view; the leader has a long-term view.
   The manager asks why and how; the leader asks what and why.
   The manager has her eye on the bottom line; the leader has her eye on the horizon.
   --"If you're going to have people connecting with the public, you'd better get extroverts. They like talking to people. They like interacting with people. Don't get introverts. They don't like to do that."



4. The book is a pretty shallow dialog between Townsend and Bennis. Neither of them stating what they don't state elsewhere - only with less depth and insight.
   
   Very not-worth-it book. I like most of what they have both put out, but this one book, in particular, is not worth the $. I wouldn't even check it out at the library - read their other stuff and you'll be much better off.



5. While I have both the book and the audio tape, I recommend the audio tape. It brings to life the conversation between two very deep thinkers on the subject of leadership. Its message is as relevant today as ever, perhaps more so as we end the first decade of the 21st Century.

5 comments about The Art of Seduction.

1. I am a self-confident, self-motivated, self-directed individual who pretty much knows exactly what to do and when to do things to get the preferred results. I am a smiling, friendly and mostly a charismatic person. At least that's how I used to be before I met this girl in my Freshman composition class.
   
   She was very attractive and I fell in love with her. She exercised the seduction techniques mentioned in this book (such as stirring interest indirectly, creting triangles, getting close to me and giving the impression of like-mindedness etc) to make that happen and it came to a point where I was fantasizing her with me in her life. She was all that I was thinking of. I was losing grip over my life. I somehow became dependent of her. She then started coquetting and withdrawing herself. I gradually started losing my self-esteem and I was no more that charismatic person with self-confidence and self-esteem. I was doing things that she thought would ultimately would lead to our mutual pleasure...but it only made both of us empty.
   
   Finally, one day she drove me to a isolated forest...and I thought she was going to have us do something pleasurable (finally). She just asked me to step out of the car and handed some papers and got in her car and left me there stranded. I was devastated. I started reading the papers. It was titled "The Seduction of ". It started with a character map of me...everything that she had observed about me, my weaknesses, what gave me my self-confidence etc. Then there were list of steps, almost like a manual, that described how she seduced me step-by-step. Then there were extracts from personal journal entries that described how, initially when we'd first met, she admired my quality of self-confidence and how much she wanted to have control over someone like me...primarily because of her own lack of it...and how over time she got bored of playing me like an instrument and how predictable I became etc. She didn't enjoy me anymore. So, she decided to dump me in the middle of the forest with this fact sheet. I was lying on the ground there crying my lungs out to death with limbs too weak to move. I completely lost my self-esteem and was at a point where I wanted her to accept me as her slave and was honoured by that thought. I couldn't even look up at people's faces anymore. This is the worst form of exploitation there exists. It almost feels like being eaten alive by insects from the inside and not being able to do anything about it.
   
   Few days after this devastation, I googled and found this book. I read it and it revealed to me how someone as intellectually incompetent as herself could do something as vicious as this. It made me feel a lot better to know how exactly the worst thing ever to happen in my life happened. Now I feel that everybody should read this book...just to avoid being exploited in this way, if not for anything else.
   
   Cautionary notes:-
   
   As for those of you who were inspired by the cinematic quality of what happened to me and are motivated to use the techniques mentioned in the book to drain admirable qualities off someone for self-gratification, I have to warn you by letting you know why she even had to dump me like that. She, after reading the book, had to condition herself against expressing any genuine emotions and had to perfect the impression of genuineness of her made up emotions. She conceded in one of her later personal journal entries that she was in a sort of psychological trap. She started having trouble doing even simple things such as expressing genuine awe or even anger. She always felt the need to go by the rules. It made her less of a real human being and more of an imitation of an admirable human being. When I recently contacted her, she said she needs professional help because she is very confused in discerning emotions that come from within and those that are just made up. Shes messed up.
   
   As for the testimonials of these admirable people (who practice the art of seduction) thrown around in Greenes book, I have to inform you that those people are genuine human beings with natural seductive mannerisms. The most dangerous aspect of this book is Greenes portrayal of them as people who calculated their behavior and that ability to calculate behavior as being admirable. It inspires people to look at themselves and their naturally arising feelings with belittling eyes and to try to become these admirable people with admirable statistics. It also inspires them to lower the value for their genuine emotions. In my erudite opinion, focusing on your behavior and trying to adjust it using the feedback it receives from outside rather than using ones judgment from within leads to termination of personal growth. If youre so desperate to have a reputable history of conquests when youre older as to compromise on investment in your personal growth and true exploration of human relations, then go ahead and seduce people into falling in love with you for all the wrong reasonsand become an imitation. Remember that unforeseen pleasures are often the most gratifying.



2. 
   Simply an amazing book about the subject of great seduction. If you are vaguely interested in approving your social skills, or aim for some kind of targeted success in human interaction, this would be a defintive book for you to read. Its a big book, but as Robert Greene takes along the historical learning path to seduction, you will enjoy the ride!



3. I read this book a while back. I didn't read it because I wanted to know "how to seduce" my sexual interests. I read it for curiosity of what this author had to actually say. The stories and examples were interesting as well as the psychology of the book. It does a well job of classifying certain characteristics of people and it helped me become more tolerant of different personalities and reponses that usually don't coincide with my own. I also found that at the end of reading this book, it isn't a step by step guide how to seduce someone, but you feel with the knowledge you have acquired, more confident and brave to want to seduce so to speak your love interest. I felt like I could relate to a little bit of each character in the book. It made me take pride in my own thinking and actions. A reaffirmation that everyone handles situations differently. Yet they can all be effective. Just don't read for literal use.



4. But a great book none-the-less. There is a great deal of "take away" but you have to work for it. Otherwise, the historical references are very engrossing. I bought this in conjuction with Secrets of the A Game and The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - all have been helpful.



5. Although I bought and read this book shortly after I relocated to the United States - that was years ago - I did not write a review for it. Today I wrote three reviews for items I purchased from Amazon.com and I just saw this book on the nightstand where I left it yesterday. I am reading it for a second time and I realized that I should write the long due review.
   
   Well, it is a phenomenal book, well grounded in the science of psychology and in human nature. And since human nature remains unaltered through the ages, I would say that it is a timeless book. Whether you read it today or one hundred years from today you will benefit from the wealth of knowledge in it. The author is clearly very well educated and has conducted a thorough research before writing it. I have studied psychology and I have to say that I learned a few more things about psychology just by reading this book. Highly recommended.