Zachariah K. reviewed on 8/16/2011 + 3 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

This book is excellent. I once listened to a TED Talk where the guy talked about the marshmallow experiment in which it was shown that a person's ability to delay gratification at the age of 4 strongly corresponded to one's success in all areas by the end of teenage years. This book is rife with such scientific studies done by prestigious professionals from a variety of universities including the likes of Harvard, Stanford, etc.

Daniel Goleman starts off the book with a rundown of the physiological makeup of the human brain, focusing on what emotions are made of, how they work, and how they can take control of us. Then he launches into what emotional intelligence is, giving a satisfying discussion of each aspect, and sometimes each role (e.g. marriage and work.), including ways in which it is found that people can develop that aspect of EI. Goleman discusses the relevance and need of emotional intelligence in our society, pointing out how much of societies ills would be helped by an increase in emotional education. And somewhere in there, a section that particularly informed and scared me, he discussed the influence parents have on children solely through their emotional engagement.

Throughout the book Goleman successfully debunks the idea that IQ and other measurements of cognitive capacity are the end all be all of human "worth" (to put it crassly) or are even significantly relevant to predicting one's success. Goleman puts forth Emotional Intelligence, delineating it's forms and discussing it's uses, as a more accurate measurement of a persons success.

This is an excellent book. It has the perfect combination of scholarly support and lay accessibility, accomplished through good writing and ample illustrations. I've seen some people's reviews complain that the book is dense; it really isn't, but if this book is difficult for you then you need to read better books (no offense) so that you can be prepared for books like this.

The book isn't perfect, but I consider it a must read for parents and children, for those in a relationship, for bosses, workers and coworkers, for those who's emotions run dry and those who's emotions flood, and for those who care about society and want to learn another's plan for its improvement.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details