Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

THE BEST BOOK ON MEMORY!, 21 Dec 2006
Never mind what the other people say about this book, this book deserves to be THE classic memory book of all time! A big thumbs up to Harry for making everything so clear and easy to understand. Right from the start, you are invited to try out the systems for yourselevs instead of passively reading about the principles. I really enjoyed trying out the link system, which was extremely easy to use, all thanks to the way harry makes things sooooooo easy to understand.

Memory Book, 15 Jul 2004
I would not recommend this book unless you are unfamiliar with the concepts of mnemonics and basic memory ideas. The only new memory technique I learnt here was the Peg system (and this I have never used). A good read, and interesting if you cannot remember people's names.

A good little book, but if you know the very fundamentals of memory techniques please look elsewhere.

A good read!, 06 Feb 2002
If you looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. Although nothing new he is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy your the power of your mind!

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

THE BEST BOOK ON MEMORY!, 21 Dec 2006
Never mind what the other people say about this book, this book deserves to be THE classic memory book of all time! A big thumbs up to Harry for making everything so clear and easy to understand. Right from the start, you are invited to try out the systems for yourselevs instead of passively reading about the principles. I really enjoyed trying out the link system, which was extremely easy to use, all thanks to the way harry makes things sooooooo easy to understand.

Memory Book, 15 Jul 2004
I would not recommend this book unless you are unfamiliar with the concepts of mnemonics and basic memory ideas. The only new memory technique I learnt here was the Peg system (and this I have never used). A good read, and interesting if you cannot remember people's names.

A good little book, but if you know the very fundamentals of memory techniques please look elsewhere.

A good read!, 06 Feb 2002
If you looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. Although nothing new he is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy your the power of your mind!

Perfect intro, 23 Dec 2007
I like this book.

The book contain a perfect intro into NLP. Provide a lot of important informations, interesting text, easy readable content.
Four stars, just because, I think this book is just for beginners. If you are going to buy your 6th book about NLP and you are working with NLP a long time already, this will be just another one and you will be probably not able to absorb a lot of new informations.
For NLP "starters" this may really be the best book.
I also appericiate its brevity.

A genuinely effective account of NLP, 06 Feb 2006
I couldn't agree more with the last reviewer.
Like most "businessman" I'm not just "in business", I'm also very "busy". So when I read a business book, which I don't get to do as often as I'd like, it had better tell its story as briefly and clearly as possible. And this book does.

Some of my colleagues have recommended other books on NLP in the past, including those mentioned by Mr Smith, but to be perfectly blunt the prospect of having to go through several hundred pages just to get a basic understanding of the subject really didn't hold much appeal.

What this book did was give me some concrete descriptions of what I take to be key elements of NLP simply and clearly, without being patronising, and briefly without being shallow. And when I say concrete I mean that the descriptions are brought together in the second part of the book showing how they can be used in typical business situations such as appraisals, sales calls, meetings and such like.
I found it particularly helpful that the descriptions in the first part of the book are accompanied by easy to follow exercises, most on which can be carried out on your own, so that you can see how the ideas work in practice.

After reading this book I feel ready to tackle some of those more heavyweight tomes I've heard about, and I can heartily recommend "DYNS", as I call it, to anyone wanting to understand how NLP can help you to achieve your business goals.

The best intro book for NLP in business, 15 Nov 2003
For the busy manager, many of the existing books about NLP in business may be just a bit too long to contemplate starting. Even fine works like 'Influencing With Integrity" and 'NLP at Work' may sit on the shelf for years without being opened.

No such excuses are possible with "Develop Your NLP Skills". The book is extremely concise and readable. It avoids unnecessary jargon, but covers some tricky areas in business (such as 'discipline') which other NLP books shy away from.

This is going straight on the recommended reading for my practitioner courses - there's no higher praise than that!

It works, 03 Sep 2003
I bought my copy of the book a while ago basically to find out what all the fuss was about. I have not been able to go for any training yet so I cannot claim to be much of an expert in the subject of NLP. Still I've read through this book several times and found it to be both informative and practical and easy to follow the explanations. I also have put the ideas into practice when I can and they work pretty good in my experience. I would recomend this book as a very good introduction to NLP.
Good luck!

