Body Language

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.

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."

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.

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

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