Renee Baron

An insightful no-nonsense reference for type-type relationships. Organized like an enneagram five would (well, at least one of the co-authors describes herself as a five, the other one likely to be one two (I won't resist the pun)), so lots of lists, charts and almost all the content is written next to a bullet point. 15-20 pages per enneagram type, plus interesting extras like an introduction to MBTI, help with enneagram misidentification, explanation of wings, centers and so on.

I really show more wish this book was at least twice thicker, as I feel this work goes just above scratching the surface. For every enneagram combination, for instance, you will find at most two examples (4-5 would give Paul and Jane Bowles; Frédéric Chopin and George Sand) but more examples would be interesting as sometimes the reader will miss the cultural references to really get it. Maybe adding action items for type-type relationships would be a plus; say "what should a three concretely do to please/displease a nine?", adding to the "what three likes/dislikes in a nine" angle already covered. Adding a workplace angle would be really useful, as this book is more oriented towards intimate relationships; though that might not be the scope the authors are aiming for.

As most people are mainly concerned about their type, they will read their section and maybe bits of others, so they will skip most of that 184-page book. This ain't different from other enneagram or MBTI books, but underlines the high-cost-a-page-you're-likely-to-read fact.

Overall, anyone who is interested in the enneagram will enjoy this work, and though I find it thin a bit, the info found in it has great value. show less

I find that this book is a really great way to introduce people to the Enneagram for the first time.
It's approach is nonthreatening, nonjudgmental and breaks each number down to it's basics in a real world way that helps people connect them with their lives.

And I love the illustrations, they capture the essence of each number perfectly.

I didn’t even know what “enneagram” meant before reading this. I did find it very interesting and I did learn about my personality and others by answering questions to the quizzes on different personalities. Apparently I'm mostly like #8 an "Asserter". I learned a bit about my family members as well from the way they answered the questions. It's fun (and I do love quizzes) and it actually made me think, which I wasn't expecting.

This is a simple look at the Enneagram. Some treatments of the Ennegram get overly complicated and are difficult to follow. This one is fairly easy to wrap your head around. With cartoons and suggestions for practice for each of the nine types. Of course other books have a more in-depth analysis. This gives a good at-a-glance view of each type in life, work and relationship.