Customer Reviews

Magic in Action

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting an inside view of a master utilizing NLP(tm) in action. These are actual working transcripts of Richard Bandler the co-founder of the NLP(tm)technology doing work with patients. Within the pages you'll encounter him literally performing magic in terms of creating transformational change with private clients. This book is unlike others by either Bandler or Grinder (the other co-founder of NLP(tm). All of the other books available by these authors are taken either from training transcripts or written as training manuals, in this one the transcripts are from one to one sessions with Richard himself. These transcripts are packed with information. You'll find him utilizing hypnosis, reframing, anchoring, and all the other NLP(tm)techniques you've heard of while continually pacing and leading the client he's addressing. As Richard suggests in the introduction you could re-read this book for each of these patterns and come away with a deeper, fuller and richer appreciation of the model each time you do. In a way you could almost learn to do NLP(tm) from this book alone, however this is not what either I or Richard would recommend. As Bandler writes in the introdution to this edition, NLP(tm) is an experiential model and the way to really "get it" is to work with someone who is really skilled in its application. Within this same introduction Richard uncovers his own thinking about the model he calls NLP(tm) better than any other place that I've read. This description alone is worth the price of the book if what's offered is really assimilated. I would of given it a 10 however there are some sections within it that really bog down and could have been improved with better editing ... then again ... What I recommend is that if your interested in the direct applicaton of NLP(tm) as a transformation technology go ahead buy it, read it and enjoy it!

You could say that this is a book in six chapters, plus an introduction and one appendix - the former is taken of an interview with Bandler in 1990, the latter covers the NLP "Milton Model" in some depth.

Excited?
You would be if you knew what is in those six chapters!

According to the back cover blurb (taken from the Introduction):

"*Magic in Action* shows the ways in which I use humour and speed to work with clients. It gives the layman an idea of what an NLP session should be like."

Basically this is a set of trancescripts (pun intended) of Richard Bandler doing brief therapy the NLP way. They cover topics such as a rather unusual form of agoraphobia, fear of authority figures, weight loss, changing limiting beliefs, etc.

More than that, however, they show Bandler using many of the core NLP techniques to facilitate lasting changes, typically in less than 30 minutes.

An additional feature of the first three sessions is that they are taken from a project at Marshall University, West Virginia, and in two cases include a brief follow-up interview that took place about 8 months after the therapy session.
(Only two, because in one case Richard and his client went straight out and demonstrated that the client's agoraphobia had already completely disappeared.)

As the previous reviewer has said, this is a book that will bear, indeed requires, several readings to get the most out of it. Bandler himself (or was it the unnamed editor?) recommends that, after having read the whole book, you start again, annotating each transcript in the same way that the final chapter has already been analysed, to better understand how Bandler has used various linguistic patterns to achieve his results.
Seems like a pretty good idea to me.

The book gives some interesting insights into the attitude, motivation and practice of the originator of NLP. At the same time, though Bandler certainly isn't prepared to spoonfeed his readers, it is as good a teaching tool as any book could ever be.

If you're serious about NLP, this book is a definite 'must read'.

It took me a while to get past the 60's covers on Bandler's books and longer still since I had to get past a lot of the writings I've read by others on NLP (most read like papers presented at a Star Trek convention).However,once you get past the covers and the BS spouted by many NLP "experts" it is refreshing to read Bandler's work. It is very down to earth, uses humor effectively, and the stuff makes sense. This is not the book I would recommend starting with, but do start with Bandler's earlier works if you want to know the real possibilities of NLP.

This book is a wonderful inside-look into actual NLP interventions, essentially transcripts of actual change-work performed by the master himself, Richard Bandler. I'm not going to explain NLP here, because if your unaware of Richard's work, this book will as useful to you as lasik to a blind man. For those that are initiated, this book serves as a wonderful resource to give you an idea of what an actual session should be like, and the final trascript is broken down to the linguistics, excellent for tracking patterns. These transcripts were taken from the famous Howard University tapes, now being sold on Richard'd website. His idea's on the use of humor slapped me in the face like a wet towel across the buns. So if your a fan, your going to love it, if your a newbie, your better off getting Frogs into Princes, or Using Your Brain for a Change. For therapists, this may be an interesting, and eye-opening read to give you an idea of how fast change can be assisted in clients. Remember, NLP is not a set of techniques, it's a methodology with an attitude, and this book let's you take a peep into the wizard's chamber.

This was a great book. I enjoyed every page of it. It brought together ideas I have read and a made them more practical for me. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand how to use NLP is some of the possible ways.

It is the dialog of Richard Bandler's therapeutic sessions with his clients. A knowledge of the techniques would help to understand the book better. Overall a good book.

I am a fan of Richard Bandler, and I have all of his books. This was one of the last of his older books I bought, to complete my collection. It is basically a transcript of a video tape, in which Bandler helps various people quickly (within minutes!) get over fears, phobias, compulsions, and other limitations. The book is helpful because it shows Bandler in action, with occasional footnotes that explain some of the things he is doing. The last chapter is written in a different format. It is a three-column analysis of Bandler's conversation with a woman in which he helps her commit to losing weight. Column One consists of Bandler's conversation, column two contains his phrases identified by linguistic pattern, and column three lists analog markers and other therapeutic considerations. The brief appendix is a summary of the Milton Model. Even though the book is meant for professionals, laypersons such as myself can benefit from the entertaining and enlightening sessions that are included. In fact, Bandler points out that book is not so much about imitating him as exploring therapeutic possibilities.

Below are some caveats to consider before buying this book:

- I didn't really see a whole lot that was absolutely new here that couldn't be gleaned from other Bandler books, such as Get the Life You Want and Using Your Brain for a Change. The techniques are all covered elsewhere, including in the books I just mentioned (unfortunately, "Using Your Brain For a Change" is out of print as of now, but a used paperback copy is priced pretty reasonably).

- Based on the book's description, I thought it would be a guide to using humor to bring about change, and I had hoped Bandler would have explained the details of when, how, and why he uses humor (since he does use it quite often - very successfully). While Bandler does use humor throughout the book, he doesn't really go into any detail about how to use humor as a therapeutic tool.

- The cost is high. I understand the material is valuable, but the price strikes me as high relative to book length and availability of the book's information elsewhere.

Overall, in terms of content, this is a great book. Bandler shows how quickly and easily NLP works in a variety of circumstances. However, given that it is written for NLP professionals, the material is covered elsewhere, and the price is high, I would suggest checking out other Bandler books first, unless you are really into NLP.

I got the book from the library, and overall I like the ideas in it. But because the book is a transcript from his taped sessions, it is not always easy to get what he is saying without actually seeing the faces and what's going on in the studio.And there are so many typos in the book.
I am going to try one of his "real" books.

For me this was really helpful and after reading I understand a lot more of metafors and utilization of language in very specific ways to guide client in a more useful direction.

It has transcripts from when he worked with diferent clients diferent problems and gives the "tricks" - important things to notice that make all the diference. Sometimes explains in detail so anybody can understand and at the end of the book has a transcript (of someone who wants to stop eating so much) broken down in small pieces in the left and in right he tells what are the presup., nominalizations, conjunc etc.
In the apendix you'll find the milton model.

As any other RB product you have to read it again and again and again.... cause you'll always find more and of course go do it with people !

Sebastian Stefan
Romania