An excellent overview of NLP, 23 Mar 2002
This book provided me with an excellent overview of a concept about which I had limited previous knowledge. While developing a workshop on the topic of those characteristics that seem to come naturally to high performers, I discovered a connection to NLP. Practicing NLP seemed to be the method by which one can embrace the values, attitudes, and principles displayed by high performers. The straightforward, friendly style of writing makes this book accessible to any reader. It is especially useful for business managers who want to use this tried and true method to enhance their team's performance. The techniques of NLP can assist anyone become more effective (and possibly more contented) in their life, work, and relationships. I think most readers will find the content is at a level of detail that supports immediate use of the NLP techniques.

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

THE BEST BOOK ON MEMORY!, 21 Dec 2006
Never mind what the other people say about this book, this book deserves to be THE classic memory book of all time! A big thumbs up to Harry for making everything so clear and easy to understand. Right from the start, you are invited to try out the systems for yourselevs instead of passively reading about the principles. I really enjoyed trying out the link system, which was extremely easy to use, all thanks to the way harry makes things sooooooo easy to understand.

Memory Book, 15 Jul 2004
I would not recommend this book unless you are unfamiliar with the concepts of mnemonics and basic memory ideas. The only new memory technique I learnt here was the Peg system (and this I have never used). A good read, and interesting if you cannot remember people's names.

A good little book, but if you know the very fundamentals of memory techniques please look elsewhere.

A good read!, 06 Feb 2002
If you looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. Although nothing new he is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy your the power of your mind!

Perfect intro, 23 Dec 2007
I like this book.

The book contain a perfect intro into NLP. Provide a lot of important informations, interesting text, easy readable content.
Four stars, just because, I think this book is just for beginners. If you are going to buy your 6th book about NLP and you are working with NLP a long time already, this will be just another one and you will be probably not able to absorb a lot of new informations.
For NLP "starters" this may really be the best book.
I also appericiate its brevity.

A genuinely effective account of NLP, 06 Feb 2006
I couldn't agree more with the last reviewer.
Like most "businessman" I'm not just "in business", I'm also very "busy". So when I read a business book, which I don't get to do as often as I'd like, it had better tell its story as briefly and clearly as possible. And this book does.

Some of my colleagues have recommended other books on NLP in the past, including those mentioned by Mr Smith, but to be perfectly blunt the prospect of having to go through several hundred pages just to get a basic understanding of the subject really didn't hold much appeal.

What this book did was give me some concrete descriptions of what I take to be key elements of NLP simply and clearly, without being patronising, and briefly without being shallow. And when I say concrete I mean that the descriptions are brought together in the second part of the book showing how they can be used in typical business situations such as appraisals, sales calls, meetings and such like.
I found it particularly helpful that the descriptions in the first part of the book are accompanied by easy to follow exercises, most on which can be carried out on your own, so that you can see how the ideas work in practice.

After reading this book I feel ready to tackle some of those more heavyweight tomes I've heard about, and I can heartily recommend "DYNS", as I call it, to anyone wanting to understand how NLP can help you to achieve your business goals.

The best intro book for NLP in business, 15 Nov 2003
For the busy manager, many of the existing books about NLP in business may be just a bit too long to contemplate starting. Even fine works like 'Influencing With Integrity" and 'NLP at Work' may sit on the shelf for years without being opened.

No such excuses are possible with "Develop Your NLP Skills". The book is extremely concise and readable. It avoids unnecessary jargon, but covers some tricky areas in business (such as 'discipline') which other NLP books shy away from.

This is going straight on the recommended reading for my practitioner courses - there's no higher praise than that!

It works, 03 Sep 2003
I bought my copy of the book a while ago basically to find out what all the fuss was about. I have not been able to go for any training yet so I cannot claim to be much of an expert in the subject of NLP. Still I've read through this book several times and found it to be both informative and practical and easy to follow the explanations. I also have put the ideas into practice when I can and they work pretty good in my experience. I would recomend this book as a very good introduction to NLP.
Good luck!

