This book provided a ground-breaking introduction when it first arrived in 1970. Who wouldn't like to be better at reading other people by their body positioning, gestures, and other non-verbal cues? I remember reading it a few years later as a young teen hoping to gain insight into success with girls. After all, the author describes in the early pages a man who picks up women based on his ability to read their body language. Somehow I never gained those lady-attracting skills suggested by the book's provacative cover, and these pages seemed based on anecdote, common sense, and opinion rather than on scientific research. Still, the book has a pleasing readability, and provides an interesting introduction to a subject of great interest - and one many of us wish we were better at.

This book was a ground-breaking introduction to reading other people by their body positioning, gestures, and other non-verbal cues when it arrived with a flourish in 1970. I remember reading it a few years later as a young teen hoping to gain insight into meeting girls. After all, the author describes a man who picks up women based on his ability to read their body language. I never quite gained those lady-attracting skills suggested by the book's provacative cover, and these pages seemed based on anecdote, common sense, and opinion rather than on scientific research. Still, the book has a pleasing readability. It also provides an interesting introduction to the subject.

I'd much prefer Alan and Barbara Pease's current and up to date book Body Language.

It should also be noted that this book is blatantly sexist and homophobic and though a bit antiquated (yes, first published in 1970: but still, it's not the book's context but rather the author's fault) I still find it offensive and uninsightfult.

The premise of this book is that communication between individuals occurs largely through body language. Excellently written and insightful about the fascinating world of speaking through one's actions instead of words, this book has many interesting and useful ideas...even if only to remind us of the importance of body language. Although written close to thirty years ago, Body Language remains a classic.

Understanding body language gives a person an important communication tool. For example: Knowing when someone is upset without asking because of his or her body posturing can reduce miscommunications. Learning to read another person's body language and modifying how we interact is powerful stuff!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

its just an ok book, nothings great about it and you wouldnt have lost anything if you didnt read it ;)

Written in 1970, it's a foundational book in the subject of body language. It's also a great case study on how to make a million dollars from an instructional book without having to do any research.

Fast has a pattern with every chapter. He starts with amusing anecdote, then quotes a book of research that someone else has done, and then dedicates that chapter to the book of research.

It answers questions like, "Why don't we talk to each other in elevators?" And many more.

One of the things I wanted to figure out by reading this book is if it was better than one of my favorite books, "Emotions Revealed" by Daniel Goleman, about facial movements being indicators of emotions. I was disappointed, kind of, that I couldn't answer this question, because one of the chapters is based on the early research of Golemen and how he had just started to test his theories with Australian aborigines.

I really liked chapter 9, the chapter on eye contact. I think everyone should at least read that chapter. Here's an excerpt:

"In the subway or bus where long rides in very close circumstances are a necessity, we may be hard put to find some way of not staring. We sneak glances, but look away before our eyes can lock. Or we look with an unfocused mouth, the body--for any place but the eyes is an acceptable looking spot for the unfocused glance."

"If our eyes do meet we can sometimes mitigate the message with a brief smile. The smile must not be too long or too obvious. It must say, "I am sorry we have looked, but we both know it was an accident."

Written in 1970, it's a foundational book in the subject of body language. It's also a great case study on how to make a million dollars from an instructional book without having to do any research.

Fast has a pattern with every chapter. He starts with amusing anecdote, then quotes a book of research that someone else has done, and then dedicates that chapter to the book of research.

It answers questions like, "Why don't we talk to each other in elevators?" And many more.

One of the things I wanted to figure out by reading this book is if it was better than one of my favorite books, "Emotions Revealed" by Daniel Goleman, about facial movements being indicators of emotions. I was disappointed, kind of, that I couldn't answer this question, because one of the chapters is based on the early research of Golemen and how he had just started to test his theories with Australian aborigines.

