Customer Reviews

Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision

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Thom Hartmann, one of the top progressive talk radio "stars,", who replaced Al Franken on Air America Radio, has delivered a gift to anyone who wants to persuade others. It will be required reading for anyone trying convince people to act, take a stand or vote in some way.

This book is ALL about how to communicate, how to reach, how to persuade. There are books that talk about this based on moral/cultural values, books that talk about neuropsychological considerations, that talk about the use of narrative and story, books about hypnotic elements, like trance and pacing, on framing, on motivation... lots of books. This book ties all those different ideas and approaches together, in an easily understandable, coherent package.

As founder publisher of opednews dot com, publishing 1200 to 1500 articles a month, reaching close to half a million unique visitors a month, it's my job to have a pretty good idea about what makes for good writing and persuasion. We've published 45 articles, at the time of the writing of this review, by Hartmann, and he's one of the best at at effectively getting across a message and reaching people.

As a conference organizer for 15 years, running conferences on the brain, peak performance, the art, science and application of story, on positive psychology and optimal functioning... I've worked with many hundreds of speakers. Thom Hartmann is one of the best. That's why I'd have him speak on how to persuade, how to get people to change their minds. At the conferences, he trained trainers-- educators, writers, storytellers, psychologists and psychotherapists, screenwriters, salesmen. And he always got the highest reviews for the meeting.

There's a reason Thom Hartmann can pull all the different arts and sciences of communicating-- persuading, changing minds, changing the way people think and understand together-- and that's because he's integrated all these skills into his life, into the way he functions in the world.

When you look at the many people who have written most books on persuasion, communication, framing, etc. you tend to find people who are academics. George Lakoff, framing expert, and author of Don't Think of an Elephant, is a great example He's lived his life as a professor and researcher. His ideas on framing are great. I started reading Lakoff back in the 1980s. But Hartmann's book covers so much more territory, so many other considerations involved in persuasion, in winning hearts and minds.

Hartmann is not an academic. He's a chronic entrepreneur, and in all the different incarnations of his career, communication has played a central role-- developing a major advertising agency in Atlanta, running dozens of forums on compuserve, when compurserve was bigger than AOL, and most recently doing talk radio-- and rising to be one of the top progressive talk show hosts in America. This is walking the talk. He's used the tools he's discovered, developed and integrated in a way that has brought him to the peak of success.

The wonderful thing is that Hartmann is brilliant at sharing the secrets to cracking the code to truly connect with, reach and get people to change their minds. It is very rare. Most great authors are terrible at creating books on how to write, for example. Hartmann delivers pure gold. If you just read one chapter in this book, any chapter, you'll find you have powerful new knowledge you'll be able to use to make yourself more effective. Read the whole book and you will be on the path to dramatically increasing your power to most effectively touch and move people.

The sub-title of the book, How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision, hints at Thom's progressive viewpoint. If you're a liberal, progressive or lefty, you'll really like his writing on the history and evolution of the liberal and conservative mindsets. If you're a conservative you'll really like it too. This book goes way beyond Frank Luntz's book, WORDS THAT WORK, in providing practical ideas and strategies you can use. It is clear that the publishers are targeting people on the left, primarily, with this book. But it will be VERY valuable to anyone who wants to better understand how to persuade and change minds, including people in sales and education.

The book also covers one more key consideration--- the integrity-- he calls it the "ecology" of communication. Is the communication good for the world, for people? Is it honest? It's nice to have a master, at his full power, sharing his greatest tools and secrets, insisting that for the full power to be achieved, integrity and consideration of the greater good is essential.

If the Democrats don't tap Hartmann to plan their political strategies for 2008, they're crazy. Meanwhile, don't be surprised if there are a lot of right wingers reading the book without the dust jacket, hiding who they are reading... the smart ones, anyway.

Consider this the penultimate conclusion to the Thom Hartmann trilogy. In "We The People," Hartmann taught us about civics and our constitution. In "Screwed," Hartmann explained how our basic rights were be usurped by coporations in favor a free-market system that benefits only the rich. Now, Thom is teaching us how to fight back. By breaking down and decoding the language that has been used to deceive a massive number of American people, we can learn how to use that very language to educate others who fall for things like "Islamofascism" and live in fear and fight back with our own tools for restoring democracy.

All of Thom's books are easy to read, and this one is no exception. After having spent a couple years now as one of the top hosts at Air America Radio, it shows in Thom's writing. "Cracking the Code" feels like Thom is in the room talking, explaining, and backing up his information just like he does every day on his talk show. If you're interested in learning about the marketing of language in our current political system, this is a must-have.

When I purchased this book, I was expecting an extension of Hartmann's work from his last book. It was, to a degree that, but also something totally different. While Hartmann is an unapologetic liberal, this book can be used by either side to determine what politicians are telling us.

A mixture of politics and psychology, the book details how people communicate and gives the reader numerous examples throughout. He explains, in depth, the signals that are given through communication to talk with a particular segment of voters, and why these phrases and words are so effective at sending the desired method.

I have always been leery of "pop" psychology, and this book proved to be no different. I did, however, use the advice in this book to follow several politicians speeches, and realized what he is saying is true.

A great book if you want to be able to decipher the language of politicians, or be able to persuade people to your side of the argument. While written from a liberal standpoint, conservatives would do well to read this, as it will work both ways.

This book brings a wealth of information in a format that is easy to read and understand. Although the lessons are complex, Thom's story-telling style dosed with humor and anecdotal background make the learning process enjoyable. Words are powerful when communication skills are honed, and this book will help create great communicators capable of active listening.

I'm such a kindred spirit of Hartmann's that I often think that I thought of what he says before he says it on Air America. As a writer, I found this book one that expresses in clear language many points that I thought I knew beforehand. But I never put them together logically the way he has. Since then, I've tried to use ideas in this book to guide me in writing some paragraphs that could be used in campaigning for sustainable living, and I've found that when you consciously use his techniques, you come up with something powerful. At one "group think" an acquaintance of mine objected that if convincing people is this kind of emotional exercise, he wants none of it. He prefers pounding people with "facts." Well, Hartmann has it right. We progressives need to sharpen our story. The only criticism I have of this book is that it is too facile. I hope that when the 2008 presidential campaign is over, he slows down and takes a long look at the psychological ebb and flow of it, and how the media abused the public and the candidates. He could come up with something very, very good.

I'm not quite finished, but this book is definately a worthwhile read. Thom goes through how people recieve the message in speeches, ads, and coversation. He shows you how to communicate and really get your point across. I am a huge fan of his radio show, and my high expectations for this book were certainly met. A great read.

The book is an excellent read, I couldn't put it down. It was an easy read that will help you to become a more effective communicator.

This is Tom Hartmann's best and most indispensable book. In his last book, Screwed, he talked about how Republicans and right-wingers have screwed middle-class and working-class Americans. This book tells you how you can bring back the American Dream for yourself, for your family, and for your community. Stop subsidizing pampered, corrupt, and useless CEOs and heiresses with your tax dollars and and earnings.

This book from Thom Hartman is well written and very, very informative. It is filled with excellent examples of how we communicate on all levels. It clearly shows how the media and political spin pulls on our fears and emotions to manipulate us. I also found it very helpful in improving my communication with my children and wife. It is packed with information and can be read in a few hours. I highly recommend it It will set you free!

It's hard to say enough about this little gem. Hartmann is on to something here and we should listen to him. From Facebook to keeping a job is about communication and relationships, and this is what Hartmann understands best. This book will change your mind about a lot of things -- maybe even your life.