An excellent overview of NLP, 23 Mar 2002
This book provided me with an excellent overview of a concept about which I had limited previous knowledge. While developing a workshop on the topic of those characteristics that seem to come naturally to high performers, I discovered a connection to NLP. Practicing NLP seemed to be the method by which one can embrace the values, attitudes, and principles displayed by high performers. The straightforward, friendly style of writing makes this book accessible to any reader. It is especially useful for business managers who want to use this tried and true method to enhance their team's performance. The techniques of NLP can assist anyone become more effective (and possibly more contented) in their life, work, and relationships. I think most readers will find the content is at a level of detail that supports immediate use of the NLP techniques.

A well-written and personal introduction to human memory., 04 Oct 2000
Alan Baddeley gives us a well-written and easy-to-read introduction to human memory. He gives an overview of the history of memory research and reviews current as well as earlier theories. The book is full of practical examples of tests and the author doesn't hesitate to convey his personal opinion while all the time being careful to state when he is doing so. I am a professional in the area, but I believe the book's easy style will make it accessible to the interested reader without any prior knowledge of the field. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about this fascinating field. Alan Baddeley is one of the people who know most about it, and also how to convey this knowledge.

It is a tiny book and it is a treasure. First published in 1968, Og Mandino's classic The Greatest Salesman in the World remains an invaluable guide towards a philosophy of salesmanship. Mandino has a clear, simple writing style that supports his purpose: to make the principles of sales known to a wide audience. A parable set in the time just prior to Christianity, The Greatest Salesman in the World weaves mythology with spirituality into a much-needed message of inspiration in this culture of self-promotion. Mandino believes that in order to be a good salesperson, you must believe in yourself and the work which you are doing. It is a simple but profound spiritual philosophy about how to succeed in the world's marketplace, easily understood and easy to take to heart. --Jodie Buller

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

THE BEST BOOK ON MEMORY!, 21 Dec 2006
Never mind what the other people say about this book, this book deserves to be THE classic memory book of all time! A big thumbs up to Harry for making everything so clear and easy to understand. Right from the start, you are invited to try out the systems for yourselevs instead of passively reading about the principles. I really enjoyed trying out the link system, which was extremely easy to use, all thanks to the way harry makes things sooooooo easy to understand.

Memory Book, 15 Jul 2004
I would not recommend this book unless you are unfamiliar with the concepts of mnemonics and basic memory ideas. The only new memory technique I learnt here was the Peg system (and this I have never used). A good read, and interesting if you cannot remember people's names.

A good little book, but if you know the very fundamentals of memory techniques please look elsewhere.

A good read!, 06 Feb 2002
If you looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. Although nothing new he is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy your the power of your mind!

Perfect intro, 23 Dec 2007
I like this book.

The book contain a perfect intro into NLP. Provide a lot of important informations, interesting text, easy readable content.
Four stars, just because, I think this book is just for beginners. If you are going to buy your 6th book about NLP and you are working with NLP a long time already, this will be just another one and you will be probably not able to absorb a lot of new informations.
For NLP "starters" this may really be the best book.
I also appericiate its brevity.

A genuinely effective account of NLP, 06 Feb 2006
I couldn't agree more with the last reviewer.
Like most "businessman" I'm not just "in business", I'm also very "busy". So when I read a business book, which I don't get to do as often as I'd like, it had better tell its story as briefly and clearly as possible. And this book does.

Some of my colleagues have recommended other books on NLP in the past, including those mentioned by Mr Smith, but to be perfectly blunt the prospect of having to go through several hundred pages just to get a basic understanding of the subject really didn't hold much appeal.

What this book did was give me some concrete descriptions of what I take to be key elements of NLP simply and clearly, without being patronising, and briefly without being shallow. And when I say concrete I mean that the descriptions are brought together in the second part of the book showing how they can be used in typical business situations such as appraisals, sales calls, meetings and such like.
I found it particularly helpful that the descriptions in the first part of the book are accompanied by easy to follow exercises, most on which can be carried out on your own, so that you can see how the ideas work in practice.

After reading this book I feel ready to tackle some of those more heavyweight tomes I've heard about, and I can heartily recommend "DYNS", as I call it, to anyone wanting to understand how NLP can help you to achieve your business goals.

The best intro book for NLP in business, 15 Nov 2003
For the busy manager, many of the existing books about NLP in business may be just a bit too long to contemplate starting. Even fine works like 'Influencing With Integrity" and 'NLP at Work' may sit on the shelf for years without being opened.

