Customer Reviews

The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding that Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
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Part I consists of the philosophical concepts relevant to psychology. The central ideas, presented in their essentials, lay the foundation of Branden's approach, illustrated in Part II and all of his future work. Part II deals with the central theme of Branden's life work: self-esteem. His radical approach is in stark contrast the ideas of the time and to the self-proclaimed self-esteem proponents in recent years.

His approach is reality oriented: Branden outlines the inescapable need for self-esteem, its source in reality and the consequence of the failure to live in accord with this need. The contrast between legitimate self-esteem and counterfeit self-esteem help to clarify and define this crucial concept.

The book is, one the whole, theoretical and condensed. I am always amazed to find it shelved in the self-help section. This book should be read in conjunction with his latter works: The Disowned Self, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem and The Art of Living Consciously. The journey will be rewarding.

I have read all Branden's books and most, if not all, Ayn Rand's works. I recently completed my second reading of this book, and I believe that 40 years after its first publication this title remains outstanding in exposition and style comparing to most books on Objectivism philosophy and its applications in specific fields. (Two other outstanding works came to mind, though not in the same category, are "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" by L.P. and "Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist" by Tara Smith.)

As a non-academic I consider this title an excellent self-help work, because it's written with unparalleled theoretical depth and intellectual clarity not seen in Branden's later works or majority of self-help type books on today's bookstore shelfs.

I found this book very helpful in gaining self-knowledge and understanding human psychology, so I highly recommend this book to everyone, particularly to those who have read Ayn Rand's ideas or Objectivism philosophy. BTW, Branden's other books are good too, but they are mostly elaborations on aspects of theoretical "super-structure" articulated in this title.

A worked-over edition of his original 1969 classic, this is where Branden as self-help psychologist started. If you want to get in on the ground floor of self-esteem, understand what he means by self-esteem v. some of the fluff that has been spun out since his 1969 start, and see how sentence-completion work started, this is the book for you.

Note: As Braden developed, and found this career/life niche, despite different titles, there's not always a tremendous amount of difference between all of his books, especially if you jump in and buy four of five at once. Be selective at the start.

At the same time, note that the sentence completion work requires a bit of mental discipline. Those he berate that, in lower-ranking reviews, may deserve scrutiny of why they aren't in to that.

That said, as with any Branden book, this is not a substitute for professional counseling. And, self-esteem work like this will not touch major endogenous depression, nor externally-driven things such as the aftereffects of PTSD. Unfortunately, Branden doesn't always make that clear.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed this book. I was listening to the book on tape and tried to take notes while driving (bad idea). I thought comments such as "Self Esteem is your reputation with yourself," "A productive life is a psychological neeed," and his example of 3 men and their opinions, all valid of the same "cad" were, well, helpful to me. I recommend it to anyone who, regardless of their own self esteem issues, knows anyone dealing with anxiety or constant doubts. As I say, I enjoyed it.

This book explains psychology, starting from the most basic biological principles. It uses a cientific aproach of cause and effect to explain complex concepts such as emotions, anxieties and love. The explanations are usually easy to understand.

Everything on this book has an explanation coming from principles. You won't find a "this comes from instincts" kind of explanation.

Four stars for this one... I don't give five stars because I feel that the structure and order of the book could improve.

It took me many readings to fully comprehend the ideas and themes of this book. Since English is not my first language, and my first having nothing to do with Latin and Greek, the author is not to blame. Actually the book is very well written, is detailed and ideas follow logically. It is very hard to sound scientific and objective in a field notorious for subjectivity; nevertheless this is, in my opinion, as objective an analysis as one can get in the field. It may seem overly philosophical and difficult reading at first (definitely not Dr.Phil's style), but once you grasp the approach, it becomes a rewarding inner journey. The book's subject matter (Self-Esteem) is of enormous importance in individual psychology, and crucial for understanding the author's other works. A must read for all, highly recommended.

I highly recommend any Nathaniel Branden book. I think at this point I have read all of them (some twice). This one is a bit more philosophical than some of the later ones. It was his first book and sets the foundation for his life's work. Very important for those who want to better understand human psychology. His later works focus more on personal/self improvement with more examples of real people and with "steps" to follow. Not that this one isn't also personally useful.

I've read "The Disowned Self" by nathaniel branden. wow. his books are not only based on fact and reasearch, reason, and common sense, you can also tell the author truly cares. at times, his writing is almost poetic. To sum it up, we all know more than we know that we know. as he puts it. in other words, the self debilatative actions that we take, we are aware of it! It is in our subconscious. say for example, a guy always goes on dates and never has any luck. for years. so he goes on to think, women suck. or i'm not likeable. with branden's sentence completion exercises, branden will unlock the man's subconscience. i mean, how is that a person can go on dates and never get ONE girl to find interest. or how can someone be that unlikeable.... it will be revealed that the man has been subconsciously scaring women away! due to some childhood issue. um, perhaps his mom told him women were bad. or he got his heart broken. so rather than treating women like crap (which is another less self effasive way to go about it), he subconsciously keeps women at bay, by behaving in ways that are unappealing. maybe he acts obnoxious, or talks about sex constantly. this book says, alright, i'm revealing your subconscious to you. either you fix your thinking, stand up to the truth, or continue lying to yourself and pretending you are helpless. branden does not allow you to hide from yourself. so if you want excuses being made for you, this is not the book for you. if you want tough love, get it. you deserve happiness, no matter what.

I've read a lot of self-help books and this is one that's had an influence along w/ Disowned Self, also by Branden. Branden's relationship w/ and falling out w/ Ayn Rand are well documented. I saw him speak several years ago shortly after Rand's death and he definitely took the low road. Like his hero, Rand, his personal life hasn't lived up to the ideals presented in his books, but the ideas that he gives us are potent. Recommended.