Handwriting Analysis : Putting It to Work for You (Paperback)

~ (Author), Jeffrey Nelson (Author) "This quiz is designed to get you started in graphology, to give you a feeling of how and why it works..." (more)
Key Phrases: dominating upper zone, stabbed ovals, slant wobble, Pop Quiz, United States, Here's How the Story Actually Unfolded (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you love playing Clue and reading whodunits, "HANDWRITING ANALYSIS: Putting It to Work for You" is the logical conclusion. -- Los Angeles Daily News, July 23, 1991

McNichol's common-sense explanations are salted with wry humor and ironic observations on the handwriting of the famous and the infamous. -- Library Journal, May 1, 1991

Review

McNichol's commonsense explanations are salted with wry humor and ironic observations on the handwriting of the famous as well as the infamous. No one, including the reader, is safe from her barbs. This is an excellent introduction to graphology . . . and an incentive to type all correspondence! (Library Journal )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809235668
• ISBN-13: 978-0809235667
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #4 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Handwriting Analysis
  #5 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Divination > Graphology
  #6 in	Books > Reference > Words & Language > Handwriting

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still best on subject -- by far, July 9, 2000

By	Hans Delbert (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

I have an extensive libary of graphology books and can say this is by far the very best on the subject...for beginners or for seasoned handwriting analysts. I've read them all, even the new one of the "for complete idiots" variety and Andrea McNichol is the best hands down. If you want the best, most comprehensive and straightforward book on the subject, this is it. McNichol has many immitators, but they all fall short. She has set the high water mark in graphology books.

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter The Fascinating World Of Graphology, May 20, 2004

By	Janet Boyer "JanetBoyer.com" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Does your handwriting reveal your personality? What about your state of health, honesty, sanity, motivation, sobriety and intelligence?

According to Handwriting Analysis - Putting It to Work For You handwriting reveals these traits and a whole lot more. Author Andrea McNichol is an expert graphologist who has been consulted by law enforcement agencies, the State Department, and Fortune 500 companies. She has also served as an Examiner of Questioned Documents in such cases as the Howard Hughes will, the Ted Bundy murders, and the Hitler Diaries. McNichol brings her extensive expertise and insights to this very readable, interactive book.

At the onset, you are asked to write a lengthy handwriting sample on unlined paper. As she says, the more you write, the happier you'll be later when you find out what it all means! Why? Well, once you find out about the many aspects of handwriting analysis, it is likely to affect your handwriting especially in the initial stages. So to write some samples helps give a more unbiased picture of your traits. It's so much fun (not to mention utterly fascinating!) to compare writing samples to the examples and traits listed in this book. Now, my husband and I analyze everything from restaurant bills to signatures, holiday cards, and more.

McNichol uses actual case studies and handwriting samples as she teaches you graphology. For example, the reader is presented with two handwriting samples: one is an authentic note from the Zodiac killer (suspected of murdering more than sixty peopled in the San Francisco Bay area during the late 1960's and the 1970's) and a fake. The giveaway to the real note? The "Maniac d" that McNichol discusses earlier in the chapter. A Maniac d is when the letter suddenly takes off at an acute angle to the right. It indicates a person who can lose emotional control, who can sudddenly go off the deep end. People who exhibit frequent and severely rightward Maniac d's are known to be extremely dangerous.

Here are just a few of the many tidbits found in this 351 page book:

*The combination of heavy pressure with a rightward slant is made by unforgettable, go-getter types. They express a wealth of emotions readily and with fervor, and cannot be taken lightly.

*A writer who "stabs" his ovals can be thought of as "one who speaks with forked tongue".

*Cursive handwriting with few or no lead-in strokes means intelligence, directness, efficiency, and speed.

*If a person's signature is pretty much the same as the rest of their writing (size, style, slant, pressure and spacing) this means that the person behaves the same way in public as in private.

*The writer with a long lower zone is usually restless and in constant need of variety and change. The longer the lower zone, the more restless the writer. Graphologist have found these people to be the job hoppers and the mate hoppers.

*An overly wide left margin indicates that the person is subconsciously putting up an imaginary barrier between himself and the past.

In addition to giving samples of writing from actual case histories (including employee theft, check forgeries and a babysitter on drugs), McNichol also delves into the world of doodles and signatures. In fact, she shares an extensive collection of signatures from celebrities including Liberace, Jesse Jackson, Vanna White, Bette Midler, Ingrid Bergman, William Shatner, and many others--and what their signatures indicate. She even contrasts former President Ronald Reagan's signature before he was shot in 1981 to his signature just a few weeks later. His handwriting was shaky, and had a descending baseline on the first name. (McNichol details how handwriting has three zones, and different elements in these zones actually indicate health situations and the area they affect.)

Filled with dozens of illustrations and examples in every chapter, as well as quizzes, tidbits, and charts, Handwriting Analysis - Putting It to Work for You puts you on the fast-track to deciphering your handwriting and doodles--and that of others. If you're intrigued by personality and psychology, as well as criminal forensics and mysteries, you'll definitely enjoy this informative and easy-to-read book.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best on the Subject, July 4, 1998

By A Customer

This is probably the very best book on handwriting analysis ever written. It has something for everyone -- from the highly skeptical beginner who knows nothing about graphology, to the most experienced graphologist. Andrea McNichol is one of the top, if not the top, people in the field of graphology, and reading her book will help you understand why. From cases about how Andrea helped police and authorities catch criminals via handwriting, to the use of graphology in job screening...Andrea covers it all like no other.

I have read dozens of graphology books, including all of the other leading experts. None of them comes close to the thoroughness and brilliance of Andrea's book. It's also extremely entertaining, funny, and I found myself sitting down to just read a little of it -- and ending up reading it over the course of two otherwise very busy days. If you're interested in learning about graphology, or have been doing it yourself for 20 years, this book is for you. It's a work of genius.