The Structure of Magic, Vol. 1: A Book About Language and Therapy [Paperback]

Richard Bandler (Author), John Grinder (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0831400447 | ISBN-13: 978-0831400446 | Publication Date: January 1975 | Edition: 1

These seminal works in neurolinguistic programming (NLP) help therapists understand how people create inner models of the world to represent their experience and guide their behavior. Volume I describes the Meta Model, a framework for comprehending the structure of language; Volume II applies NLP theory to nonverbal communication.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Science and Behavior Books; 1 edition (January 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0831400447
• ISBN-13: 978-0831400446
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 142 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Foundations of NLPtm ... useful but linear., April 14, 1998

By 

Joseph (Ridgewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Structure of Magic, Vol. 1: A Book About Language and Therapy (Paperback)

The Structure of Magic is an apt title for this book. It is in fact about the magic that occurs when extraordinarily gifted therapists interact with clients. It's a bit hard to read and dense otherwise I'd give it a 10. Using unique and powerful frames of communication these individuals are able to create transformational change within their clients worldview. Bandler and Grinder unpack the elements and structure of these frames of communication using sophisticated and sometimes profound linguist tools. They treat the communication as an algorithm of both the verbal and non-verbal components that form the cognitive structure of the worldview which is in place and from which the communication flows. Then they reveal how the 'magicians' of therapy they've modeled design and implement transformational interventions. The premise they offer and support is that in the very structure of the language used, the entirety of the worldview is present - as well as the keys to creating rapid and lasting transformational change. They present an entire heuristic model of language using this structure to design and implement change of this magnitude as well. In the process of doing this they also reveal some keys to self-examination that serve to expose the worldview the reader is operating from when the reader applies them targeting themselves as the subject. Overall the foundation material that led to the development of NLPtm is present in this book and its sister volume Structure of Magic II. With this material, that forms what the authors call the Meta-Model(tm), and the material in Patterns of Milton H. Erickson Vols. I & II, the basis of conversational hypnosis, the authors define NLPtm as a distinct and operational technology of its own. I highly recommend this book and the others mentioned here as the background material to what the authors present in their books, Frogs into Princes and Tranceformations. NLPtm is and experiential technology and as such operates within the real time process, Frogs and Tra! nceformations offer the reader some insight to this experience. Structure of Magic I & II, and Patterns I & II are the linear supporting material to what happens in these experiences and how they are designed and implemented. It is for this reason as a trainer of NLPtm I find that they are best read in reverse chronological order starting with Frogs into Princes, then Tranceformations followed by Structure of Magic I and Patterns I in order. Enjoy the material and most of all try applying it if you really want to gain a sense of what Bandler and Grinder created ...

103 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start Your NLP Voyage Here, May 23, 2001

By 

Marc Demarest (Hillsboro, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Structure of Magic, Vol. 1: A Book About Language and Therapy (Paperback)

The Structure of Magic, along with Noam Chomsky's work on Language (Knowledge of Language, Language and Thought, Language and Mind) are the bedrock documents of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a rhetorical/psychological/spiritual discipline much misunderstood and much mis-appropriated by various well-meaning folks and charlatans alike, the most famous of whom is Anthony Robbins.

If you're serious about understanding where NLP comes from, begin with this book and with Chomsky. Since Structure of Magic relies on an understanding of transformational grammar, it may be necessary to read Chomsky (and a good textbook on transgrammar) first.

Additionally, you may find it valuable to have a general psycholinguistics text handy, and to have at least a passing understanding of psychoanalytic/psychological therapeutic technique (since Structure of Magic looks at the practices of particularly highly-performant psychologists/analysts).

Once you're mastered this material, you'll discover that most of the other texts on NLP either miss key aspects of the discipline, or appropriate NLP's vocabulary and models for peculiar and sometimes suspect ends.

A hard read, in the final analysis, but well worth it.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Structure of Magic, Vol. 1: A Book About Language and Therapy (Paperback)

Fascinating book about strucutre of language, how people represent their external world within their mind, how their speech reflects their representation of the world, and how therapists can use the speech patterns to help people improve their lives.

It's a neurolinguistic programming book, based on the work of some very gifted psychotherapists and hypnotists.