Handwriting Analysis : Putting It to Work for You [Paperback]

Andrea McNichol (Author), Jeffrey Nelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0809235668 | ISBN-13: 978-0809235667 | Edition: 1

Having sold over 120,000 copies, Handwriting Analysis has been revised and expanded to include a new chapter on analyzing doodles.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Handwriting is an expression of personality, and as unique as a fingerprint. Physical, intellectual, and emotional states combine to produce a writing style. Handwriting analysis, or graphology, was once sneeringly labeled a pseudoscience but is now gaining acceptance as a useful diagnostic tool in business, criminology, medicine, and psychology. McNichol (Univ. of California) has thorough knowledge and long experience as a consultant and expert witness, and teaches the only graphology course sponsored by an accredited U.S. university. Her common sense explanations are salted with wry humor and ironic observations on the handwriting of the famous as well as the infamous. No one, including the reader, is safe from her barbs. This is an excellent introduction to graphology, a great party game, and an incentive to type all correspondence!-- Evelyn L. Mott, Palm Beach Cty. Lib., West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

McNichol's commonsense explanations are salted with wry humor and ironic observations on the handwriting of the famous as well as the infamous. No one, including the reader, is safe from her barbs. This is an excellent introduction to graphology . . . and an incentive to type all correspondence! (Library Journal 1994-01-03)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809235668
• ISBN-13: 978-0809235667
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 1 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Self-Help > Handwriting Analysis
  • #11 in Books > Education & Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Handwriting

More About the Author

Andrea McNichol is one of the leading forensic graphologists and examiners of questioned documents in the United States, and a highly respected researcher in the field.

Andrea studied graphology at the Sorbonne and at the University of Heidelberg. After receiving a bachelor's degree and teaching credential from the UC Berkeley, she undertook an eight-year study in conjunction with psychiatrists and other medical doctors, and criminologists, correlating graphological characteristics with mental and physical conditions, and forensic handwriting comparison.

With the cooperation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the National Association of Educators, four California penal institutions and a variety of business groups, McNichol investigated the relationship between handwriting and such things as alcohol and drug use, intelligence, criminal tendencies, and success in business. She has also conducted numerous studies under the auspices of UC Berkeley, exploring the relationship between handwriting and behavior, and handwriting identification procedures and techniques.

In 1975, Andrea designed the first college-level graphology course at an accredited U.S. university, UCLA. Since that time she has taught courses on graphology at eight campuses of the University of California, where she has consistently received the highest student ratings. Her university course is now available on DVD and VHS, as are her special seminars on what your doodles reveal, and how to spot dishonesty in handwriting.

Andrea has been consulted on such celebrated cases as the Hitler Diaries, the Billionaires Boys' Club murder, the Howard Hughes Will Case, the Josef Mengele Nazi War Criminal case, the OJ Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey murder cases.

Andrea has been featured in such publications as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, and has appeared on numerous national television programs, including most of the major network news shows, Good Morning America, CNN, the Tonight Show and Geraldo Rivera. The author of HANDWRITING ANALYSIS: Putting It to Work for You, Hidden Messages in Your Children's Writing and Advanced Studies in Graphology, along with numerous technical articles, Andrea has been published in a wide variety of books, magazines, and other publications.

In 1980, McNichol founded the Los Angeles-based firm Graphology Consultants International, specializing in examination of questioned documents and behavioral profiling for businesses and law enforcement agencies. Andrea regularly consults with several Fortune 500 companies and other corporations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. She conducts training seminars throughout the world in the use of graphology, and forensic handwriting identification, and is one of the most sought-after speakers and teachers of the science in the United States today.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 88 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still best on subject -- by far July 9, 2000

By Hans Delbert

Format:Paperback

I have an extensive libary of graphology books and can say this is by far the very best on the subject...for beginners or for seasoned handwriting analysts. I've read them all, even the new one of the "for complete idiots" variety and Andrea McNichol is the best hands down. If you want the best, most comprehensive and straightforward book on the subject, this is it. McNichol has many immitators, but they all fall short. She has set the high water mark in graphology books.

90 of 95 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter The Fascinating World Of Graphology May 20, 2004

By Janet Boyer HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Does your handwriting reveal your personality? What about your state of health, honesty, sanity, motivation, sobriety and intelligence?

