Body Language: The Essential Secrets of Non-Verbal Communication

By Julius Fast

Book Overview

This classic books introduces kinetics, the science of non-verbal communication, which is used to analyze the common gestures we use and observe every day, gestures which reveal our deepest feelings... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567310044
• ISBN13: 9781567310047
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Mjf Books
• Length: 257 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

A book out of antiquity.

The only reason this book receives so few stars, for the most part, is that the reader is trying to apply this as today's science, and it does not work. The first printing was in 1970, and it was a novelty at the time. Now there are books upon books upon books on the subject, and today it is still subjective. All you have to do is find out which book the other person is reading and practice the signals you want to make that person think that he/she has some sort of insight. In the meantime, this book is fun to read to see what over two million people read and what they must have thought. It uses what looks like personal experiences to explain the ins and outs of body language in different cultures and situations. Here is what it promises: . How to make advances without taking chances! . How to read shoulders. (Is the person in a good mood? Angry? Frightened?) . The body language between s-e-x-u-a-l partners. How to communicate feelings and needs without words. . How to enter a room full of strangers, inventory body positions, and tell who the "important" people are. . How to use body language to assume leadership of a group. . How can you use the "new" language to defeat language?

Interesting concepts, extremely misogynistic undertones

The books introduces an interesting conversation about body language and the psychology behind it. That being said, I had trouble focusing on the aspect of body language due to the heavily misogynistic undertones within the book. Before purchasing, I didn't really bother to see when it had been written. After reading the first few chapters, I had to flip to the front pages and see. It was originally published in 1967 and, in my opinion, its perspective of women did not age well.

How to make a million bucks

Written in 1970, it's a foundational book in the subject of body language. It's also a great case study on how to make a million dollars from an instructional book without having to do any research. Fast has a pattern with every chapter. He starts with amusing anecdote, then quotes a book of research that someone else has done, and then dedicates that chapter to the book of research. It answers questions like, "Why don't we talk to each other in elevators?" And many more. One of the things I wanted to figure out by reading this book is if it was better than one of my favorite books, "Emotions Revealed" by Daniel Goleman, about facial movements being indicators of emotions. I was disappointed, kind of, that I couldn't answer this question, because one of the chapters is based on the early research of Golemen and how he had just started to test his theories with Australian aborigines. I really liked chapter 9, the chapter on eye contact. I think everyone should at least read that chapter. Here's an excerpt: "In the subway or bus where long rides in very close circumstances are a necessity, we may be hard put to find some way of not staring. We sneak glances, but look away before our eyes can lock. Or we look with an unfocused mouth, the body--for any place but the eyes is an acceptable looking spot for the unfocused glance." "If our eyes do meet we can sometimes mitigate the message with a brief smile. The smile must not be too long or too obvious. It must say, "I am sorry we have looked, but we both know it was an accident."

A Great Book for Reading Body Language

I've noticed a lot of negative reviews for this book. They seem to be written by people who think there is some mysterious science, or set of "tricks" that can be deployed using body language.This is not a book of tricks. It will not teach you any weird occultic secrets or mystical rites. If you're looking for the "unfair advantage" that gets so heavily hyped on the Web, it's not here. It's not anywhere else, either (lol).This IS, however, a great book for understanding the essential science of nonverbal communication through body language. It is an awesome introduction to the science and, frankly, none of the books that have followed have done much to improve on it.A couple of specifics...If you want to know if a woman is interested in you, that section of this book is pretty good. If you want to learn how to communicate your interest in a woman, without having to say a word, read the chapter about "Mike." It's dynamite. I've used it many times to express attraction for a woman. It works like magic.And the wild thing is, these techniques also create attraction in women when you use them.So don't believe the "short cut" seekers who have blasted this book. It's a cool, wise, intriguing read.

A different psychology approach...This one is entertaining!

Julius Fast explains why behavior is linked to body language. Understand why you did what you did on those ocassions.

THIS BOOK IS GREAT

IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BODY LANGUAGE THIS BOOK MAKE A GREAT APROACH, WITH AN EXQUISITE EASY READIN