How to read a person like a book - Audiobook in MP3 format

Explore the language that exists beyond words - the language of the body and its gestures.

Whether conscious or not of our bodies' movements, we express our feelings, attitudes, and motives through gestures that are often vague and frequently ignored. How to Read a Person Like a Book teaches you how to "decode" and reply to nonverbal signals from strangers, friends, and business associates, allowing you to:

* Gain command of business and social situations
* Sharpen your negotiating skills
* Recognize signals of affection and attraction
* Enrich your knowledge of body language.

Learn the clues that make reading people easy. Gerard Nierenberg's proven techniques for gaining control of negotiations, detecting lies, or recognizing signals of affection and sexual attraction will dramatically improve your understanding of others, giving you the advantage of added insight into all social and business situations.

I have just had a brief listen to it, and I have to admit, most of it seems to me to be quite obvious. But it is good to listen/read this sort of thing from time to time I guess. Just keep in mind body language can be misinterpreted, eg, the boss looking at you sideways with his hand on his chin: is this a sign of non-acceptance of your idea, or just a contemplative gesture? I hope something more in depth and non obvious comes out soon, this thing has been up for so long, and this just seems like a primer for something more.

This review is from: How to Read a Person Like a Book (Hardcover)
I have read several books on body language, and find this book in the middle of the pack. The general information in the book is good overall, though rarely surprising. Although body language probably does not change within a culture very rapidly, this book is very dated, and was, in fact, originally published in 1971. The book betrays its age by references to elaborate hair grooming and preening customs among hippies, and an extensive analysis of smoking behavior during business negotiations, which, while still a factor in some predominantly Asian countries, is now a nearly defunct custom in most of the west, certainly in corporate America. While people interested in the history of body language may find the accounts of pipe lighting and cigarette extinguishing practices interesting, it is largely a distraction. The illustrations also reveal the age of the book: they are all black and white pen and ink drawings, and while they are not terrible, there are much better illustrations available now.

Having said all that, there is some good information in the book, and I think the book would be especially useful to people new to thinking consciously about body language. I like the quotations that begin every section: everyone from Shakespeare to Pliny the Elder is quoted, and they really do set the tone for the section that follows.

Interestingly, one of the reasons many people are interested in body language is in the field of romance, and while the dust jacket primes the reader to expect a full accounting of flirtation, in reality the book only devotes four pages to "courtship;" at any rate there are many better books specifically geared to that on the market. The book does offer some genuine insight into posturing in business negotiations, though, and I can say that while there are no Earth-shattering revelations presented, the book is worth reading for that set of insights alone.

On balance, I would probably give this book three and a half stars, but I can't give it four because it's just too dated. It is a decent introduction to body language, but I would look at other more recent books first.