Customer Reviews

Hypnosis: Theory, Practice and Application

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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was really looking forward to reading this book and didn't even finish it all the way. I don't know very much about the author and I am not sure where he gets his information but it seems very outdated and not some of the information seems wrong. I am glad I didn't pay full price for this book. I am sure there is a better book on hypnois then this one. My advice is to not waste your money on this book.

I obtained this book from the local library. The copyright date is 1950! That may explain why it seems so dated. It is! On the other hand, that very fact made the book interesting. While I don't intend to purchase this book, it was worth a quick scan--especially for the inductions-- to see how hypnosis was viewed over fifty years ago compared to today.

This, in my humble opinion is a very good hypnosis book. The fact that he simplifies Thomson Jay Hudson's complexities into a couple of laws or "theories", makes it very worth reading. He starts from there and then shows how the imagination makes hypnosis genuinely work. That SHOULD be the purpose of any good hypnosis book, to show how hypnosis works. Not to show silly case histories or be a map that "is" the territory. But rather, a map that defines the territories like any good map should. This is what this book is, a map that defines the territory and not "is" the territory. Now sure, it seems oversimplified to some of my fellow reviewers, okay, but if you're going for cutthroat working result; what works, works. And this works, period. It has what is neccessary. Period. That's all I'm saying. The simplified and neccessitated "It Works by RHJ" of hypnosis law and theory. Sure. Whoever you are, Rhodes, thanks.

Captain Josh.

This book is not the best at any particular aspect of hypnosis. However, it attempts to breakdown superstition and complex explanations to something useful for the proletariats. Some people take aspirin for their headache and do not care how it works. More discerning want to know where it comes from and the mechanics of the cure. The same holds true of hypnotism.

There may be better, newer, clearer books out there on the subject and practice. However, this book may have that unique way of explaining that helps you get a grasp.

This book is from the turn of the 20th century. It is antiquated and irrelevant, except for those interested in the history of hypnosis. If you want a historical relic, this book is for you. If you want to learn modern hypnosis, don't bother.