I really liked chapter 9, the chapter on eye contact. I think everyone should at least read that chapter. Here's an excerpt:

"In the subway or bus where long rides in very close circumstances are a necessity, we may be hard put to find some way of not staring. We sneak glances, but look away before our eyes can lock. Or we look with an unfocused mouth, the body--for any place but the eyes is an acceptable looking spot for the unfocused glance."

"If our eyes do meet we can sometimes mitigate the message with a brief smile. The smile must not be too long or too obvious. It must say, "I am sorry we have looked, but we both know it was an accident."

I was required to read this book at 13 for a drama course. It is a good introduction to something I was not aware of conciously. For someone who was an aspiring actor, it helped greatly to help me put "more" into my performance. Additionally, it helped relieved some of the anxiety with dealling with the opposite sex. I then had a mean's to look at them and get a better idea as to whether they liked me and what body signals to send back so I didn't inadvertantly give the wrong message.

Many have complained in other reviews that this book is not effective, however, they are looking for something written for an experienced adult. This book is a good introduction for a younger person, written in very simple language.

OK, I know some people think they can read your intentions through body language. In some cases, I'm sure it can be done, but it is by NO MEANS reliable. People are just too different. To its credit, the author does mention this a few times. But then the author launches right back into the stereotyping, with an authoritative narrative that seems to scream universal authenticity, which is misleading.

A broad application of the principles stated seems acceptable, but rarely to the extent that people can be "read like an open book." If you tried it, you would simply be falling prey to the old adage "judging a book by its cover."

I found myself saying "Uh, no, that is not why I do that..." many times while reading through the examples in this book. However, as a fiction writer, I did find the desciptive elements very useful, and have used many of them to good effect in my novels. So, while you have to take the "stereotyping" in this book with a grain of salt, it can be put to use.

This book, hailed as a "classic" by some, really is nothing more than a collection of a single man's speculations regarding the subject matter at hand, body language. There is little-to-no science behind it all, as very little of it is based on solid research. If only a person's nonverbal exhibitions could be read like the words in a book! Sometimes they can, as when you are talking and someone is tapping her foot ferociously. More often than not, however, you cannot. If someone, sitting between two other people, places his crossed leg on top of the other, does this really mean that he likes, knows, or is closer to the person his foot is facing vs. the person his leg is creating a "barrier" against? Of course not! (In fact, this doesn't even make sense to me! I would much rather show the person I know my leg than the bottom of my big shoe!) And so runs many of the claims in this book. Read it, by all means, but keep in mind that many of these claims are rubbish. This is not scientific psychology, but conjecture and speculation much of which will not mesh with your everyday experience of such things.

Taking into account the cultural climate change, you'll quickly realized just how dated this book has become. I wouldn't recommend this book if your seriously planning on studying the subject. Most of the theorems has since been proven wrong. The book even makes use of the word 'square' to describe what today would be called a dork.

I'll agree with most of the other reviewers and presume you are looking for a book that gives guidelines for reading meaning from movement and non-verbal cues. This book is more of a sociological study than that, and the insights it offers are the ones that have by now already worked their way into the culture. It's very honest and doesn't promise mind-reading affects based on the angle of a glance, and it is well written if dry. Still, this probably won't be that beneficial to the average person looking for information to sharpen their social skills.

Julius Fast's "Body Language" provides an excellent and reader-friendly overview of body language without going into too much detail. One of the basic "Must Reads" on this topic.

Simply said, this book is far too general to be of any use. It makes the case that there is such a thing as body language, and that it can be read, and that it is very useful, but it does not teach you anything on how to read body language. If I were you I wouldn't bother reading this book.

Body Language is an okay book. It's written well, and the author did his homework. That's about where the good points leave off.

The description of the book leads one to believe he will be taught how to use body language to properly convey his message. However, almost all of the information presented is the theory of what body language is, how it came about, and why it works.

There is very little technical information on which signals mean what, aside from one chapter in which the author describes in detail how a particular subject uses body language to make him more attractive to women.

