The Book of Questions [Paperback]

Gregory Stock Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1987

A New York Times bestseller with over 1.9 million copies in print, THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS poses 265 questions that invite people to explore the most fascinating of subjects: themselves. These questions are as intriguing as our very lives because they are about our lives-our fundamental values and beliefs, our dreams and nightmares about sex, money, love, power.

Some of the questions thrust you into a value-testing hypothetical situation (Would you accept 20 years of extraordinary happiness and fulfillment if it meant you would die at the end of the period?), some ask you to delve into your past (When is the last time you stole anything?) and help you find out if you've changed (Would you now return it if you could?), and others reveal your basic nature by examining your behavior (When you are given a compliment do you usually acknowledge it or suggest that you really do not deserve it?). Whether used as an avenue for personal growth, a tool for deepening relationships, or simply as an entertainment, The Book of Questions may be the only publication that challenges-and even changes-the way readers view the world, without offering a single opinion of its own.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Also available by the same author: The Kids' Book of Questions, a bestselling collection specially designed to challenge, provoke, and entertain young readers; The Book Of Questions: Business, Politics, and Ethics, a compendium of 300 primary and follow-up questions that focus on commerce and politics; and The Book of Questions: Love & Sex, posing over 250 questions that allow you to explore the mysteries of love and sex-without dispelling the magic.

From the Back Cover

Ask your friends. Ask your parents. Ask someone you hardly know. The Book of Questions gives you permission to ask those things that are too bold, too embarrassing, or just too difficult to ask by yourself. You will find questions of integrity; of sex; of what you would do for money; even things too personal to talk about out loud.

Whether you use it as a tool for self discovery, or as a provocative way to stimulate conversation, this book constantly challenges attitudes, morals, beliefs-and it challenges you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; Edition Unstated edition (January 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894803204
• ISBN-13: 978-0894803208
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Etiquette > Conversation
  • #4 in Books > Education & Reference > Etiquette > Conversation
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate in books of this genre., June 20, 2000

By 

Eric Raines - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Questions (Paperback)

It's up to you what you take with you from this book as you aren't likely to get much if you're not honest with yourself. This book will require you at times to be insightful, introspective, self-doubting, and questioning.

Do you really know as much about yourself (or others) as you think you do? Chances are that you don't, and this book is just the piece you need to help you discover that.

This book is great to go through by yourself, but I prefer to read through it either with my significant other or a group of friends. The questions are random so you can go straight through, or have someone pick a number and read the according question. Either way you're going to get a wide variety of questions.

This book is great for creating conversations where there might typically not be one. My girlfriend and I always had a hard time communicating, and I bought this book as a way for us to talk. The questions would branch off into so many other questions. What I got out of it in this instance was well worth the price paid.

I would highly suggest anyone who can read to purchase this book.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A relationship builder, December 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Questions (Paperback)

I'm in my forties and several months ago I met a great man who introduced this book early on in our relationship. We have committed time to reading and answering questions with each other so we have been able to get to know each other much faster and deeper than many people in relationships. And when you're in your forties, you don't have the luxury of time to do this! I've given the book to all my friends- single and married. Try it! And actively use the one on Love and Sex. It's well worth the price!

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll find yourself fascinating, May 1, 2000

By 

David J. Loftus (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Questions (Paperback)

It's a little odd to try to rate a book that doesn't really have any content per se; it is simply filled with questions for YOU. How interesting you find the book, then, depends on how deeply you want to delve into yourself.

The questions deal with everything from personal tastes and desires (such as whether you would prefer the free, unlimited services of an extremely good cook, chauffeur, housekeeper, masseuse, or personal secretary for five years), to personal behavior (when was the last time you sang to yourself, and to someone else? do you tend to listen or talk more in conversations?), to fascinating and challenging hypotheticals (what you would do if you could successfully wish people dead without getting caught, or whether you would leave the country forever for a million dollars -- although that was worth a bit more when this book first appeared, 13 years ago).

The questions are nicely arranged in no particular order, so each turn of the page brings a surprise and a shift, from mere daydreams to extreme tests of personal values. It might make a great conversation starter -- I seem to recall discussing some of the questions and answers with my girlfriend at the time -- but some questions may be a little uncomfortable among relative strangers.

If you keep a journal (or perhaps if you've had difficulty doing so), this book is an excellent spur to writing and thereby learning a little more about yourself. I answered most of these questions in my journal when I first got this book in about 1988, and I think perhaps now might be a good time to answer them all again (before reading what I wrote so long ago) and see how my answers compare. I recommend this activity to anyone....