No such excuses are possible with "Develop Your NLP Skills". The book is extremely concise and readable. It avoids unnecessary jargon, but covers some tricky areas in business (such as 'discipline') which other NLP books shy away from.

This is going straight on the recommended reading for my practitioner courses - there's no higher praise than that!

It works, 03 Sep 2003
I bought my copy of the book a while ago basically to find out what all the fuss was about. I have not been able to go for any training yet so I cannot claim to be much of an expert in the subject of NLP. Still I've read through this book several times and found it to be both informative and practical and easy to follow the explanations. I also have put the ideas into practice when I can and they work pretty good in my experience. I would recomend this book as a very good introduction to NLP.
Good luck!

An excellent overview of NLP, 23 Mar 2002
This book provided me with an excellent overview of a concept about which I had limited previous knowledge. While developing a workshop on the topic of those characteristics that seem to come naturally to high performers, I discovered a connection to NLP. Practicing NLP seemed to be the method by which one can embrace the values, attitudes, and principles displayed by high performers. The straightforward, friendly style of writing makes this book accessible to any reader. It is especially useful for business managers who want to use this tried and true method to enhance their team's performance. The techniques of NLP can assist anyone become more effective (and possibly more contented) in their life, work, and relationships. I think most readers will find the content is at a level of detail that supports immediate use of the NLP techniques.

A well-written and personal introduction to human memory., 04 Oct 2000
Alan Baddeley gives us a well-written and easy-to-read introduction to human memory. He gives an overview of the history of memory research and reviews current as well as earlier theories. The book is full of practical examples of tests and the author doesn't hesitate to convey his personal opinion while all the time being careful to state when he is doing so. I am a professional in the area, but I believe the book's easy style will make it accessible to the interested reader without any prior knowledge of the field. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about this fascinating field. Alan Baddeley is one of the people who know most about it, and also how to convey this knowledge.

I was expecting better, much better, 12 Nov 2008
This book could be condensed into one page max, the rest is just waffle based on a fairy tale. I'm amazed that so many people have given this book 5 stars as they were clearly not reading the same book as me. I was hoping for some decent hints and tips i could use in my daily profession but instead all i got was a fairy tale talking about nothing more than positive mental attitude. Frankly if you need to be told that you have more issues than this book could ever dream to solve. Search for Frank Bettger's book "How i raised myself from failure to success in selling" if you actually want a decent book on how to improve your sales technique.

An average parable about sales and relationship skills that plods along, 09 Apr 2008
This book provides a set of daily mantras to improve sales performance. These helpful tools are set within a rambling story of sales in the first century BC/AD. Combining the message with the birth of Christ seems to detract from the teaching - if these mantras stand on their own, why the need to attach the story to something else?

The first 50 pages are a rather plodding introduction, so I would skip over them. The next ten chapters provide the keys to success and could easily be summarised into ten pages rather than this story. The final chapter is unnecessary and fails to add to the book.

So, the ten rules are useful, and could lead to an improvement in sales skills. But the book overall makes the key messages in too many layers of description. Parables are great ways to get messages across, but this is not one of them.

An inspirational story, 15 Apr 2006
I was prompted to write this review based on a number of negative reviews I read on this page about the book.
One reader actually said he read it twice with out getting the point-or much out of it.
Og Mandino's is one with a difference-it is not what you can get out of it that matters ( he is not really trying to impart knowledge in the real sense) it is what the book can impart into your subconscious mind that makes it different.
As one reviewer explained the best way you can acquire maximum benefit from book is by following the recommended procedure-reading each chapter for 30 days, three times daily and not turning to the next chapter until you have completed the preceding one.
I know this might sound strange and a waste of time (we are talking about 270 days here) but it is indeed worth the while.
If you go about it this way you will start noticing a change -have a more positive attitude to life-persist more and wake up with more vigor.
What you have read will keeping seeping through you conscious to your subconscious (especially when you face tough situations) and this will inspire you handle life better.
I personally read the book in 1993 - I could not believe that there was such a wonderful book in existence and it really changed my life>
How I wish more of us could learn to inspire and motivate like Og.
He definitely got me thinking about going into inspiration motivation.


