How to Read a Person Like a Book(1973) Book Review

#GeralINierenberg
#HenryHCalero
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The use of self-control is like the use of the brakes on a train.  It is useful when you find yourself going in the wrong direction, but merely harmful when the direction is right.-Bertrand Russel from MARRIAGE and MORALS

We can never generalize because no matter what we do there are unique people here and there that have out of the box mentalities and traits.   This book could be a great help to somewhat understand the actions of certain people, but there is that iota of a chance that it could make you misconstrue certain actions too.

When it is windy or breezy or the electric fan's speed is too fast/high, and a lady fixes her hair while you're around, it doesn't mean she is trying to flirt with you.  It simply means she's just fixing her hair, OK?

I bought this book a long time ago and I must say that even if I would never generalize people's actions, I agree with Lord Chesterfield that "Learning is acquired by reading books, but the much necessary learning, the knowledge of the world, is to be acquired by reading men, and studying all various editions of them."  -from LETTERS TO HIS SON.

I did get in trouble once just right before my service in our university church when I said a description that made one of the professors ballistic.  "How can you say that about me?"

He looked dejected and I was just offering to pray for him and asked him why he was ______.  That was then I realized that not everything in this book is correct, but it is mostly true because it is well researched.

There are things you have to consider too.  This book was written by two people who live in the Western World, while we Filipinos are from the east, even if our Asian neighbors believe that we are displaced.

The differences in culture and upbringing also matter. Mannerisms and other gestures could mean something else for certain people. Not all ear tugging is a sign of interruption, sometimes one has a headache and pulling one's ear helps alleviate the pain.

Thank goodness, the two authors said these words:

You are on your own.  Your life will be the laboratory...

Ergo, they believe that their research materials are just guidelines. Each person has unique abilities, but there are those traits that everyone shares.

It's just like if you believe in horoscopes...There are traits people from the same sign share, but their day to day fortunes could never the same.  Even twins don't have the same finger prints and the lines on their palms are disparate.

This book is very, very interesting.  You can learn a lot from it, but always remember that if no two snowflakes can be alike, more so, not all human beings are the same, even if there is a certain amount of universality in every race.

Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is his power-Benjamin Disraeli from CONTARINI FLEMING