22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Insightful Guide to the Enneagram, December 20, 2007
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram (Mass Market Paperback)
Herb Pearce and Karen Brees have written a readable, entertaining and thought-provoking book on personal growth without either dumbing down the material or losing the reader in jargon and technicalities. Herb Pearce, who has many years experience leading workshops and giving personal counseling sessions based on Enneagram principles, has filled his book with useful facts and tips about the nine personality types and how they interact with others.
Unlike many such books, this one avoids feel-good platitudes and gratuitous pats on the back; it concentrates instead on educating and informing. Pearce forthrightly presents the weaknesses as well as the strengths of each type (an example: "You [the 6 type] might be looking for a parent figure to count on, and it's too late for that!...you are your own parent now and you have a better shot at it, being grown up!").
The book is an enjoyable read, not only for its honesty, but for its informal, breezy style and wealth of sidebars, illustrations and short, snappy paragraphs. Pearce's experience shows in his detailed knowledge of types and sub-types and in describing the harmonies and tensions that are inevitable when certain types come together. (An example: "3-6 couple--3's foot is on the gas, careening toward action, and the 6 is cautious. 3 is image-oriented and 6 is matter of fact, often disdaining image. It takes some real understanding and appreciation of differences to make this combo work.")
A whole chapter is devoted to helping the reader identify his or her own type and those of friends and acquaintances. It includes checklists and questionnaires and addresses issues such as parenting, the work environment and the capacity for creativity and accomplishment and how one's Enneagram type influences these things.
Although the Enneagram is a self-contained system, the book could have benefited from a comparison with other personality typing systems--particularly those ancient ones with which the Enneagram's origins may be linked. Strong connections can be seen, for example, between the nine Enneagram types and the five human energies in traditional Chinese medicine. This may help explain the Enneagram's peculiar power, since the nine types may be seen as expressions of the most fundamental human energies and impulses.
All in all, the book is a clear, accurate and highly useful guide to greater self-understanding and more successful relationships.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Straightforward Introduction to the Enneagram, February 13, 2008
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram (Mass Market Paperback)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram is the best introduction I've seen to the Enneagram personality system. As a management consultant who uses the Enneagram for team development in organizations, I am always looking for appropriate literature to direct my clients to - books or articles which will present the Enneagram to beginners in a straightforward way. Specifically I'm looking for a clear presentation of the system, free of psychological and spiritual jargon and without a heavy emphasis on the negative qualities of each type. Unfortunately much of the Enneagram literature doesn't suit my purposes. The psychological or spiritual language found in many books or websites can scare off clients at first and a focus on the negatives of each type can be a turn-off in a business environment. Though Herb Pearce has an extensive psychotherapeutic background he understands his audience for this book and keeps it simple and uncomplicated. Also, although he doesn't step over the negative side of each type (as mentioned in a previous review), he doesn't lead with - or focus excessively on - those characteristics. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to a valuable system of personality differences.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Surprisingly Good Summary, September 2, 2009
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram (Mass Market Paperback)
I must admit that I didn't expect much from this book, probably because of the title. But I've used it alongside Helen Palmer's "The Enneagram in Love and Work" and Richard Rohr's "The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective," and it adds to the others. Like all books in this format, it's succinct, which is a virtue in itself, but it's not simplistic. It's definitely worth the price and has actually enhanced my understanding in ways that the other books didn't. I'm glad I got it, and I ordered a copy for my son also.
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