Customer Reviews

Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The enneagram system has made a huge impact on me and been very insightful - both about myself as well as my interactions in relationships with others. I own probably 10 books about the enneagram personality type theory by a number of different authors, and I find Riso and Hudson to be the best experts in the field. Of their numerous books I find this their finest to date. It's a revised edition of the 1990 "Understanding the Enneagram" which was itself excellent.

This would make a fine introduction yet also has a lot of advanced material. The book contains a good questionnaire for finding your type, thorough descriptions of each type, insight into the levels of development (which is unique to these authors), practical recommendations, and the spiritual dimensions of the types.

Unlike other authors I've read on the subject, I find Riso and Hudson direct and easy to understand. All in all a very complete and accessible guide to the enneagram. I've also seen these authors in person and would recommend the experience.

I have been a student of the enneagram for over a decade, and own both the original and "revised" editions of this book. I am generally a fan of Riso & Hudson's work, and this book certainly does a respectable job of introducing readers to the basic "nuts and bolts" of the enneagram. As such, I feel comfortable recommending it as a good introductory text. Some readers (myself included), however, might find themselves a bit distressed by the frequent cross-references to Don Riso's prior and exhaustive volume on the Enneagram, "Personality Types." Since I also own that book, a concept briefly introduced and then concluded with the reference "(PT, 31-32)" is not a problem for me, but would probably be confusing or annoying to a reader who has picked up "Understanding the Enneagram" as their first book on the subject.

That said, here's what this book offers: Section One covers an introduction to the enneagram as a personality typing and growth tool, followed by thumbnail descriptions of the nine enneagram types, and concludes by explaining Riso's concept of the "levels of development" that exist within each type.

Section Two helps readers identify their type through the use of questionnaires. Particularly useful is the fairly thorough coverage of "misidentifications," or common ways in which people tend to choose a type that isn't really a true representation of their personality. The section concludes with an "assessment guide," which is basically a "fill in the blanks" area where readers can pencil in their responses to a number of questions.

In Section Three-- which I found to be the most interesting-- the authors make connections between the enneagram types at different levels of emotional health, and an assortment of theories and psycho-pathologies of "conventional" psychology. The section continues with recommendations on how to practically apply the teachings of the enneagram to personal growth, including specific tips for each of the nine types. The book concludes with a somewhat brief discussion of the connection between "personality" and "essence," and how the enneagram is as much a spiritual tool as a psychological one.

Final thoughts: Definitely worthwhile (8.5 out of 10 possible bookmarks) as a good basic or introductory text on the enneagram-- as long as you're not put off by frequent "pointers" to more information (essentially requiring you to buy another book). The book is well-organized, well-explained and written in easy-to-understand language. For the more advanced student, a nice addition to "Personality Types" and "The Wisdom of the Ennagram" by the same authors.

Thanks for reading!
--Peter

What I like best about this book is that it helps you to differentiate between types that are often confused, like Two and Nine. It explains how these types, in some ways similar, are in other ways very different. Another thing I like about the book is that the many charts show how the author approached his nine levels for each type. It's a very intricate system with a set of laws devised by the author.

The only part of this book I really found interesting was the authors' development of corresponding personality disorders with each of the types...Which I don't feel was adequately developed to be worth the buy. Basically you can see that they've managed to correspond types with personality disorders, but I think "The Wisdom of the Enneagram" is more informative in terms of using Enneagram information to stop negative patterns of behavior.

Personality Types, The Wisdom of the Enneagram and Discovery Your Personality Type (the personality test) will compose a solid library for any Enneagram/Hudson Riso ethusiast.

The enneagram system has made a huge impact on me and been very insightful - both about myself as well as my interactions in relationships with others. I own probably 10 books about the enneagram personality type theory by a number of different authors, and I find Riso and Hudson to be the best experts in the field. Of their numerous books I find this their finest to date. It's a revised edition of the 1990 "Understanding the Enneagram" which was itself excellent.

This would make a fine introduction yet also has a lot of advanced material. The book contains a good questionnaire for finding your type, thorough descriptions of each type, insight into the levels of development (which is unique to these authors), practical recommendations, and the spiritual dimensions of the types.

Unlike other authors I've read on the subject, I find Riso and Hudson direct and easy to understand. All in all a very complete and accessible guide to the enneagram. I've also seen these authors in person and would recommend the experience.

I have read significant parts of about 5 or 6 Enneagram books, and this is, by far, the best one I have read. It not only helps the reader understand the workings of the Enneagram and people of the different Enneagram types, it also gives good, very kindly written (but firm and honest) non-obvious advice to people of the different types that can be implemented in their day-to-day lives. It is extremely well-written--The great intelligence of the authors is quite evident. Full of very important insights and revelations, I think it is definitely one of the most important books of modern times.

I know I am failing to convey how immense an achievement this book is, and how much positive potential its insights have to truly bring about a positive spiritual revolution.

I think this book is so amazing that I suggested that the two local library sytems where I live buy it. --I'm happy to say that they did.

There is no way I can really convey to you adequately what this book is like. You will have to check it out for yourself.

I only wish that I had read this book before getting involved with my now ex-wife (an unhealty Three). The traits that I learned about her personality type and others has given me new insight into "sizing up" people, even thogh I was no slouch at it before.

I also was able to profit from the knowledge in this book in the workplace, and I believe that it helps one to recognize what's going on under the surface of tempermentally distinct people. My guess is that this won't replace general psychology anytime soon, but runs in a parallel path with many intersecting points of reference. Anyone wishing to glean personal insight or a quick thumbnail sketch of aqquaintances will find this book rerwarding and entertaining.

This is a very useful book. It has a lot of longwinded information about the Enneagram. The only thing that really turned me off to it was that it is overly concerned with Psychological Disorders and attempts to place each enneagram type in a little box labelled with the DSM IV psychological problem that may accompany it. If you are looking for a spiritual approach to the ennagram, keep looking. Check out Palmer or Almaas.

This is an excellent book with no further qualifications. Well written, insightful and certainly worth the price paid.

In my mind, these's authors Wisdom of the Enneagram is the definitive foundation for those learning about the Enneagram and seeking it use it for personal growth & interpersonal understanding.

This book adds a welcome emphasis on the dimension of health and progression/regression on that dimension. Its description of each of the 9 styles generally add to that in other books by these authors & others.

Definitely one of my favorite books to refer to on this subject.

I've written a few papers in college about Amazon.com and this purchasing experience backed my research about the company. Your customer management system is top notch, as is your product quality. I didn't buy new but the book I received can easily pass as unused. This has been a great first experience and I will definitely continue to use Amazon.com for future purchases. Thanks!