A life changing book, 25 Mar 2006
Every once in a while we all read a book that has a profound influence on the way we think about what we do and how we live. This is such a book and not just for sales people. Anybody whose job involves dealing with people will benefit from this insightful, humane and deeply spiritual book.

Buy it and put the ideas into practice. They are fundamentals that can't fail you. Inspirational stuff.

What's all the hype about?, 24 Jan 2006
I think I missed the hidden meaning here. What on earth is all the hype about? This is a nice little story about a man who is given ten scrolls which are supposed to contain ten secrets to becoming the most successful salesman in the world! I was really excited when I bought the book but was very quickly disappointed. The text is pretty far from the life-changing wisdom it claims to be!

In fact, 8 out of the ten secrets are common sense. I found the story really boring. I think I completely missed the underlying life-altering messages? I have given this book 2 starts because it's thankfully short and you can read it in under an hour.

Don't expect this book to "awaken you" or "change your life" stick to books by Paolo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins, Napolean Hill, Bach or Robert Kiyosaki and the Dalai Lama.

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area should reference it. The coverage of the topics of memory, recall and storage go deep enough to satisfy all, but if you have any further queries then the references should put you on the right track.

The presentation of the subjects are clear, concise and given without being condenscending in any way. Remember to try what is taught and you will go a long way with only this book.

There are only two areas that this book could do with improving on: firstly as this book is now relatively old it should be noted that further reading is essential to keep up with recent study (most of which confirms that which has been stated) and the practicalities of the Phonetic system given here are not easy to grasp when there are simpler and more logical manifestations of this powerful technique (Tony Buzan in Master Your Memory is the one I know well)

A superb book that will be passed around my friends for a good time yet.

Excellent material!, 02 May 1999
I did not begin to appreciate the book until got to the Phonetic Mnemonic System. Exhaustive, practical, research-based. Unlike most memory books, Dr. Higbee did not promise results without effort. I've taught the principles I learned to many students and the results were outstanding!

THE BEST BOOK ON MEMORY!, 21 Dec 2006
Never mind what the other people say about this book, this book deserves to be THE classic memory book of all time! A big thumbs up to Harry for making everything so clear and easy to understand. Right from the start, you are invited to try out the systems for yourselevs instead of passively reading about the principles. I really enjoyed trying out the link system, which was extremely easy to use, all thanks to the way harry makes things sooooooo easy to understand.

Memory Book, 15 Jul 2004
I would not recommend this book unless you are unfamiliar with the concepts of mnemonics and basic memory ideas. The only new memory technique I learnt here was the Peg system (and this I have never used). A good read, and interesting if you cannot remember people's names.

A good little book, but if you know the very fundamentals of memory techniques please look elsewhere.

A good read!, 06 Feb 2002
If you looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. Although nothing new he is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy your the power of your mind!

Perfect intro, 23 Dec 2007
I like this book.

The book contain a perfect intro into NLP. Provide a lot of important informations, interesting text, easy readable content.
Four stars, just because, I think this book is just for beginners. If you are going to buy your 6th book about NLP and you are working with NLP a long time already, this will be just another one and you will be probably not able to absorb a lot of new informations.
For NLP "starters" this may really be the best book.
I also appericiate its brevity.

A genuinely effective account of NLP, 06 Feb 2006
I couldn't agree more with the last reviewer.
Like most "businessman" I'm not just "in business", I'm also very "busy". So when I read a business book, which I don't get to do as often as I'd like, it had better tell its story as briefly and clearly as possible. And this book does.

Some of my colleagues have recommended other books on NLP in the past, including those mentioned by Mr Smith, but to be perfectly blunt the prospect of having to go through several hundred pages just to get a basic understanding of the subject really didn't hold much appeal.

What this book did was give me some concrete descriptions of what I take to be key elements of NLP simply and clearly, without being patronising, and briefly without being shallow. And when I say concrete I mean that the descriptions are brought together in the second part of the book showing how they can be used in typical business situations such as appraisals, sales calls, meetings and such like.
I found it particularly helpful that the descriptions in the first part of the book are accompanied by easy to follow exercises, most on which can be carried out on your own, so that you can see how the ideas work in practice.

