The New Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are [Paperback]

Dr. Kevin Leman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0800756797 | ISBN-13: 978-0800756796 | Publication Date: October 1998 | Edition: 2nd

Key insights into birth order help readers understand themselves and improve their marriage, parenting, and career skills.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...sheds light on how our place in the family pecking order endows us with traits that shape us for life." -- Dallas Child, April 1999

"If you’d like to be more successful in all of your relationships, then this book’s for you!" -- Shine, September/October 1999

"Leman frames his discussion within a Christian worldview... Well-written, intriguing." -- Minister’s Packet, December 1998/January 1999

From the Back Cover

Firstborn? Only child? Middle child? Baby of the family?

Find out what it means to you, your relationships, and your career.

Do you realize that of the first twenty-three astronauts in space, twenty-one were firstborns and the other two were the only child in their family?

Are you aware that many successful entrepreneurs are middle children?

Is it any surprise that most comedians are the youngest child in their family?

It's all about birth order.

Birth order powerfully influences who you are, whom you marry, the job you choose, and the kind of parent you are. And Dr. Kevin Leman's The Birth Order Book will help you understand yourself, get along better with others, overcome ingrained tendencies you never thought you could get rid of, and be more successful in the workplace. This revised and updated edition of Dr. Leman's classic book includes more than thirty years of experience and research, current examples, and fascinating stories to show how birth order impacts your life.

Thousands of people have unlocked the secrets of birth order already. Shouldn't you be one of them?

Dr. Kevin Leman is an internationally known psychologist, humorist, and New York Times bestselling author of more than 35 books, including Have a New Kid by Friday, Have a New Husband by Friday, and Born to Win. He is former consulting psychologist for Good Morning America and a frequent guest on Fox & Friends, The View, Today, The Early Show, and Focus on the Family. He and his wife, Sande, live in Tucson, Arizona. They have five children and two grandchildren. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell; 2nd edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800756797
• ISBN-13: 978-0800756796
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Siblings

More About the Author

Dr. Kevin Leman, an internationally known psychologist, radio and television personality, and speaker, has taught and entertained audiences worldwide with his wit and commonsense psychology. The best-selling and award-winning author has made house calls for hundreds of radio and television programs, including "The View" with Barbara Walters, "The Today Show," "Oprah," CBS's "The Early Show," "Live with Regis Philbin," CNN's "American Morning," and "LIFE Today" with James Robison, and he has served as a contributing family psychologist to "Good Morning America." He is the founder and president of Couples of Promise, an organization designed and committed to helping couples remain happily married. Dr. Leman is also a charter faculty member of iQuestions.com. He has written over 30 best-selling books about marriage and family issues, including "The Birth Order Book" and "Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage." Dr. Leman and his wife, Sande, live in Tucson. They have five children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wanted to understand my kids, learned about myself too!, September 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are (Paperback)

I bought this book because I was pregnant with my third, and I wanted to avoid my children falling into the "stereotypical" birth order roles. I no longer feel that my youngest daughter's new middle role is the kiss of death. I learned how to handle my oldest's perfectionist tendancies without causing her to lose heart when things don't go right.

Probably the best thing though, is I learned something about myself (a firstborn) and my husband (a middle child) which has helped us work together in our marriage and in parenting. I also learned how to drop the firstborn critical perfectionism expectations with my children and myself.

My only complaint is that he uses much of the book as an autobiography on his life as the "baby" of the family and also a biography on his children and their roles in his unique family. He does spend alot of time on firstborns and only children- which can be gratifying to those of us in that category- talking about how they can overcome the negatives of their family birth order and the positives of their birth order, including all the wonderful job opportunities that first borns have due to their ingrown leadership skills and sense of responsibility. But he does not do the same for middle's and babies. Leaving them somewhat more of a mystery to me. If he ever redoes the book, I would urge him to give the other birth orders the same in depth review and less about his personal experiences which are definately not general enough for the general audience.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just Birth Order, January 19, 2000

By 

A. Holder "meemergirl1" (Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are (Paperback)

This is the type of book that makes a lightbulb pop over your head. You will understand yourself more, as well as your family. Leman is funny and extremely down to earth in his writing style (and I love his Christian references). He also includes very sound advice on relating to and parenting certain birth orders. I just finished this book, and I now want to read his "Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours".

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent study, October 22, 2000

By 

Kate Slan (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are (Paperback)

My friends get sick of me recommending Dr. Leman's books. Quite frankly, they are all excellent, this one being no exception.

This is an excellent study in birth order psychology, and I would recommend it to anyone. Not only did Dr. Leman's book make me realise I was a perfectionistic FREAK, but it helped me become OK with myself.

Dr. Leman's research is excellent, and his writing style is funny, personal and very easy to read. I have found his conclusions ring true again and again, and I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about themselves or the people around them.

I have read several of Dr. Leman's books, all of which I would recommend. He is an excellent psychologist and an excellent author.