Also, Body Language was written in 1970, and there hasn't been a 2nd Edition. Consequently, the examples, language, and ideas all have overtones of the American cultural nuances of the time, including several references to the racial and gender issues of the time.

I believe the information is still relevant today, and it's a good starting point if you know nothing of the topic, but if you're looking for something more in depth and instructional, this is not the title for you.

This book was first printed in 1971; for that time it was cutting edge stuff, it isn't that useful today.
If you're new to body language you should start with Allan Pease - Body Language, it also has illustrations that help you see the actual body language that he writes about.

Like a previous reviewer said, you can read this for its historical value, it has some good info in it, but overall I felt that I didn't really get anything out of reading it.

The other reviews on this work seem to be all over the lot.
I found the book useful because the author provided specific
examples of how to read people in a variety of situations in
business and other areas of your personal life. Much time is
spent on " space protection" and "territory". The author explains
classic behaviors when we "invade" another's space. Behavioral
manifestations involving unwelcomed space trespass are nervousness
and simply walking away or fleeing temporarily.

There is a part on "masks"; wherein , the author explains various
contexts where we seek to hide our true feelings-although this
aspect gets harder with advancing age. Even crossing legs
can have meaning or it can be innocent depending upon the context. Overall, the author makes us mindful of many behaviors
which can be interpreted variously in a variety of contexts
both personal and business. These are considerations which
we should keep in mind rather than " hard and fast rules".
The book is valuable for the fine nuances it makes clear.

The book, Body Language by Julius Fast, is a book I would recommend to anyone over the age of fifteen. To really understand the book and grasp its concepts, you have to have already experienced, or have been in the situations explained in the book. For example, the book talks about relationships and the actions men take toward women and vis versa. To really understand what Fast is trying to say, you have to have experieneced that type of relationship.
The book analyses motions such as a simple smile or the crossing of your arms. It really makes you think about your everday actions and helps you to better read the people around you.

This book is no good. Its hucksterish cover implies that it will help you read the body language of women in order to improve your dating. However, there are really no practical tactics. There are lots of anecdotes mixed in with generalizations (with the ever-present caveat that there are always exceptions to these generalizations). It was written in the 70's, which should imply right there that is is obsolete, and indeed it is.

The author tends to assume that women and men send identical messages with identical or very similar body language. That's a mistake.

Young women with career goals might find it useful to learn some of the male territorial and hierarchic signals described here. For example there's a hilarious passage about men challenging each other's territory on a restaurant table using only the instruments at hand. Next time I lunch with a man I'll notice how he lines up his fork, and try not to laugh.

Women (networks, team players, verbal) and men (hierarchies, power lunchers, spacial) operate differently and use different body language to communicate different signals. Most of the time only the male signals are visible to this author, so the book's value is limited.

The publisher does a disservice by not making this clear on the cover.

I bought this book wanting to learn how to read body language in general - that is, how to quickly connect with people. This book is helpful in understanding body language, but it centers more around romantic relationships. To my own detriment I must say that the picture on the cover should have been a tip off. It's still a good book. Just make sure you know what you're buying.

This is a classic little book about the art of reading body language. As the editor of Charm Magazine, I've researched this topic in depth. This book doesn't tell it all, but it is THE place to start. I assure you that all the body language authors out there have read this book.

Readers may be turned off by some of the outdated scenarios and old-fashioned language. The use of "men" to describe both men and women is particularly confusing, especially because Fast sometimes uses "men" to mean just men.

Some surprising topics covered in this book include communicating with animals, viewing people as "non-persons" (which is quite relevant to issues like sexism), and even S&M.

On a personal note, I was pleased to see a section on "bedroom eyes," a phrase I've heard for years without truly understanding what it referred to, lol.

Another section of interest is a brief foray into the body language used in the Arab world. I can't vouch for the accuracy of his research into the Arab culture, but it's worth thinking about, especially in our post 9/11 world.