This is a little gem of a book which, perhaps more so than any other, helped me understand how our minds work on a linguistic basis (a topic of, no doubt, interest to avid readers).

The downside is that it's basically a textbook writing for pyschologists. But, if you can stomach the dryness, the rewards of insight are well worth the effort.

As many know, this series of books along with Frogs into Princes helped to establish the field of Nero Linguistic Programming or NLP.

Hmm....I'm not an expert in the development of psychotherapy history, but this book seems to have developed the techniques so familiar to us such as....'what do you mean by that......how do you feel about that....etc. Many authors cite the authors Bandler and Grinder as authorities especially in the fields of NLP and hypnosis, and these books would seem to be important in several psychological areas. Whatever the background and uses of this book, it is incredibly boring and its clinical approach makes it as much fun as a kick in the jewels. But, it is organized as a learning text rather than a fun read, and it seems to be a detailed, comprehensive tool to teach one the techinque of asking "how do you feel about that"....lol.....it is also much more. Bandler and Grinder, developed (?) the idea that a persons conception of the world (thier own personal reality), or model as the authors call it can be analyzed by a therapist, who discovers and unveils deletions, generalizations,and other mental distortions. All this is structurally apparant in the persons grammer, and language patterns. Interesting. I didn't enjoy reading it, but it was a valuable read. ( )