After reading this book I feel ready to tackle some of those more heavyweight tomes I've heard about, and I can heartily recommend "DYNS", as I call it, to anyone wanting to understand how NLP can help you to achieve your business goals.

The best intro book for NLP in business, 15 Nov 2003
For the busy manager, many of the existing books about NLP in business may be just a bit too long to contemplate starting. Even fine works like 'Influencing With Integrity" and 'NLP at Work' may sit on the shelf for years without being opened.

No such excuses are possible with "Develop Your NLP Skills". The book is extremely concise and readable. It avoids unnecessary jargon, but covers some tricky areas in business (such as 'discipline') which other NLP books shy away from.

This is going straight on the recommended reading for my practitioner courses - there's no higher praise than that!

It works, 03 Sep 2003
I bought my copy of the book a while ago basically to find out what all the fuss was about. I have not been able to go for any training yet so I cannot claim to be much of an expert in the subject of NLP. Still I've read through this book several times and found it to be both informative and practical and easy to follow the explanations. I also have put the ideas into practice when I can and they work pretty good in my experience. I would recomend this book as a very good introduction to NLP.
Good luck!

An excellent overview of NLP, 23 Mar 2002
This book provided me with an excellent overview of a concept about which I had limited previous knowledge. While developing a workshop on the topic of those characteristics that seem to come naturally to high performers, I discovered a connection to NLP. Practicing NLP seemed to be the method by which one can embrace the values, attitudes, and principles displayed by high performers. The straightforward, friendly style of writing makes this book accessible to any reader. It is especially useful for business managers who want to use this tried and true method to enhance their team's performance. The techniques of NLP can assist anyone become more effective (and possibly more contented) in their life, work, and relationships. I think most readers will find the content is at a level of detail that supports immediate use of the NLP techniques.

A well-written and personal introduction to human memory., 04 Oct 2000
Alan Baddeley gives us a well-written and easy-to-read introduction to human memory. He gives an overview of the history of memory research and reviews current as well as earlier theories. The book is full of practical examples of tests and the author doesn't hesitate to convey his personal opinion while all the time being careful to state when he is doing so. I am a professional in the area, but I believe the book's easy style will make it accessible to the interested reader without any prior knowledge of the field. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about this fascinating field. Alan Baddeley is one of the people who know most about it, and also how to convey this knowledge.

I was expecting better, much better, 12 Nov 2008
This book could be condensed into one page max, the rest is just waffle based on a fairy tale. I'm amazed that so many people have given this book 5 stars as they were clearly not reading the same book as me. I was hoping for some decent hints and tips i could use in my daily profession but instead all i got was a fairy tale talking about nothing more than positive mental attitude. Frankly if you need to be told that you have more issues than this book could ever dream to solve. Search for Frank Bettger's book "How i raised myself from failure to success in selling" if you actually want a decent book on how to improve your sales technique.

An average parable about sales and relationship skills that plods along, 09 Apr 2008
This book provides a set of daily mantras to improve sales performance. These helpful tools are set within a rambling story of sales in the first century BC/AD. Combining the message with the birth of Christ seems to detract from the teaching - if these mantras stand on their own, why the need to attach the story to something else?

The first 50 pages are a rather plodding introduction, so I would skip over them. The next ten chapters provide the keys to success and could easily be summarised into ten pages rather than this story. The final chapter is unnecessary and fails to add to the book.

So, the ten rules are useful, and could lead to an improvement in sales skills. But the book overall makes the key messages in too many layers of description. Parables are great ways to get messages across, but this is not one of them.

An inspirational story, 15 Apr 2006
I was prompted to write this review based on a number of negative reviews I read on this page about the book.
One reader actually said he read it twice with out getting the point-or much out of it.
Og Mandino's is one with a difference-it is not what you can get out of it that matters ( he is not really trying to impart knowledge in the real sense) it is what the book can impart into your subconscious mind that makes it different.
As one reviewer explained the best way you can acquire maximum benefit from book is by following the recommended procedure-reading each chapter for 30 days, three times daily and not turning to the next chapter until you have completed the preceding one.
I know this might sound strange and a waste of time (we are talking about 270 days here) but it is indeed worth the while.
If you go about it this way you will start noticing a change -have a more positive attitude to life-persist more and wake up with more vigor.
What you have read will keeping seeping through you conscious to your subconscious (especially when you face tough situations) and this will inspire you handle life better.
I personally read the book in 1993 - I could not believe that there was such a wonderful book in existence and it really changed my life>
How I wish more of us could learn to inspire and motivate like Og.
He definitely got me thinking about going into inspiration motivation.