According to Handwriting Analysis - Putting It to Work For You handwriting reveals these traits and a whole lot more. Author Andrea McNichol is an expert graphologist who has been consulted by law enforcement agencies, the State Department, and Fortune 500 companies. She has also served as an Examiner of Questioned Documents in such cases as the Howard Hughes will, the Ted Bundy murders, and the Hitler Diaries. McNichol brings her extensive expertise and insights to this very readable, interactive book.

At the onset, you are asked to write a lengthy handwriting sample on unlined paper. As she says, the more you write, the happier you'll be later when you find out what it all means! Why? Well, once you find out about the many aspects of handwriting analysis, it is likely to affect your handwriting especially in the initial stages. So to write some samples helps give a more unbiased picture of your traits. It's so much fun (not to mention utterly fascinating!) to compare writing samples to the examples and traits listed in this book. Now, my husband and I analyze everything from restaurant bills to signatures, holiday cards, and more.

McNichol uses actual case studies and handwriting samples as she teaches you graphology. For example, the reader is presented with two handwriting samples: one is an authentic note from the Zodiac killer (suspected of murdering more than sixty peopled in the San Francisco Bay area during the late 1960's and the 1970's) and a fake. The giveaway to the real note? The "Maniac d" that McNichol discusses earlier in the chapter. A Maniac d is when the letter suddenly takes off at an acute angle to the right. It indicates a person who can lose emotional control, who can sudddenly go off the deep end. People who exhibit frequent and severely rightward Maniac d's are known to be extremely dangerous.

Here are just a few of the many tidbits found in this 351 page book:

*The combination of heavy pressure with a rightward slant is made by unforgettable, go-getter types. They express a wealth of emotions readily and with fervor, and cannot be taken lightly.

*A writer who "stabs" his ovals can be thought of as "one who speaks with forked tongue".

*Cursive handwriting with few or no lead-in strokes means intelligence, directness, efficiency, and speed.

*If a person's signature is pretty much the same as the rest of their writing (size, style, slant, pressure and spacing) this means that the person behaves the same way in public as in private.

*The writer with a long lower zone is usually restless and in constant need of variety and change. The longer the lower zone, the more restless the writer. Graphologist have found these people to be the job hoppers and the mate hoppers.

*An overly wide left margin indicates that the person is subconsciously putting up an imaginary barrier between himself and the past.

In addition to giving samples of writing from actual case histories (including employee theft, check forgeries and a babysitter on drugs), McNichol also delves into the world of doodles and signatures. In fact, she shares an extensive collection of signatures from celebrities including Liberace, Jesse Jackson, Vanna White, Bette Midler, Ingrid Bergman, William Shatner, and many others--and what their signatures indicate. She even contrasts former President Ronald Reagan's signature before he was shot in 1981 to his signature just a few weeks later. His handwriting was shaky, and had a descending baseline on the first name. (McNichol details how handwriting has three zones, and different elements in these zones actually indicate health situations and the area they affect.)

Filled with dozens of illustrations and examples in every chapter, as well as quizzes, tidbits, and charts, Handwriting Analysis - Putting It to Work for You puts you on the fast-track to deciphering your handwriting and doodles--and that of others. If you're intrigued by personality and psychology, as well as criminal forensics and mysteries, you'll definitely enjoy this informative and easy-to-read book.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best on the Subject July 4, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is probably the very best book on handwriting analysis ever written. It has something for everyone -- from the highly skeptical beginner who knows nothing about graphology, to the most experienced graphologist. Andrea McNichol is one of the top, if not the top, people in the field of graphology, and reading her book will help you understand why. From cases about how Andrea helped police and authorities catch criminals via handwriting, to the use of graphology in job screening...Andrea covers it all like no other.

I have read dozens of graphology books, including all of the other leading experts. None of them comes close to the thoroughness and brilliance of Andrea's book. It's also extremely entertaining, funny, and I found myself sitting down to just read a little of it -- and ending up reading it over the course of two otherwise very busy days. If you're interested in learning about graphology, or have been doing it yourself for 20 years, this book is for you. It's a work of genius.