Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide -- Revised & Updated [Paperback]

David Daniels (Author), Virginia Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2009

The First and Only Scientifically Determined Enneagram Personality Test and Guide

A centuries-old psychological system with roots in sacred tradition, the Enneagram can be an invaluable guide in your journey toward self-understanding and self-development. In this book, Stanford University Medical School clinical professor of psychiatry David Daniels and counseling psychologist Virginia Price offer the only scientifically developed Enneagram test based upon extensive research combined with a self-discovery and personal-development guide.

The most fundamental guide to the Enneagram ever offered, this book features effective self-tests to determine simply and accurately what your personality type is. Daniels and Price provide step-by-step instructions for taking inventory of how you think, what you feel, and what you experience. They then guide you in your discovery of what your type means for your personal well-being and your relationships with others, and they show you how to maximize your inherent strengths. Brimming with empowering information for each of the nine personality types—Perfectionist, Giver, Performer, Romantic, Observer, Loyal Skeptic, Epicure, Protector, and Mediator—this one-of-a-kind book equips you with all the tools you need to dramatically enhance your quality of life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Daniels, M.D., is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School, and is a leading developer of the Enneagram.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; Rev Upd edition (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061713163
• ISBN-13: 978-0061713163
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the problem of type identification, January 11, 2010

By 

Michael George (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide -- Revised & Updated (Paperback)

There are many facets to the enneagram, which is one of its attractions. I had been studying the enneagram intermittently over a period of about one year, and have learned to appreciate it as a result of having given personality typing some thought over the years, especially the Myers-Briggs typing system. An important point to bear in mind in the typing process for the enneagram is that there is an overall unity represented by the nine points that transcends one's special survival strategy (as seen through the enneagram scheme). Thus, finding one's reference point in this scheme does not put one in a box, but challenges one to develop a broader conception of what it means to be human. This book is very well organized for helping one narrow down possibilities for one's type, based on a scheme of cycling through the types a number of times, presenting different pictures each time, starting with a test that is simple to take. The fact that there was considerable experience in interviewing people involved in the background of the authors, and that there was some statistical analysis that was carried forward is also interesting. This latter facet is particularly poignant in that one's type involves connections to four other types: two wings, a stress point and a security point, and it is of interest to consider how well this theoretical complexity actually shows up under controled conditions. Another aspect that is focused on is the overlap with possible "look-alike" types based on the language that we use to describe people. This book is, of course, no substitute for actually interviewing people of specific types, and in that sense, as well as not being well-organized to discuss the unifying aspects of the enneagram, it is not reflecting the true depth of this system. On the other hand, it's terse, to the point, remarkably clear for what it does attempt (which is to help one identify one's enneagram type), and presented in a way that does help in narrowing down possibilities considerably. I will point out that my bias prior to reading the book was that I seemed to lie somewhere between enneagram types 5 and 6, and the identification system of the book (I recognize the difficulty of objectivity involved) seemed to support this. I can recommend this book as a quick approach for narrowing down or corroborating your enneagram type.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for All, July 12, 2009

By 

Kamal Abu Shamsieh "Stanford Chaplain" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide -- Revised & Updated (Paperback)

I was introduced to the Enneagram during a retreat of Stanford's Chaplains. It's a must for all. I have learnt great details about my own personality and growth. I thought I knew a lot about myself and was confident to label myself as a (3). Soon after, I realized that I was an Epicure and not a Performer. Still I hold traits of both, I think. I strongly recommend this book for your own use and (try it with your spouse for fun).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revised Edition, July 26, 2010

By 

Vera M. Hummel (Wayne, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide -- Revised & Updated (Paperback)

The changes in this book make it worth the investment. In particular, sections about myths of each type and adjectives that describe the types are helpful. While this book is useful, it should be a beginning point in the understanding of Enneagram, a very powerful spiritual and psychological tool. I'd prefer it if the authors used different language than "test" for determining one's type, since there are no right or wrong answers except as the user calls them right for the individual.