A life changing book, 25 Mar 2006
Every once in a while we all read a book that has a profound influence on the way we think about what we do and how we live. This is such a book and not just for sales people. Anybody whose job involves dealing with people will benefit from this insightful, humane and deeply spiritual book.

Buy it and put the ideas into practice. They are fundamentals that can't fail you. Inspirational stuff.

What's all the hype about?, 24 Jan 2006
I think I missed the hidden meaning here. What on earth is all the hype about? This is a nice little story about a man who is given ten scrolls which are supposed to contain ten secrets to becoming the most successful salesman in the world! I was really excited when I bought the book but was very quickly disappointed. The text is pretty far from the life-changing wisdom it claims to be!

In fact, 8 out of the ten secrets are common sense. I found the story really boring. I think I completely missed the underlying life-altering messages? I have given this book 2 starts because it's thankfully short and you can read it in under an hour.

Don't expect this book to "awaken you" or "change your life" stick to books by Paolo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins, Napolean Hill, Bach or Robert Kiyosaki and the Dalai Lama.

starting point for creative persons, 13 Feb 2008
Useful book for everyone who wants to start its creative engine. What makes this book really fun to read are many examples of ideas/inventions, and the big number of inspirational quotes.

Your Memory, 31 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity).

The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interesting in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

A down-to-earth, authoritative book on memory., 12 Dec 2004
In the introduction to the book, one of the first things the reader realises is that the approach of the author is to present the fundamentals of memory from a scientific perspective and backing up assertions with evidence from studies. I was impressed with the frequent references to a huge number of psychological journals and also books published in the field of memory. This seems like the perfect introductory book in understanding one's memory and how to use it. The scientific objectivity of the book makes it all the more appropriate as a first book in the field, (if you would like to read several different opinions on the matter as I would), as it leads to not only knowing from evidence of the experiences of the author what is possible with memory, but also gives a sound framework of understanding how the brain is best worked with, giving data from studies to make this convincing.

On the practical side, reading this book has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve my memory, and the improvements have been taking effect since I was still reading the book. This is due partly to the results given throughout the book, taken from scientific studies, such as that studying seperate subjects in seperate places can reduce interference between recall of memorized information from those subjects, or that if two subjects that are very similar are being studied, (such as Italian and Spanish), then interference is much more likely so studying the two in different places or at clearly distinct times is important to reduce potential interference. So many interesting facts observed from studies are here; I'll give another example: it has been observed that after studying for a test, sleeping in the intervening time before the test results in better recall of the learnt material than if you were to stay awake, or continue to learn the material and not sleep before the test. This made me recall an experience when I had to memorize a lot of facts and figures for an A-level geography exam the next morning and that I decided to try memorizing the facts overnight, but ended up falling asleep just as I had memorized them all, and when I did the exam in the morning it went very well, (I got 86 out of 90), so I knew from personal experience that this observation was correct.

Techical terms such as retention, recall, overlearning, interference, et al are here and I like the systematic way that the author uses these technical terms to clarify explanations of, for example, the use of specific mneumonics later in the book, (without the technical terms there would surely be more chance of ambiguity). The first sections of the book explain what is known so far from studies about memory and how to improve your memory in general. Later in the book, a number of mneumonic systems are expounded; namely the link, story, loci, peg, and phonetic mneumonics. The most advanced of these by far seems to be the phonetic system.

All in all this is an excellent, well written, fascinating, and beneficial book. I wholly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their memory, or anyone with a general interest in memory.

Very good, 23 Feb 2004
I chose this book above all the many other memory books because it doesn't make unbelievable claims. I wasn't disappointed. everything is explained well and I'm finding it very helpful.

Essential reading. What more can you ask for?, 22 May 2002
This book is so essential that all others books in this area